Cold Soba, Cucumber, & Red Pepper Salad

I recently read Michael Pollan’s new book, Cooked which discusses earth, water, air, and fire as the basic elements of cooking.  Each section focuses on his adventures learning to cook a certain dish using a particular element.  I flipped directly to the ‘air’ section which documented his adventures in bread making (including the basic country bread from Tartine) but eventually did make my way back through the whole book.  So many recipe ideas came to mind while reading about braises (filed under ‘water’) that I wanted to jump right into making all of them. But being the middle of August, it just didn’t feel right to be braising meat for hours on the stove.  I’m always on the prowl for easy to make summer recipes and this one from Budget Bytes is perfect.  It’s quick, simple, and allows for customization.