The Quick Noodled Cucumber Salad

Some days, nothing sounds enticing. You know what I am talking about - the days when meat is too much and leafy lettuce is too bland. I forget that salad comes in many forms and need to get rid of the image of salad as being just leafy lettuce. Because of the last minute get together, I am going to show you how I scrambled together the stuff I have at home to come up with this cucumber noodle salad for a get together with our friends.
This salad works for me because some days I need encouragement to eat healthy food. The prettier it looks the more it works for me and this salad looks pretty very pretty with all the colors.

Ingredients:
1/2 bag of shredded carrots from Trader Joe's
1/2 red onion thinly sliced
2 seedless cucumbers, (English or regular cucumber with the seeds taken out)
2 stalks of peppermint leaves top
3 tablespoons of crushed roasted, salted peanuts

The dressing was pull together using the recipe from Crunchy Papaya Salad

For the dressing:
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp. sugar
1⁄4 tsp. salt
1⁄4 cup rice vinegar
2 1⁄2 Tbs. fish sauce
2 1⁄2 Tbs. fresh lime juice  

To make the dressing, in a mortar combine the garlic, sugar and salt and mash until a fine paste. Whisk in the vinegar, fish sauce, lime juice. Pour the dressing over the papaya mixture and toss well.
Layer the vegetables in a dish or mix the carrots, cucumber, red onions. Pour the dressing on the mixed salad. Sprinkle the roasted peanuts on the salad. And lastly, put the two stalks of peppermint leaves on the side at the base of the salad