Cool and Creamy Cucumber Salad

A month ago we planted herbs in a pot on the front porch.  They've filled out so much that it was time to start cooking with them.   Our front porch kitchen garden pot includes rosemary dill and sage.  It's visually interesting to plant herbs with different textures next to each other--these three fit the bill.

Dill is an herb I had to reintroduce myself to when I became an adult.  I remember not particularly liking it (more specifically: what was made with it--probably more specifically: potato salad).  I'm happy to have a number of recipes now in which I really like the dill.  The first is what I like to call:

Cool and Creamy Cucumber Salad

2 cucumbers
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons fresh chopped dill
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar

Peel cucumbers (at least partially--I usually just peel a few strips off leaving it with circus stripes of green--then you get some added fiber an nutrients from the peel but it's not too scratchy in the mouth) slice thin and set aside.  Stir all remaining ingredients together in a medium bowl.  Add the cucumbers and stir until the cucumbers are completely covered.  Serve cold immediately or store the dressing in the fridge and toss with cucumbers right before serving. 

We really enjoy this cool summer salad.  I didn't take a picture of the cucumber salad before we ate it--but since I only had one cucumber we had leftover dressing.  We used it to dip fresh vegetables in and it was delicious.

When I served the cucumber salad.  Owen asked me, "Mom, is there grass in this?"  I told him "No, it's fresh dill from our herb garden."  To which he replied, "OK," and then proceeded to eat his salad.

Carrots

Seriously, I struggle with side-dishes. I mean I just spent an hour on an extravagant main dish, and now you want something to go with it?! Of all the nerve!

Really, It's more of a one-track mind thing over not having time or energy. I just don't think about it until it's too late.

However when I do plan ahead I try and make sure it adds to the overall nutrition of the meal, otherwise, I might as well just save myself the time and effort. And it's only a benefit when it's simple enough I can remember and don't have to dig through recipe books.

So this recipe (I'm using that term very loosely) is for Glazed Carrots. Sometimes we eat carrots plain straight from the fridge. Sometimes we dip them in Spicy Ranch, and sometimes we eat them glazed. Really variety is important to help keep the family from dying of boredom over their vegetables.



Start with however many carrots your family will (hopefully) eat and cook them to your desired doneness using your preferred method. I put them an a small pot with enough water to cover the bottom of the pan. Bring it to a boil, then cover the pot and reduce the heat so that they half boil/half steam. Either way when they are done drain out any remaining water.

The glaze is made up of equal parts of butter and brown sugar. Here I was using about a tablespoon and a half of each. Stir that around with your carrots. The heat of the carrots and pan will most likely give all the heat needed, but if the brown sugar looks "grainy" at all turn the heat on low for a minute to get the sugar crystals all melted.

The last step is the surprising yet delicious one. Sprinkle with a bit of dill weed. It gives it a great flavor that gives this more "grown up" appeal. If your kids won't touch speckled carrots, then leave it off for them, but do give it a try-at least once.

As you see I knocked myself out this night with two vegetable side dishes. -I know!- Actually I made the peas for the baby, because he loves them, and I wasn't sure that he would eat the carrots. Ha! He loved the carrots. (Also as you see we were using paper products. Cut me some slack, I've got a lot on my plate =wink= right now.)