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.

Raw Corn and Zucchini Salad

Well, it's summertime again. Which means I'm having my season-change reshuffling of meal-plan ideas. A new group of seasonal vegetable recipes--in! Anything that involves turning the oven on--out!

I was really excited to get my June issue of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine and find this recipe for a raw corn and zucchini salad. They are seasonal vegetables, it's a really crisp, fresh-tasting salad, and it only takes like two minutes to put together.

We had it a few weeks ago and loved it. I've got everything to make it again tonight, and I can't wait!


Raw corn and Zucchini Salad

3 ears of corn
2 small zucchini
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp coarsely chopped cilantro
salt and pepper

Stand corn on end and slice kernels off. Thinly slice zucchini. Add to a bowl with corn kernels. Season with coarse salt and ground pepper. Toss with remaining ingredients.

(We made it with two cobs of corn and one zucchini- then went just a little scant on the other ingredients and that was the perfect amount for our family.)