Cucumber Salad

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Cucumber Salad – for pdf version click here cucumber-salad

When the cucumbers are fresh and plentiful I love to make this delicious salad. It is particularly nice with the smaller cucumbers from your garden or the farmers market. I use my mandoline to slice them thinly but I it is easy enough to slice by hand also. Kat mentioned you could use a potato peeler for paper thin slices but I prefer them a bit thicker.

You can definitely adjust the extras in this salad to your taste. I love dill so I almost always add a little fresh or frozen dill weed if I have it but if you do not like dill leave it out. We also love onions so always use red onion but it you are not so keen just use green onion or chives.

Kat’s Cucumber Salad

2 – 3     small cucumbers, peeled and sliced as thinly as possible, about 2 cups

2          Tbsp thinly sliced red onion (optional)

salt as needed

1/3       cup sour cream

1          Tbsp mayonnaise or whipped salad dressing

1          Tbsp white wine vinegar

1/4       tsp salt

3/4       tsp white sugar

1 – 2     Tbsp chives, chopped or green onion

1          Tbsp fresh dill weed (optional)

Freshly ground black pepper

  • Peel and slice cucumber and onion as thinly as you can or to your taste.
  • You may use a slicer or even a potato peeler but it is easy enough to do them by hand.
  • Sprinkle liberally with salt and let sit for at least 20 minutes.
  • Strain off liquid and discard. I let them sit in a strainer over a bowl for about an hour. Squeeze excess water out before dressing.
  • For dressing mix sour cream, mayonnaise, vinegar, salt, sugar, chives and dill.
  • Pour over drained cucumbers and onion.
  • Top with pepper and adjust seasoning to taste.

Serves 4

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Kale Salad

Kale Salad

Joanne gave me this recipe along with my first bunch of kale. It was so simply delicious and nutritious I have been seeking it out ever since. This week our local grocery store, Knechtel Food Market, got in a case of kale so it seemed like a good time to post the recipe! As you see from this photo I have added some kalamata olives, halved and used a sweet onion because I was out of green and red onions!

Kale Salad Click here for pdf of recipe

This recipe was given to me along with my first bunch of kale by Joanne McDonagh and I have
been seeking it out ever since. Wonderfully simple, delicious and nutritious!
4 -5 kale leaves, large, with ribs removed
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 avocado, diced
2 green onions or 2 Tbsp red onion sliced thinly
lemon juice
olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Massage washed leaves with ribs removed to minimize bitterness then tear into bite size
pieces.
Toss diced avocado with lemon juice and arrange over kale in a shallow bowl or plate. I have
a pasta bowl I like for this salad.
Spread tomatoes and onion over the avocado.
Drizzle with a little more lemon juice then olive oil.
Sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper and serve.
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Serves 2 – 3
Anne’s Favourites
Kale Salad

Wonder Food… Baked Sweet Potato!

It amazes me how many wonderful new flavours I continue to discover. At Matanza’s Inn Restaurant in Fort Myers Beach http://matanzas.com/restaurant/ we had a lovely seafood dinner overlooking the water. They served baked sweet potato* with the fish. It had the most intense flavour and was so sweet I asked if they had somehow already added brown sugar although it was still in the skin. They looked at me like I was nuts and assured me they had not. I thought it had to be a variety of sweet potato available only in the South.

When I got home I decided to try baking a sweet potato just to see how our regular grocery store variety would taste. I could not believe that the cooking method could make so much difference. How did I never hear about this before??? Why did I find this out just after publishing Anne’s Favourites? I am glad to have this blog to share this wonder food with you. Not often you find a food this delicious that is packed full of vitamins!

There is no recipe to give you, simply wrap in foil and bake for about an hour at 375º F depending on the size. If I am not using the oven for the rest of the meal I will often precook the potato in the microwave for 5 minutes to heat it up before wrapping it and baking so you do not waste so much energy. Of course you can just bake them in the microwave but they do not develop quite as much flavour. Use any seasoning sparingly because it adds unnecessary calories or sodium.

Also great on the BBQ!

* http://homecooking.about.com/cs/productreviews/p/sweetpotato_pro.htm