Tag: cucumber

Cucumber Salsa

Cucumber Salsa

FRESH Food is the Best! I don’t think that there is any argument to that. If you had fresh strawberries being put in a blind taste test against thawed strawberries from the freezer, I am sure the fresh ones would win. Or if you had 

Refrigerator Pickles

Refrigerator Pickles

It summer, you have a ton of cucumbers fresh from the garden, and you are craving pickles NOW! You begin to make your favorite pickle recipe and then wonder if there was a way you could eat fresh-from-the-garden pickles sooner than your standard recipe makes. 

Chilled Cucumber Soup

Chilled Cucumber Soup

I’ve said it before & I’ll say it again: NOW is the Season of Garden Fresh Veggies!

If you have a garden I’m sure your are rolling in it’s bounty and if you are shopping for your produce than I am sure that you love the seasonal prices and the awesome tastes you are currently enjoying!

We have been on the receiving end of lots of garden goodies from our neighbors. I wanted to take some of my bounty and try to experiment with a Chilled Soup. I’ve never really had a chance to explore these before (and only had one chilled soup that I have ever enjoyed – it was on a cruise when I was about 18, but I don’t even remember what flavor it was).

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This Chilled Cucumber Soup seasoned with a hot pepper and mint is a nice balance of sweet and salty. The texture reminded me of a liquid that has ice chunks in it (granular?) even though I never had it in the soup. Overall the flavor was enjoyable but the texture I would have liked a little smoother, so maybe a blender would have worked better than the food processor. Enjoy & let me know what you think!

Chilled Cucumber Soup

(adapted from Food and Style)

  • 2 lbs cucumbers (seeded/peeled/cut in 3” pieces
  • 1/4 medium red onion
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 jalapeño (stem &  seeds removed)
  • 8 large mint leaves
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 6oz non-fat plain yogurt
  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup water

Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor with 1/2 cup of the spring water. Pulse a few times so the ingredients are coarsely chopped, then process until soup is very smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes. If necessary, thin with the remaining water to the desired consistency.

Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight, until well chilled. Place the soup in the freezer for 30 minutes before serving OR let it set in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to get totally chilled. Ladle soup in chilled soup bowls or cocktail glasses. [Drizzle a little lemon oil in the center of each bowl.] Garnish with a mint leaf, curl of cucumber, and serve immediately.

And I leave you with today’s Question of the Day… what is YOUR favorite way to enjoy a good cold soup?

Cucumber Boat Appetizer

Cucumber Boat Appetizer

This is the season of carefree entertaining and although I love me some roasted veggies (the house smells awesome from roasted veggies right now – look forward to those posts in the coming days & weeks) we don’t always want/need to heat up the house! This recipe easily serves 1 or 2 as an appetizer, but is obviously very easy to adapt for more. Just count (about) a whole cucumber person as you adapt this for your next gathering.