Cucumbers in Sour Cream

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Finally the kitchen is finished and now the big, BIG project starts.  Yes, the kitchen was just a "little" job.  New back splash and counter top and a few lights here and there.  Oh, and a big new sink!  The big, BIG project is the basement, or first level if you look at it from the back of the house.  But, before the big, BIG project, there is small big project... a new roof!   No, we have not won the lottery, but circumstances have forced us to undertake three projects in a row that would normally take a few years to even consider.

The new roof is the result of the storms we had this year and last and qualify us for a new one, courtesy of our insurance company.  There is a time clause in which to apply, so here we are.  A new roof, now, before the big job.

I am telling you all this because last night was the first time in a month that I got creative in the kitchen.  Not that we have starved, but frankly I haven't been too excited about cooking as you can see from all the posts about the garden.  Not that this is unusual for me. April and May are mainly dedicated to the garden and we had so much damage from last winter that the work has been constant.  On the good news front, the gardenias are coming back, little by little; and I mean little by little.  The new growth is tiny, but it's there.  We will have to wait for blooms next year.

The weather has been... the weather.  Weird is more like it.  On Monday, 87 degrees was the high and Wednesday morning 40 degrees the low.  We are now back to long sleeve tees.  So it was stew weather, just like last year around this time.  My creative juices started to flow and the results were out of this world.  I will post it next, but first here is the salad that went with the meal.

I have posted a cucumber salad before but this one is slightly different.  First it is adapted from Craig Claiborne's book, Cooking With Herb And Spices, now out of print.   The main difference is the use of lemon juice instead of vinegar and the addition of chives.  It is subtle but tasty and goes well with a stew.  A good substitute also for tzatziki.

Cucumbers In Sour Cream
Adapted from Cooking With Herbs And Spices, by Craig Claiborne

Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 tsps. salt
1/4 tsp. Tabasco
1 TB lemon juice
2 tsps. fresh dill
1 TB chopped chives
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tsps sugar*
a few drops Worcestershire Sauce*
3 cucumbers, chilled (I used English cucumbers)

 Directions:

Combine the salt, Tabasco, lemon juice, dill, chives, sugar and Worcestershire Sauce with the Sour Cream.

Pare and slice the cucumbers and add them to the sour cream mixture.  Chill and serve garnished with additional dill.

*were my contribution to the recipe.  You don't want it sweet, so add just a touch of sugar for balance

All photos Lindaraxa

A Cool Dinner For A Hot Night...Cold Grilled Salmon And Cucumber Salad With Dill

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We are going on our third week of temperatures in the nineties and I am beginning to feel like a cat on a hot tin roof!  When the weather is like that, everything stops in this house, including the oven.  I am sure you have noticed that recent posts have been full of salads and simple things although I did break my resolve and baked a blueberry pie a couple of weeks ago.

Salmon is the first thing that comes to mind when I want something light on a hot summer night.  Grilled or poached, hot or cold.  Sunday night we fired up the grill and an Asian styled salmon was served with steamed artichokes and hollandaise sauce.  I made plenty so I could have it the next night with something I have been longing for, something my mother used to make in the summer when we lived in Connecticut...Cucumber Salad With Sour Cream and Dill.

If you want something to cool the body inside there is nothing like cucumbers, whether they are in a salad or in a cold soup.  In the Middle East, you will often find a small dish placed next to you filled with cucumbers and yogurt to balance the heat of the meal.  They were my salvation one night at a formal dinner in Karachi, Pakistan where one dish seemed to be hotter than the last.

I prefer to mix sour cream instead of yogurt with the cucumbers in this salad, something that is traditional in Scandinavia.  For a recipe I turned to Anna Pump's cookbook The Loaves And Fishes Cookbook, a selection of her recipes from her fabulous gourmet shop.

Cucumber Salad With Fresh Dill And Sour Cream
Yields 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

2 European cucumbers*
1 tsp. salt
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 cup peeled and finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped dill
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. white pepper
2 TB white wine vinegar
1 1/2 cups sour cream

Slice the cucumbers very thin.  Sprinkle with salt and place them in a colander for 15 minutes. Then press out as much liquid as you can with back of a large spoon. Transfer cucumber slices to a salad bowl.  Add rest of ingredients and mix gently but thoroughly with your hands.

* European or seedless cucumbers have no wax coating.  Skin is left on for both color and texture (I peel off every other strip) The salad will keep for 24 hours.


All photos Lindaraxa

Cool as Cucumber and Spinach Soup!

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It's been a miserable summer here in South Florida and it's not even August or September yet. When you take your dog for a walk at midnight and come back drenched, you know it's hot! I've given my Westie a haircut that makes her look like a Mexican Hairless. Even though I think she's happier, she hasn't come out from her cave (under my bed) since, except to eat and go out.

The only thing I crave for lunch these days are cold salads and chilled soups, particularly Gazpacho and this chilled cucumber and spinach delight. I've had the recipe since my days living in North Carolina and not a summer goes by that I don't make it at least once.

So, if it's miserably hot in your area right now, add this to your repertoire...you'll thank me for it. Even if it's not, it's wonderful for lunch or as a first course for dinner. I have served it at dinner parties year round, in demitasse cups, right before we sit down to eat.

Serves 8


Ingredients

1 bunch green onions (scallions) sliced

2 TB Butter

4 cups diced, peeled cucumbers

3 cups chicken broth

1 cup chopped, fresh or frozen spinach

1/2 cup sliced, peeled potatoes

1/2 tsp salt

1 TB lemon juice

Freshly ground pepper to

1 cup light cream

Green onions for garnish


Instructions

In a saucepan, saute green onions in butter until they are softened.

Add cucumbers, chicken broth, spinach, potatoes, salt, lemon juice and pepper. Simmer uncovered until the potatoes are tender.  Let it cool down to room temperature.

Transfer the mixture to a blender in batches and puree. Transfer the puree to a bowl and stir in the light cream. Let soup cool and chill overnight.*

Garnish each serving with thin slices of green onions.

Cooks Note: *It is important to make the soup the day before and chill overnight so that it is very cold when served.