Urban Gardening in Baltimore, part 3 (Cucumber)

I am a cucumber person, which means I prefer it over tomato in a salad. It is a rather plain veggie, without high nutritious value, and there are not so many recipes with cucumber in main role.  It seems people appreciate it only when it's pickled.

However, cucumbers from my garden brought me a lot of joy. They are growing so fast and producing so many fruits. I learned that there are yellow and white flowers, male and female, and fruits are so well camouflaged that you can easily miss them.

But the best thing about growing your own cucumbers is that you can eat them with the peel without worry they were exposed to pesticides.

Below you will find three recipes with cucumbers, very simple and elegant. I want this veggie to be a true star. It deserves it.

Green Gazpacho

One night I went out with my girlfriends to a restaurant where I had this soup. I loved it so much and I tried to memorize all ingredients from the menu. Couple of days later, I bought all stuff that I needed to make it myself and tried to find the recipe on the web. It happened that I found the executive chef of the restaurant where I had eaten the soup. I contacted him and he gave me the recipe. I though that was really cool from him.

This soup is absolutely fabulous... such a great ingredients and all green, except yogurt and almonds though.

You need:

1 honeydew, peeled and chopped

1 large cucumber, chopped

1 bunch of cilantro, chopped

1/3 or to taste jalapeno pepper, chopped

1 cup of Greek yogurt

Juice of 2-3 limes

1/4 cup of chopped almonds

Salt and black pepper

Steps:

Blend honeydew, cucumber, cilantro, lime juice and jalapeno in the blender until the mix is smooth. Add yogurt to thicken the soup. Add salt and black pepper. When serving, sprinkle the soup with chopped almonds.

Do not forget to chill the gazpacho before you eat it!

Simple Cucumber Salad with Herbs

Very refreshing and elegant summer salad. Fresh herbs, mint, lemon balm and oregano give it distinctive taste.

You need:

1 medium cucumber

1/4 cup of fresh chopped herbs, mint, lemon balm, oregano

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Salt and black pepper

Steps:

Slice cucumber with peeler or mandolin. Add herbs, juice, salt and black pepper and mix it. Serve chilled.

Cucumber Canapes

Great summer appetizer. And if you make it using stuff from your garden (cucumber, tomatoes and herbs) as I did, you will be super happy and proud eating it.

You need:

1 medium cucumber

1/4 cup of sheep cheese or Feta

1 Tbs. Greek yogurt

2 Tbs. fresh herbs, oregano, chives, thyme, finely chopped

Cherry tomatoes

Steps:

Make stuffing with cheese, yogurt and herbs. Thinly slice cucumber with peeler or mandolin, lenghtwise. Fill cucumber with the stuffing as in picture above, wrap it and put on a toothpick. Add cherry tomatoes. Serve it cold.