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Tuesday, August 7, 2012

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.




6 comments:

  1. zadnja slika mi je najslađa :)
    ja volim i krastavce (svježe i ukiseljene) i rajčice podjednako. Ove svježe krastavce najčešće jedem na salatu: sa kiselim vrhnjem, sol, češnjak i malo kopra.
    Super od chefa što ti je dao recept :)

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  2. Baš je cool taj šef. Nisam još probala grčki jogurt. Da li bi naš jogurt mogao ili pak pavlaka?

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    Replies
    1. Probaj extra kiselo mleko... grcki jogurt je masniji i gusci od naseg obicnog kiselog mleka.

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    2. Hvala! Ima ga u Veru, ali mi on nije blizu.

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  3. Potpuno se slažem s ovim o krastavcima, obožavam svježe krastavce. Salatu radim samo od krastavaca (ako dodam rajčice ili paprike itd., ja ih ne jedem, ja izaberem samo ploške krastavaca, a rajčice i paprike nek jede tko hoće). A jako volim i svježe krastvace s vrhnjem, to bih jela svaki dan! Istina je da ne postoji puno recepata u kojima krastavci igraju glavnu ulogu, ali ima nekih recepata u kojima su krastavci termički obrađeni - takvi krastavci mi se nikao ne sviđaju! Probala sam juhu od krastavaca - u kojoj su krastavci kuhani, to je bio čistu užas. Donekle mi se svidjela juha od vrhnja ili jogurta koja se jede dobro ohlađena, i u koju sam ja umiješala svježe, nekuhane krastavce (iako imam i recept za juhu od vrhnja s kuhanim krastavcima - probala sam, nikako mi se nije svidjelo!).
    Po uzori na neki recept s interneta ili časopisa probala sam puniti krastavce i onda ih zapeći - meni se ni to nije svidjelo - radije se držim svježih krastavaca na salatu ili s vrhnjem.

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