Cucumber, Tomato, Chick Pea Salad

We got a butternut squash in our CSA box this week. I was shocked. Especially since sweat was beginning to puddle in my shoes. Guess that means summer is close to an end.

This simple recipe includes so many of my favorite summer flavors, so I'm putting it in the weekly rotation until all the ingredients play out. It won't be long before they'll all be a distant memory.

Ingredients
1 medium cucumber, peeled if you like, and cut into quarters
sea salt
2 small tomatoes, chopped
1/2 small Vidalia onion, chopped
Sprinkle of Wildtree Dill Dip Blend*
Drizzle of Natural Grapeseed Oil*
1 15oz. can of Garbanzo Beans, drained and rinsed
Salad greens

* Email here for details and/or to order.

Directions

1. Slice cucumber and place in a colander. Sprinkle with sea salt and let sit in sink while preparing remaining salad.
2. Combine remaining ingredients up to and including beans in a medium size bowl. Toss to coat. 
3. Shake cucumbers in colander and lightly press out water. Add to bowl. Toss to coat.
4. Let sit in refrigerator for an hour or more to bring out flavors or serve over salad greens immediately.
5. Enjoy!

Tomato, Cucumber, Kohlrabi salad with Cilantro Pesto

The Easter Bunny was good to us this year bringing several little pots of herbs. One in particular has done extremely well--cilantro. So glad this one decided to be the herb of choice, because it's one of my favorites. I decided to use a chunk of our harvest to make pesto to serve as the dressing for the veggies multiplying in my fridge. It turned out so yummy I had to distract my four year old with a homemade popsicle to keep him from eating all the pesto on crackers (our preferred taste-test method). Hope it's a winner at your house, too!

Ingredients
1-2 garlic cloves
2 cups cilantro, washed*
1/2-1 cup parsley leaves*
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4-1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
sea salt to taste
Veggies that need eating--couple of tomatoes, cucumber, summer squash, kohlrabi, etc.
a little feta cheese ('cause feta makes everything betta!)
*I decided not to get anxious about the stems of the cilantro or parsley, because it was quite a lot of leaves to pull. Didn't seem to make a difference in the final product, so pull the leaves away from the main stem, but do it several leaves at a time to keep it simple. Also, small hands can help here!

Directions

1. Add garlic to bowl of food processor or blender and chop.
2. Add cilantro and parsley to garlic, chop, then add pumpkin seeds and chop.
3. With the blade running, add olive oil and sea salt.
4. Taste and adjust seasonings.
5. Combine chopped up veggies and feta and toss with pesto to coat well.
6. Enjoy!

Quick Cucumber Salad

Cucumbers are one of those summer crops that can quickly overtake your fridge, which helps me understand why someone came up with the pickling option. Today, I found a simple way to enjoy cucumbers as a side dish (i.e. use up several at once!), leave the oven in the "OFF" position, and give thanks for cucumber's ability to keep me cool.

Ingredients
2-3 small to medium size cucumbers, washed and quarter chopped* (remove skin if you'd like)
1/2 small red onion, chopped
Fresh parsley leaves, chopped
Rice wine vinegar
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

*I removed skin from some, cut in half, placed flat side down, and cut in half again. Then chopped into smaller pieces.

Directions

1. Combine cucumbers, onion, and parsley leaves.
2. Drizzle vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper and toss to coat. Taste and adjust seasonings.
3. Cool off and enjoy!