Cold Cucumber Soup

I know that this recipe is kind of late because summer is gone, and I actually meant to post on this almost 2 months ago, but I forgot so I'm posting it now. You'll just have to deal with it. Wink. Wink. I'll be posting much more Fall-friendly recipes from now on, so you can breathe easy.

And I think I've told you this before, but this year our cucumber plant has done really well, giving us a steady stream of giant cucumbers. So I was left trying to find different cucumber recipes to make so that Roi didn't get sick of eating the same cucumber salad every week.

I adapted this recipe from the Cold Cucumber and Yogurt Soup in Judith Jones' cookbook, that I inherited from my grandma. This soup is really light and refreshing and makes a good substitute for a salad with your lunch or dinner.

Cold Cucumber Soup
serves 2
2 medium cucumbers
2 scallions
1 1/3 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup sour cream
salt and pepper
fresh chives or dill

Peel the cucumber and roughly chop. Trim the scallions of the course outer layers and chop into rough pieces. Put the cucumber and scallions with the broth and sour cream into a food processor/blender and blend until well mixed. Season with salt and pepper to tasted. Pour into a chilled soup bowl and sprinkle with herbs.

Greek Cucumber Salad

I know how much you like salads, so here's another one. I like to make this salad when I don't have that much time to make dinner and I usually have the ingredients on hand because Greek salad is one of my favorites. It only takes about 10 minutes total to chop everything up, make the dressing and toss it all in a bowl. And if you don't have exact amounts, that's okay. I never measure out amounts for salads like this, I usually just throw what I have into a bowl and mix it up.

Greek Cucumber Salad
serves 2-3
salad:
1 large cucumber, quartered and sliced (I usually half-peel it too)
1 large tomato, chopped
a handful of black olives (you can use Kalamata olives obviously, I just use black because they're cheaper)
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
~1/2 cup feta*, crumbled (use more or less depending on how much you love feta, I tend to use a lot)
dressing:
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper
oregano

Throw all of the salad ingredients into a large bowl and mix it up! I usually just put the dressing in an old jam jar with a tight-fitting lid. First add vinegar, then oil and throw in the spices to taste. Then shake it up! Divide the salad among individual bowls and add dressing. So good!

*A note about buying feta. If you need it to be starch free, don't buy it already crumbled because they always add a starch to keep it from sticking together. You don't have to buy expensive feta, just make sure it's in a block and check the ingredients to be sure.