Tzatziki (Greek Yogurt Cucumber Sauce)

 Tzatziki sauce is a yogurt/cucumber sauce used in Greek cooking, usually on meats, gyros, souvlaki.  It can also be used as a dip for fresh vegetables or even diluted and used as a salad dressing.

This recipe is from Food.com
http://www.food.com/recipe/tzatziki-greek-yogurt-cucumber-sauce-ww-core-312799
and also heavy on the garlic, which I love, but if you don't use one or two cloves instead.

It has a creamy clean garlicky taste and works well with spicy foods.  I have used it on a spicy rice with peppers stuffed in tortilla (although traditionally pitas are the bread of choice).   I also what was left over with a little bit of milk and used it on a salad.

The recipe:

• 1 cup plain fat free Greek yogurt 
• 1 medium or 1/2 of a large cucumber
  
• 3 cloves garlic 
• Salt
• 1 tsp Olive Oil
• 1 tsp Dill 
• Pepper

Scoop seeds out of cucumber with a spoon (the original recipe advises to peel, but I prefer unpeeled).

Grate the cucumber and mince the garlic.

Generously saturate with salt I  used about 25 shakes to and let set for 10 minutes to draw out the moisture and keeps it from becoming soggy.

Strain the mixture in a a strainer or cheesecloth to get out at much of the moisture as you can.












Put back in a bowl and add the Greek yogurt and the dill, mix thoroughly.

Add pepper (I used 6 turns on the pepper mill) and mix.

If you have leftovers, store in an airtight container in the fridge for 7-10 days.

Dilled Green Beans

A trick to make canned green beans taste better.

I saw at Kroger's last week where a name brand canned vegetable supplier now offers Green Beans with Dill for $1.41 a can and had to laugh as I have been DIYing my own with generic green beans for years to make them taste better and at less than half the cost of what they are selling it at the store for now.

Items used:

• 1 15 oz can Green Beans
• 2 tablespoons Margarine
• 1 teaspoon Dill

Put the green beans, margarine and dill in the saucepan and turn the stove up to low-medium heat and heat up the green beans and melt the margarine (5-8 mins).

Easy Cucumber, Tomato and Onion Salad

A crisp, sweet salad that only takes about 10 minutes to prepare and very low in calories if artificial sweetner is used.

Thankfully we have had unseasonably warm weather where I live which left me yearning for summer, so I made I made what is traditionally more of a summer salad to brighten up lunch.

This is based on a recipe at Recipezaar:
http://www.recipezaar.com/Easy-Cucumber-Tomato-and-Onion-Salad-82461

• 1 1/2 cups chopped cucumbers
• 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 6 packets artifical sweetener (or 3 TBSP Sugar)
• 1/2 cup vinegar 
• 1/2 cup water 
• 1 teaspoon dried dill weed  

How you chop the cucumber and onion is a matter of preference; I usually cut lengthwise half, then each half in half horizontally.
 



Chop up cucumber












Chop up onion

Open up can of diced tomatoes, drain off excess liquid (I used Fiesta Mexican, which made it have a more hot and spicy flavor, but if you have never made anything like this before, you would probably want to just try plain diced tomatoes.

Combine cucumber, onion and tomatoes in large bowl

 In a separate bowl, add 6 packets of artificial sweetener (or you can use 3 TBSP of sugar)

 Add 1/2 cup water

Add 1/2 cup of vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)

 Add 1 tsp. of Dill

Mix water, vinegar and Dill together to make the dressing

 Pour the dressing over the cucumber mixture and toss until well coated, then refrigerate at least 2 hours (best if left to sit overnight).

Serve with at slotted spoon to drain excess liquid.

Dill Plant - Pruning and Drying

As I use dill in a lot of my cooking, I decided to buy a dill plant to save money. As I had never dealt with herbs before, I searched the web, but didn't find a lot of information so I ended up asking an expert at Allexperts. com, Leroy J. Wilton, who has grown herbs for over 25 years and below is a link to his response.

http://www.allexperts.com/user.cgi?m=6&catID=720&qID=4736650

He advised that regular dill sometimes can go to seed quickly, so cut 1/3 at a time off of the top.

What you don't use right away, you can dry out for storing by placing in paper bag with holes on sides, then hang in an airy area & shake for a couple of minutes twice weekly.

I used a clothespin to hold the dill to the top of the bag, but you could also use a chip clip.

When it is completely dried out shake out the dill out of the bag onto a plate and take out the larger stems, then put the dill in a glass container and store out of direct sunlight.

Items needed:

• Dill plant
• Garden shears or heavy duty scissors or kitchen shears
• Small paper bag (I used a brown paper lunch bag)
• Clothespin(s) or chip clip
• Glass container

Dilled Corn

This is one my family's favorite vegetable side dishes and it is very quick, easy and simple to make with only three ingredients.

What you will need:

• 1 can of corn (approx 15 oz can)
• 2 TBSP of margarine (I prefer I Can't Believe It Is Not Butter Mediterranean Blend)
• 1 TBSP Dill
• Saucepan
• Measuring spoon
• Spoon to stir ingredients
• Serving bowl

Put the corn, margarin and dill in the saucepan and turn the stove up to low-medium heat and heat up the corn and melt the margarine (5-8 mins).

Remove from heat, pour into a serving bowl and serve.

GARLIC BREAD

I made this yesterday to go with the Dieci Formaggi pasta dish yesterday and my son said it was the best garlic bread he has ever had.

I used leftover wheat rolls and buns as the base. I used 1 tsp of minced garlic from a jar, combined that with 3 TBSP of margarine and 1 tsp. of dill and melted it in the microwave for 30 seconds then spread the mixture on the pieces of bread then sprinkled Romano cheese on top of the bread.