Creamy Cucumber Salad

Ahh the lovely cucumber...good for dipping and on greens salads! If you want to eat it plain then this is one of our household favorites! 

I rarely make the time to do this but one trick I heard was to cut the cuc's beforehand, add salt and let sit so most of the water drains out. This makes for a thicker and longer lasting creamy salad. 

Creamy Cucumber Salad (adapted from Better Homes and Gardens, New Cook Book)

2 medium cucumbers (peeled or not both are wonderful)
¼ sweet onion finely chopped (I like to sauté a little first)
½ cup greek yogurt
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
6 drops liquid stevia (lemon flavor is great!)
Salt and pepper to taste




Mix onions, yogurt, vinegar and stevia well.  Add sliced cucumbers and mix well. Salt and pepper to taste. 

Wonderful Crustless Quiche: Frittata

Crustless Quiche: OR Frittata!!

Let's face it, these days carbs are out and protein is in! Frittata is just like quiche but without the crust. This is nice for many reasons including you don't have to make a crust or buy a hydrogenated oil filled one from the store. Most likely you have all these ingredients right in your refrigerator. 

Frittata Recipe:
6 eggs
3/4 cup liquid, such as milk, almond milk, broth
3/4 veggie filling (such as onions, peppers, mushrooms or what ever you have on hand)
1 tablespoon parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper 
2  teaspoons butter or olive oil or grape seed oil



Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease 10 1/2 inch round pan or 9 x 9 inch baking dish and set aside. 

In a skillet over a medium heat saute vegetables until tender and onions are translucent. 

Beat eggs, milk, cooked veggies, butter, salt, and pepper until well blended. Pour mixture into baking dish and sprinkle cheese. 

Bake 20 minutes or until set. There should be no visible liquid egg when it is done. 

Simplest Cucumber Salad =)

This is a quick, easy way to get in some green stuff along with your next meal or snack! Simplest Cucumber Salad is a little spin off of caprese salad. Simple, yummy and quick....as I wish all meals could transpire. I sat down to eat this the other day after I let it sit on the counter for a few hours and boy was it delicious!! Eating room temperature vegetables can be so satisfying. We forget in our modern world that our veggies used to come right out of the garden. I can honestly say that a warm tomato and cucumber in the peak of the summer, straight from ground is unbelievable.

Simplest Cucumber Salad Recipe

4 mini cucumbers sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil 
Salt and pepper to taste (truffle salt is my fav with this....www.artisansalt.com)

Does this really require explanation? Thinly slice cucumbers, drizzle with olive oil then salt and pepper to taste. Simple, easy and tasty!!

Here are some fun facts about cucumbers:

Worlds Healthiest Foods Website: Cucumbers

I love how they crunch, 

Bretta

bretta.vemma.com

Baked Chard Chips

This recipe found on about a million other websites and cookbooks these days! This is one of two "green things" my 3 year old will eat! The other being seaweed snacks! These take a little effort to make, but the result is worth it. 

BAKED CHARD CHIPS RECIPE
A close friend of the kale chip, which is a great one as well.

I bunch of fresh chard
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt

Pre-heat the oven to 400 (375 convection). Wash chard thoroughly and dry. Cut away the thick stocks and place smaller pieces in a medium bowl. Pour olive oil over the chard and massage until the oil has soaked in.  Spread out flatly on metal baking pan and sprinkle with little salt (the leaves will shrink up so don’t get too crazy with the salt!).  Bake for 4-7 minutes depending on your oven. Keep a look out for slightly brown edges; these can get away from you easily and they go from great to garbage!!

Your Heirloom Pantry

Here are some items that I keep on hand and stocked for back up! You might be surprised by a few things you find on the list This IS NOT a list of EVERY pantry essential,  just the ones we use that might be uncommon to your regular grocery list.

o   Good Oils -

·      Olive Oil – Used daily! Salads, low heat cooking,

·      Coconut Oil - Actually a solid until you heat it up. Good for high heat and great flavor!

·      Grapeseed Oil - very good for high heat and no strong flavor. I use instead of potentially GMO canola oils.

o   
    Sea Salt – Lots of wonderful claims of health and minimally processed

o   
    Organic Chicken Broth – Get low sodium and a list of ingredients you can understand!

o   
    Make Your Own ‘box mixes’ for Cakes, Pancakes, and Waffles - More to come on this!

o   
    Fresh Seasonal Fruits and Veggies – Local weekly pick up delivery services from are wonderful for variety and reasonable prices. Look into Community Supported Agriculture in your area.

o   
    Dried Beans – Soak overnight or get the quick soak varity…..

o   
    Canned Organic Beans and Tomatoes  - If you can’t handle dried beans or just love your can opener!

o   
   Good Vinegars -

·      Quality Apple Cider Vinegar – Apparently the cure to every ailment known to mankind and it taste great!

·      Rice Vinegar 

·      Red and White Wine Vinegar – Save the plain vinegar for cleaning and washing!

o   Romano/Parmesan – Fantastic flavor allowing you to use less then a typical cheese

o   
    Honey – Local raw has many wonderful health claims!

o   
    Soy, Almond or Coconut Milk – Wonderful to mix it up in recipes and your gut.

o   
    Butter – Yes, real butter in moderation we believe is much better for you than “plastic” in a plastic tub!

o   
    Yogurt – Greek variety has lots of protein, acts like sour cream and is so good for you in countless ways.

o   
    Liquid Stevia – Wonderful sugar substitute that come from a real plant not manufacture in one!