Chilled Cucumber Soup

I love soup.  I love to make it.  I love to eat it.  In summer, I love a good, cold soup.  I used to copy a soup that I got at Byerly’s before I moved here.  My Lunds, awesome as it is, does not generally sell cold soups in summer.  I asked them, “Why not?”.  They told me that it doesn’t sell.  Then they promised that they would make some for me.  Then, I’ll have to buy it!  I will also have to beg my friends to buy it.  We’ll see how that goes.  

At the class I took, by Lucia’s, she made something similar.  This is inspired by each of them.  Again, you will only want to make as much as you will need for one or two meals, as the fresh ingredients make this “over the top” delicious.  Rttttteady?

Ingredients:

• 1 English Cucumber.  You can use a local cuke, but you will have to seed it first.  Local cucumbers are delicous this time of year.
• Kosher salt.
• 1/4 bunch Italian parsley, chopped.
• 1 clove garlic.
• 4-5 tbsp. olive oil.
• 1 cup yogurt.  I use Greek, Plain, not low fat.
• 1 1/2 buttermilk, cold.
• White pepper.
• Fresh herbs, for garnish.
• Lime juice, to taste (optional).
• 1/2 ripe avacado (optional).
• Fresh dill or other herb, for garnish.

Process:

1. Peel and chop the cucumber, all but about 1/2 cup.  Sprinkle with salt.  Place in a strainer and drain for one hour.  Pat dry. Place, all but the 1/2 cup or so in a blender.  Chop this in small squares (1/4-1/2” each).  Set that other 1/2 cup aside.  You’ll use that for serving.  
2. Parsley.  Discard stems.  Chop, as desired.  Set aside.
3. Garlic.  Peel.  Cut off tough end.  Add avocado, if using.  Add to blender. Blend these ingredients, but don’t go crazy.
4. In a large, cold, bowl, add blended items, parsley, olive oil, yogurt, buttermilk.  Mix.  You could also add some cream, if desired.  
5. In each serving bowl, some of the chopped cucumber, a ladle or two of the soup, and garnish with fresh herbs.  Add lime and pepper, to taste.
6. Garnish with other fresh herbs, cubed avacado, or a couple of slices of cucumber.

Be cool with this cool soup!

Satay Sauce

I have a relatively new love for curry.  I've not cared for it much in the past, likely because of the spice level that it is served with.  I always order "zero" spice on a scale of 1-4 also known as "Wisconsin Spice".  I took a class recently that was taught by the owner/operator of Sen Yai Sen lek, Big Noodle, Little Noodle.  This is consistently rated one of the best Thai restaurants in the Twin Cities.  It's a very cool place in NE Minneapolis, not far from "The U".  He has been at the restaurant every time I've been there and I enjoy that.  I've spent a lot of my career financing businesses like his and truly appreciate how his is a "labor of love".  He is also active in the community and talks lovingly of his wife and children.  Super sweet!  The class that I took was Spicy Thai Street Food.  Most of it was a little too hot for me, which is one of the reasons I love to cook.  I can adapt cool recipes to my own taste.  This is one example.  He sI served this as a Chicken Satay, which means that the chicken was marinated in a curry peanut sauce, then grilled, and served with more yummy sauce.  You can add spice by adding chopped thai chiles.  I did not add any when I made this at home.  Now, I keep a jar of this in the frig all the time.  I almost panicked when I thought that I lost this recipe.  Thus the motivation to share this with you.  

Ingredients:

• 4 tbsp. massaman curry paste.
• 2  cups coconut milk.
• 1/2 cup peanut butter.  I used creamy, Skippy brand.  I was surprised that he used this, so I didn't vear off, for a change.
• 3 tbsp. sugar
• 3 tbsp. fish sauce.
• 2 tbsp. tamarind juice.  This is available at Asian Grocery stores.  If you don't have it, no big deal.
• 
  

Process:

1. Heat 1/2 cup of the coconut milk, over medium heat, until the cream and oil begin to separate.
2. Mix curry and peanut butter and stir into cream.
3. Add the remaining coconut milk and stir.  
4. Reduce heat and add remaining ingredients, to taste.  

Easy ingredients to keep in the house.  It takes less than 5 minutes to make.  One dirty pan.  Can you beat that?  

As I said, I keep this in the frig. in a covered glass jar.  I used canning jars or a clean salsa jar for this kind of stuff.  I have topped scrambled eggs, veggies, and rice noodles, all together.  

I had a really nice, big, organic eggplant in the house.  I don't know what I spent on it, but it was the only one they had out at the co op.  I felt obligated to use it all.  I sliced some of the skin off and sliced it in small cubes (1/2 inch).  I roasted that in a cast iron pan.  I combined this with different veggies and scrambled eggs, topped with this sauce.  It was really great.  Joe said that his wife likes this on toast.  Idea?  I'm not a "chicken lover", but this is one thing I really like on chicken. My friend, David, asked for this recipe.  He said that his kids love this on chicken.  I hope you enjoy it, too.

Hearty Blueberry Pancakes

Hearty and Healthy Blueberry Pancakes (may actually be heart healthy, depending on the type of flour you use)!

Heat up cast iron pan, on med/low heat.

Sift together

• 1 1/2 cups flout (I used oat flour, but any kind is fine).
• 1/2 cup corn meal or corn muffin mix (optional).
• 1 tbsp. baking powder.
• 1 tsp. salt.
• 1 tsp. cinnamon.
• 1 tsp. white sugar.

Sift these ingredients together in a large bowl.  Make a well in the middle, by pushing dry ingredients off to the sides

In another bowl (medium sized), mix the following until uniform in consistency:

• 4 tbsp. butter, melted.
• 2 cups buttermilk (or other milk or yogurt/keifer).  You may need a little more if you use the con meal.
• 2 eggs.

Add wet ingredients to bowl with dry.  Mix, but not too much.  Lumps are okay here!  It seems funny, but it's true.  If the batter is too thick, add more milk.  If batter is too thin, add more flour.  

• Since I already have a smaller bowl dirty, I will move enough batter for 2-3 pancakes to the smaller bowl  Add fresh blueberries, if available. 

Frozen are my second choice.  Canned are my third.  I wouldn't use dried blueberries for this recipe.

You could add some chopped pecans and/or walnuts, if you wanted to be really fancy.

Mix the small bowl.  Cover the large bowl and save for later, if applicable.

Scoop pancakes, size to liking, in the hot pan.  I can tell you that smaller works better for this recipe.  Think about flipping with all of those blueberries and nuts...Notice, no additional oil/butter is needed in a well seasoned pan.  Check to see if pancakes will "release" from cast iron pan.  Food sticks at first, but comes lose when it's ready.  Don't be in too big of a hurry.  These pans are very forgiving.  Flip over.  This is a lot easier with smaller pancakes.  Cover the pan if they look like they may not be cooking on the inside.

When browned on both sides, plate them.  Top with powdered sugar.  No syrup is required!  

Natural Laundry Detergent Recipe-powdered.

I have been "on a mission" to make more of these types of products. I try to use "green" brands, but have generally found them to be expensive and less effective than the conventional products.  I've been using this for several months and am very happy with it. It's super easy to make, very inexpensive, and effective. Three ingredients:

1 cup borax *
1 cup washing soda, not baking soda **
1 bar of soap (nothing fancy)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, shred the bar of soap.  I used my clean cheese shredder.  Any good girl from WI has a good cheese shredder!
2. Add the borax.
3. Add the washing soda.
4. Mix thoroughly.
5. Put in a container and label as laundry detergent.

Use as little as 1 tbsp. Per load of wash. I use a little bit more for a large load of wash. Easy peasy!

* Borax is really easy to find. It's at Walmart or Target with laundry supplies.

** Washing soda.  Some Ace Hardware stores carry this. I couldn't find this locally.  I fished around online to check.  Ultimately, I bought mine on line at Arm & Hammer.com. It was $2/box.

I used a bar of Peppermint Castile Soap. I found this at Trader Joes. I plan to use a different kind next time...just for fun.  Lavender?

I'm working on a natural dishwasing detergent, as well.  I'll keep you posted.