Cucumber Dill Dressing

During cucumber season in July, everything cucumber was on sale. I made some batches of my microwave sweet pickles and tried to look for something new as well.

Meredith wanted me to change the salad dressing up for a bit - getting bored with some of my standards), and Judee's Cucumber Dill Dressing recipe was perfect timing. I didn't stumble across Judee's recipe by accident - I follow her blog through my news reader so I get her most recent updates, along with my other favourite food bloggers, including Food Floozie, Hungry Jenny, Gluten Free Edmonton, Maroc Mama and many others.

Anyway, Judee's recipes are always great - never too complicated, and this was no exception. A simple combination of ingredients for an excellent flavour. I ended up using dried dill instead of fresh, and I added a little salt and pepper (optional in her recipe). This dressing was perfect for a small lunch salad - with lots of leftover dressing for the next couple of days.

Cucumber Dill Dressing

1/4 cup cucumber, peeled and diced
5-7 fresh mint leaves
1 tsp (generous), dried dill
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 cup Greek yoghurt
pinch salt
1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1. Combine all ingredients using an immersion blender.

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Beer Cocktails from Miller and Corona

Recently, my friends at Miller told me about a new trend in beer: beer cocktails. Since I've already used beer in cooking, I was more than willing to give beer in cocktails a try, and I'm so glad I did!

The beer arrived just in time for the Victoria Day long weekend and we tried out the cocktails at a small family barbecue. My mother-in-law had also recently heard of beer being used in cocktails and was excited to give them a try herself.

We tried the margarita first, after finishing a big load of yard work. I changed the recipe slightly from the original (for lack of ingredients), and the substitutions worked really well. It had a nice kick with the habanero sauce. Meredith was super-impressed, as I've never really mixed my own drinks before. She joked that when I was in university, I used my blender for cooking, while she used hers for mixing drinks.

We'll definitely be making these again for friends. Both drinks were hits and I'll be sure to pass the recipes on to friends.

Note about the simple syrup used in both recipes: you can make your own simple syrup by bringing one part water and two parts sugar to a boil. Remember to let it cool before adding it to your drink.

Coastal Surf Margarita

1 cup ice
1 oz tequila
1 oz lime juice
1 oz orange juice
1 oz simple syrup
splash habanero sauce
3 oz Corona Extra

1. Combine ice, tequila, lime juice, orange juice, syrup and habanero sauce in a blender until mixture is slushy.
2. Transfer to a glass and stir in beer.

The mojito was second - I mixed them up before I started up the barbecue. I ended up using a little more syrup than the original recipe, but that's just my preference. It also turned out much better than anticipated, and I'm quite happy about it.
1
Thanks so much, Miller and Corona

The mojito was the drink my mother-in-law was excited about trying and it met her approval as well (without the extra syrup).

Mojito Chill

1 lime, cut into eight wedges
24 mint leaves
2 oz simple syrup
ice
1 bottle Miller Chill

1. Divide lime, mint and syrup between two highball glasses.
2. Muddle and fill glass with ice.
3. Top with Miller Chill.

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Hummus with Meat (hummus bi-lahm)

Whenever my brother-in-law comes to town, we frequently end up eating middle-Eastern food, and his most recent trip was no exception.

The very first time I met him, I had just returned from Israel determined to duplicate the amazing felafel I had near the Western wall. It was served wrapped in a huge piece of thin, round flatbread, contained every salad imaginable (eggplant salad, hummus, moroccan carrots, beet salad, etc., etc.) and it had French fries in it. It was unbelievable. Our apartment smelled like felafel for a week after all of the deep-frying.

The next time, we took him to our favourite Israeli-Mediterranean restaurant, Me Va Me, where Meredith and I had one of our first few dates. On that date, Meredith and I shared a large salad plate (with various Mediterranean salads) and had a couple of pints - more than enough for two people. After finishing, Meredith asked me "why doesn't all baba ghannouj taste like that?" to which I answered, "It does. You just haven't been eating baba ghannouj. You've been eating generic grocery store fake baba ghannouj. If it was real, it wouldn't have mayonnaise in it!" She hasn't eaten the fake stuff since.

Me Va Me's Shawarama is also top notch, as is their felafel, an inexpensive add-on to a salad plate if you're not going to indulge in shawarama or their excellent grilled fish.

Anyway, for this most recent visit, it was actually a coincidence that I was making this particular dish, as I didn't know he was coming at the time. We weren't expecting to see him until Thanksgiving. I had just been reading about different ways to serve hummus when I came across a few article that mentioned serving it with meat, and I realized that I could have a complete meal quite quickly.

One of my tricks when working with ground meat is to use a potato masher in the pan to evenly break-apart the meat.

Hummus with Meat (hummus bi-lahm)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground sumac
500g ground chicken, beef, or lamb
salt and pepper, to taste
1 batch of hummus, already prepared
2-3 tbsp raisins
toasted pine nuts (not pictured above)
1 tomato, sliced chopped

1. Heat oil in pan on medium and saute the onion until translucent.
2. Add the cinnamon, turmeric, coriander, cumin garam masala and sumac, and stir for 1 minute.
3. Add the ground chicken, using a potato masher to gently break up any large pieces as the meat cooks.
4. When the chicken is nearly done, but some liquid still remains at the bottom of the pan, stir in the raisins.
5. Continue to stir until chicken is done and most of the liquid has evaporated.
6. To serve, spread the hummus on a broad platter or shallow bowl. Top with the chicken mixture and garnish with sliced tomatoes and toasted pine nuts.

Serve with warm pita.

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Israeli Salad

For a family gathering, I decided to make some shawarama and salads. Not wanting to make a regular lettuce salad, and not wanting to chop up a ton of parsley for tabouli, I decided to make an Israeli salad.

Now I must admit, this is a slight variation on the traditional Israeli salad that only contains cucumber and tomatoes, however, the variations are still within the boundaries of acceptable salad. The big difference, however, is in the preparation. Apparently, it's a big contest as to who can chop their vegetables smaller. The smaller the vegetables, the more fancy-pants the salad. I just didn't have the time or the will to to that, so mine is in more reasonable chunks. I'm not going to get worked up about it.

Israeli Salad

2 cucumbers, seeded and diced
2 red peppers, seeded and diced
3 medium-large tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 vidalia onion, diced
2-4 tbsp mint, chopped
1 tsp sumac (substitute ½ tsp salt if not available)
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup olive oil
3 tbsp lemon juice

1. combine all ingredients and toss

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Dark Chocolate Mousse

With friends over for dinner a couple nights in a row and family birthdays on the horizon, Meredith was pretty busy with desserts. So busy, that one evening I had to make dessert (and I don't make dessert). I ended up turning some leftover rice into rice pudding and calling it a night!

We have a bumper crop of mint leaves in a garden along the side of the house. One evening, Meredith wanted to use a bit of it in dessert, so she adapted a Martha Stewart recipe and prettied it up. Meredith has never made mousse before, so it was an experience to watch. She had to improvise with the double-boiler as we didn't have one. I forgot to take a picture of her using a stainless-steel salad bowl on top of a pot of boiling water, but it worked!

Dark Chocolate Mousse

• 4 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup sugar
• pinch of salt
• 2 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup raspberries
• 2 tbsp fresh mint leaves

1. In a double boiler, whisk yolks, sugar, and salt for 2-3 minutes, until sugar dissolves and mixture is warm.
2. Remove mixture from heat and immediately whisk in chopped chocolate until melted. Add cocoa powder and continue to whisk until smooth.
3. Let mixture cool to room temperature. In the meantime, using a standing mixer, whip cream until soft peaks form.
4. Whisk half of whipped cream into chocolate mixture. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in remaining whipped cream. Transfer to a serving dish, cover with paper towel and then plastic wrap (or lid) and into the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours.
5. Before serving, removed from fridge and let stand for 15 minutes. Garnish with 1/2 cup raspberries and mint leaves.

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Meatball (Kefta) Tajine

meatballs

• 1/2 kilo ground lamb and/or chicken
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 cup onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• salt to taste
• 3 tbsp olive oil

Sauce

• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, seeds removed and chopped
• 1 small bunch parsley, chopped
• 1 small bunch cilantro, chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
• 1 can tomatoes, drained and chopped
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• pinch saffron, steeped in 1 oz hot water
• 1/2 lemon, thinly sliced
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp salt

1. Combine the ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl and roll into1-inch balls.
2. In a dutch oven (or tajine), heat 2 tbsp oil on medium, brown the meatballs in batches and set aside (reserve oil).
3. Add onion, garlic and green pepper and saute until onion is translucent (about 10 minutes).
4. Reduce to medium-low. Add parsley, tomatoes, cumin, black pepper, cinnamon, saffron, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and salt, cover and let simmer for 30 minutes for the sauce to thicken.
5. Add cilantro and meatballs and simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes.
6. Serve on saffron-infused cous-cous or rice (for gluten-free).

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