a little of each

A family's cookbook

Cucumber and Melon Salad May 20, 2013

Filed under: Fruits and Vegetables,Soups and Salads — alittlemoreofeach @ 9:34 am
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In 2012, we joined a local organic Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm in Tampa.  Every other week, we’d pick up bags of wonderfully fresh vegetables, some of which I’d never heard of before.  Tatsoi? Dino Kale? Hakurei turnips?

Needless to say, our palettes expanded, and sometimes I struggled to find ways to use our produce.  Like the radishes.  One or two, I know how to handle (chop up in a salad – easy enough!), but eight? Ten? Thankfully, I found two different cold salad recipes through Pinterest that allowed me to use the radishes in really delicious ways.  This one is based on a Weight Watchers recipe and is such a wonderful and refreshing summer dish.  Tangy citrus, fragrant mint, sweet melon, crisp and slightly spicy radishes all combine into a beautiful and healthy salad.  While the original recipe calls for the veggies and melon to be sliced on a mandolin, I chose to dice the cucumbers and melon and thinly slice the radishes.  Scooping the melon with a baller would also work.  The recipe also calls for honeydew, and as you can see in the photo I sometimes use cantaloupe.  They are equally delicious.

melon salad

Sometimes I deconstruct the salad for little palettes that aren’t keen on radishes or mint yet. They inhale the melon and cucumber.

 

Ingredients

1 medium English cucumber

6-8 fresh radishes

1/2 medium honeydew melon

1/2 cups mint leaves, julienned

1/4 cup fresh lemon or lime juice

1 Tbl sugar

 

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and chill for at least two hours before serving.

 

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Shrimp Bites May 15, 2013

Filed under: Appetizers — alittlemoreofeach @ 3:11 pm
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These tasty treats will fly off the plate as quickly as you can make them.

Ingredients
1.5 pounds of shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cucumbers
2 avocados
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 a lemon
salt and pepper

Directions

To do ahead of time:
Cook shrimp according to the Fish Taco recipe. Allow to cool.

To do just before serving:
Peel and slice the cucumbers to 1/8″ pieces. Peel and mash the avocados. Add 2 crushed garlic cloves, a little salt and pepper and the juice of half a lemon. Stir. Line a serving dish with the cucumber slices. Using two spoons, scoop and apply 1/2 tsp of avocado mixture to each cucumber slice.  Place 1 shrimp (a whole shrimp if medium sized and half a shrimp if large) on top of the avocado mixture.  Place a small dollop of Crema sauce recipe on top of the shrimp.

 

Cucumber Salad March 29, 2013

Filed under: Fruits and Vegetables — alittlemoreofeach @ 3:01 pm
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Ingredients

4 cucumbers, peeled and sliced thinly

1 onion, peeled and sliced thinly

¾ cup sugar

½ cup water

1 cup white or cider vinegar

½ Tbl dried dill

 

Directions

Mix onion and cucumber together and set aside. Bring to a boil the sugar, water, white vinegar and dill. Pour over the cucumbers and onions and chill.

 

Variation:  No onions! -Jennifer, Katie, Ken

 

Tzatziki December 27, 2012

Filed under: Appetizers — alittlemoreofeach @ 1:16 pm
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Ingredients

  • 32 oz container plain yogurt (strained to yield 1 ½ cups)
  • 1 large cucumber, peeled and grated
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed (more, if you’re a Freitag)
  • 1 ½ Tbl fresh dill, chopped,
  • 3 Tbl extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 ½ Tbl red wine vinegar
  • salt to taste

Instructions

You may substitute ¾ cup unstrained plain yogurt and ¾ cup sour cream. To strain the yogurt, line a sieve with three or four paper towels. Place the yogurt in the sieve, and the sieve on top of a bowl. Put it in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. Using paper towels to absorb the liquid, squeeze excess water from cucumber. Add to yogurt mixture. Mix in remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Serve with fresh Greek bread, warm pita or over grilled chicken.

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Cucumber and Melon Salad December 24, 2012

Filed under: Sides,Soups and Salads — alittlemoreofeach @ 10:31 am
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Mint leaves.

Mint leaves. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients (serves 8)

  • 1 medium English cucumber(s), thinly sliced
  • 1 1/2 cup(s) fresh radish(es), thinly sliced
  • 1/4 medium honeydew melon, cut into thin slices
  • 1/2 cup(s) mint leaves, fresh, cut into thin ribbons
  • 1/4 cup(s) fresh lemon juice
  • 1 Tbsp sugar

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl; chill for at least 2 hours.

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