Cucumber Sandwiches with Feta and Champagne Cucumber Salad

We all say this but "Where did summer go?"!  I hope you don't mind me holding on just a bit.

It's always a shock when it's Labor Day and then the first day of Fall arrives. Granted, I missed a few weeks of summer enjoyment due to my injury, but I always got outside to inspect my garden and pick a tomato, cucumber or flower here and there, even with one hand :) Here in SE Wisconsin, we have been having gorgeous September weather.  It has been in the 80s this week, and reached 89F on Monday.

I'm still picking 2 or more cukes a day, which is down from 4-5 a day earlier this month. I've been blessed with a bumper crop from my small planting area. I planted seeds of a new variety this year that I ordered from Burpee called "Iznik Hybrid".  It's been a wonderful producer with delicious, thin-skinned cucumbers. I trained the vines to grow up a fence with velcro plant ties.

I've used cucumbers for my favorite Refrigerator Pickles and also in umpteen salads but I really needed more ways to use them so they wouldn't go to waste.  I'd like to bid farewell to summer with these recipes using cucumbers. 

Would you believe I had never made a cucumber sandwich?  I've eaten them at brunches and luncheons and always enjoyed them so I don't know what took me so long.  Slow learner? I prefer to point to my delicious and bountiful cucumber crop being the inspiration. My personal twist on the traditional recipe was adding a little crumbled feta to the cream cheese base. I think I would have preferred a thin-sliced whole wheat bread but wanted to stick with the traditional thin-sliced white for my first attempt to let the flavor of the filling shine.

Have you ever had cucumber water?  They say that cucumber water is a wonderful detoxifier and we all know that drinking water is good for you.  It's a simple process. Add cucumber slices to a pitcher of water and refrigerate. I made 'stripes' in the cucumber skin by running a dinner fork along the length of the cucumbers from top to bottom all around before slicing. The longer you allow the cucumber slices to 'marinate' in the water the better it tastes. Four hours would be optimal. You could also add a few lemon slices.  It's very refreshing!

Next, is a Champagne Cucumber salad that I really enjoyed. Another recipe I had never tried before, preferring to go with the simple sugar and vinegar preparation of my refrigerator pickles. There are many great recipes to be found on the Net.  The one I liked the best was adapted from Ina's which used of a splash of Champagne vinegar to which I added a little sugar for balance. The Champagne vinegar adds a delicious, fruity flavor to the cucumbers.  I love Champagne vinegar in salad dressings!

If you are faced with more cucumbers than you know what to do with, there is also a way to preserve cucumbers by making freezer pickles which will last in the freezer for up to a year.

Did you know that cucumbers are a valuable source of Vitamin K which is essential for bone health? Cucumbers also contain high levels of nutrients known as cucurbitacins and lignans, which early research indicates may have cancer fighting properties. Way to go, Cucumbers!

Cucumber Sandwiches with Feta

Printable Recipe

Serves 2 as a luncheon course (makes 4 small sandwiches cut into 16 wedges)

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 ounce Greek feta cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 cup of finely diced cucumber (I used 3 small garden cucumbers)
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried dill
1 teaspoon fresh dill, snipped, for garnish
8 slices thin white sandwich bread, such as Pepperidge Farm

Slice cucumbers and place in a colander or strainer fitted over a bowl. Sprinkle the cucumber slices with salt and toss. Allow to drain for about 15-30 minutes, tossing occasionally (this will remove much of the water in the cucumbers so the spread will not become soggy). Turn out the cucumber slices onto a layer of paper toweling and pat dry. Dice cucumbers finely with a chef's knife.

While cucumbers are draining, mix together the cream cheese, feta and mayonnaise in a medium bowl. Blend thoroughly with a fork or use a hand mixer to blend. Add the minced garlic, pepper, dried dill, and diced cucumbers. (I would not add any additional salt as the cucumbers will have retained salt from the draining step.) Spread on 4 slices of sandwich bread to desired thickness and top with remaining 4 slices of bread. Cut the crusts off of the sandwiches and cut each sandwich into quarters diagonally, making 4 triangles each. Arrange triangles on serving plates or platter with points facing up and sprinkle with snipped fresh dill and serve.

Champagne Cucumber Salad

Printable Recipe

Serves 1-2

3-4 small garden cucumbers, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon red onion, thinly sliced and quartered
1/2 (4 ounces) sour cream
1 tablespoons champagne vinegar
1 teaspoon dried dill or 1 tablespoon freshly chopped dill
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Place the sliced cucumbers into a colander or strainer and place over a bowl. Sprinkle with salt, toss and allow to drain for about 30 minutes, tossing occasionally. This will remove much of the water content of the cucumbers so the salad will not become watery. Turn the drained cucumbers out onto a layer of paper toweling and pat dry.

Add the cucumbers and remaining ingredients to a medium bowl. (I would not add any additional salt as the cucumbers will have retained salt from the draining process.) Toss well, cover and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving (desirable but not necessary).

Garnish with freshly snipped fresh dill, if desired.

Loosely adapted from Ina Garten and Food Network

Cherry Tomato and Cucumber Salad

This salad is so simple.  Straight from my garden where cherry tomatoes are ripening and tiny pickling cucumbers are finally starting to take off.  It's a favorite of mine at this time of year.  If you're not growing your own then a trip to the farmers' market is always fun!  I love walking up and down the aisles for local produce this time of year. 

The dressing is made with a few things I keep on hand.

This small jar of dried herbs and coarse sea salt is something I always have handy for making seasoned olive oil for dipping crusty French bread.  My grandsons love dipping their bread and they recently discovered that a grilled cheese tastes great dipped into the seasoned olive oil :)  The herb blend is simply equal parts dried basil and oregano with a good pinch of dried red pepper flakes and an extra big pinch of coarse sea salt.  Shake it up, put in a shallow dish and add extra-virgin olive oil.  Dip away!

I found it also makes a great dressing for fresh tomatoes. I just add a couple shakes of the herb blend, drizzle the salad with olive oil and add a tiny splash of good red wine vinegar.  Today, I added a salsa pepper that I am also growing and snipped some fresh basil over the top.  A little grind of black pepper. Toss. Eat. Enjoy.

Add a slice of baguette dipped in the seasoned olive oil - lunch is served! Even better eaten outdoors enjoying the late summer view.

This is more of a method than an actual recipe - feel free to experiment!

Cherry Tomato and Cucumber Salad with Herb Dressing

Printable Recipe Seasoned Herb Blend (to use as a dressing for tomatoes and cucumbers or to mix with olive oil for bread dipping) 1/4 cup dried California basil 1/4 cup dried Turkish oregano 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes 1-1/2 tablespoons coarse sea salt Put everything into a small jar and shake until blended together. To make seasoned olive oil for bread dipping, for one person place about 1 teaspoon in a small, shallow dish and cover with olive oil. To make the Cherry Tomato and Cucumber Salad: Cherry Tomatoes, cut in halves or quarters Small cucumbers or pickling cucumbers, sliced Sweet peppers or salsa peppers, diced (optional) Add as many tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers as you would like to serve each person. Season with the herb blend (about 1-2 teaspoons per person). Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and add a small splash of red wine vinegar. Add freshly ground pepper to taste and toss. Add freshly chopped basil, if desired.

Wheat Berry and Feta Salad

Here is a delicious and healthy salad you might consider for your July 4th festivities, whether you are entertaining or being entertained and would like to bring something to share. I made a few changes to the original recipe based on what I had on hand and added a few extra herbs for flavor. I can't believe the original recipe is from 1993.  I didn't even know what a wheat berry was then!  Kudos to Gourmet for being at the forefront of a culinary trend that now includes many varieties of healthy whole grains.

Not only do they taste great, wheat berries are high in fiber and vitamins also. If you've never had wheat berries. they are a wonderfully crunchy/chewy and nutty grain that is boiled first in salted water for about 1 hour.  Some recipes say to soak them for faster cooking but I haven't found that necessary.  1/2 cup of dried wheat berries will yield about 1 cup of cooked wheat berries.

This summery salad is a wonderful way to use your garden herbs and cherry tomatoes if you grow them or buy them fresh at the farmers' market.  We enjoyed the salad on a bed of greens but the salad is delicious on its own as a side to any grilled meat at a BBQ or picnic. Lots of flavors and textures! This salad is very adaptable so add what you like. 

This year, in addition to many herbs, I am experimenting with even more vegetables in containers on my patio, such as bush cucumbers, 'Little Finger' eggplant and two varieties of squash, plus a few varieties of tomatoes. 

I hope you all enjoy a safe and happy Fourth of July if you are celebrating!  Here is a little Red, White and Blue for you from my garden...

Wheat Berry and Feta Salad

Adapted from Gourmet/Epicurious Printable Recipe Yield: Serves 6 2 cups cooked wheat, spelt, or rye berries (I used Bob's Red Mill Brand) 1 cup diced Feta cheese (I like Feta in water or good, dry Greek Feta) 1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions 1/2 cup diced seedless cucumber 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper 1/3 cup mixed minced fresh herbs such as parsley, mint, basil, oregano 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered I also used about a cup of crisp-tender cooked green beans, cut into pieces

Fresh greens for serving (optional)

Dressing Ingredients:

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 whole lemon)
1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 garlic clove, minced
Red pepper flakes to taste, about 1/4-1/2 teaspoon
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper, to taste

First, cook the wheat berries in a saucepan of boiling, salted water for about 1 hour, or until they are tender but still slightly crunchy. (See package directions). Drain and set aside to cool.

Prepare the dressing by placing everything except the olive oil in a small bowl.  Slowing whisk in the olive oil to emulsify and adjust seasonings to taste. 

In a large bowl, stir together the wheat berries, Feta, onion, cucumber, red pepper, tomatoes and minced herb.  Toss with the dressing until coated and taste.  Add more dressing if desired.  

Refrigerator Pickles

I have eaten these pickles for more years than I can remember! Refrigerator pickles bring back memories of my mother and my parent's garden where they grew cucumbers, beets, peas, beans, tomatoes, potatoes and squash in their enormous back yard garden. It was my own personal farmer's market.

My mother used to love to make these pickles and I loved to eat them. Perhaps your mother made them too as I'm sure this recipe is ages old.

It's a simple sweet and sour pickle made without cooking that will last 2-3 months in the refrigerator. I keep adding freshly cut cucumbers to the jar as they ripen on the vine. I've already had to go to a larger jar now that the cucumbers are becoming more plentiful but these were my first pride and joys.

I love watching the blossoms turn into teeny-tiny cucumbers and watching them grow every day, sometimes seemingly overnight. I grew these space-saving cucumbers from seed and I'm training them to grow up our fence. The farmers' markets are full of cucumbers right now for you to try this simple recipe - no canning equipment required!

Shop my favorite refrigerator pickle jars HERE. (Affiliate Link) 

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Refrigerator Pickles

~from Savoring Time in the Kitchen's Mom
Printable Recipe

Makes about 6 Cups

1 cup white vinegar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1-2 teaspoons celery seed (I use 2)
1 teaspoon salt

3 cups sliced cucumber
3 small onions, thinly sliced

Place sliced cucumber and onions in a large container or bowl. In a separate bowl, stir vinegar, sugar, water and salt together until dissolved. Add celery seed. Pour mixture over cucumber and onions and refrigerate.

**Many have asked when these can be eaten.  I sometimes nibble on them the same day but they taste best in 1-2 days in my opinion.  

Keeps for 2-3 months.

Serbian Salad

We are very fortunate to have a wonderful variety of ethnic restaurants in the Milwaukee area. There are high-end French, Italian and Continental cuisine restaurants along with many small and delightful ethnic restaurants that include Indian, Mexican, Cuban, Brazilian, German, Mediterranean, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Thai and Cajun. One of our favorites is a Serbian restaurant called Three Brothers. The grape leaf sarma and spinach burek are wonderful along with many other authentic Serbian dishes. One of our favorite things to order while we wait for our entrees is the Serbian salad.

I was able to recreate this wonderful salad by doing to online research. When fresh, garden or farmers' market tomatoes, cucumbers and in peppers are in season tastes wonderful! But don't let the season stop you - vine on tomatoes from the grocery store are okay.  I've made this salad three or four times in the past couple of weeks and my husband and I both love it. 

Serbian Salad
Adapted from Here and Here
Printable Recipe

Note - Dressing should be made the day before, if possible. If you can't make it the day before, substitute minced garlic rather than quartered garlic cloves.

Dressing

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup good red wine vinegar (I used a good Chianti red wine vinegar)
4 garlic cloves quartered
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon fresh basil, chopped (or substitute 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme,
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
(You can use all fresh herbs in the summer if you have them growing in your garden - just increase the amounts by half for fresh herbs).

Salad

6 tomatoes, cut into large dice
1 red pepper, cut into large dice
3 green onions, chopped
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into large dice
2-3 radishes, thinly sliced (optional)
1-2 heads or hearts of Romaine Lettuce, washed, chopped and chilled

Crumbled good quality feta cheese

Make dressing and refrigerate overnight. Before tossing salad, discard garlic. Combine tomatoes, peppers, onions and cucumber with enough dressing to taste.

In a large platter or bowl, place the chilled romaine lettuce and top with the tomato mixture.

Top with feta cheese and addition chopped green onion for garnish.

Cucumber-Avocado Soup with Spicy Shrimp and Sauce

Last night, we had one of our gourmet group gatherings.  Our assigned recipe to bring was this delicious, chilled soup.  I needed to make a couple of  'tweaks' to the recipe as I found the soup too thick and just a bit  bland.  With just a couple of adjustments it turned out wonderful and got rave reviews at dinner.

The star of the show was the spicy shrimp and shrimp sauce which is probably the most time-consuming part of the recipe. Luckily, it can be made the day before. Even the soup can be made ahead which makes this a wonderful recipe if you have a busy day.

You need to buy shell-on shrimp in order to make the shrimp sauce as the shrimp shells are used to make a flavorful shrimp reduction.

The drizzle of sauce around the shrimp flavor the cool cucumber avocado soup beautifully. It a wonderful contrast of hot and cold, spicy and mellow.

I know Mother's Day is celebrated at different times in different parts of the world but here are a few of my spring flowers to wish the mothers of the world a joyous day. Happy Mother's Day!

Cucumber-Avocado Soup with Spicy Shrimp Sauce
Adapted from Food & Wine
Printable Recipe

My Notes: When I tasted the soup after preparing the recipe as written, I found it a little bland and far too thick so I added the chicken broth to thin the soup (you could use vegetable stock) and added the Tabasco to 'brighten' the flavor. I made the soup and shrimp sauce the day before and sauteed the shrimp just before serving.

1 large European cucumber, seeded and coarsely chopped
2 Hass avocados—pitted, peeled and quartered
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
8 oz chicken broth or stock
Several good dashes of Tabasco
Kosher salt

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined, shells reserved
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 small carrot, thinly sliced crosswise
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon tomato paste
2 cups water
1 tablespoon honey

Freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
6 mint leaves, chopped

In a blender, combine the cucumber, avocados, buttermilk, vinegar, sugar, 1/2 tablespoon of the lime juice and a pinch of salt. Blend until smooth. Strain the soup through a fine sieve and refrigerate until chilled, about 40 minutes. (I used a food processor and got a good puree so didn't need to strain). Add enough chicken or vegetable broth to obtain the desired consistency and flavor with a few splashes of Tabasco. Taste and adjust seasonings.

In a large saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the shrimp shells, garlic, shallot and carrot and cook over moderate heat, stirring until the shells are lightly browned, and the vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes. Add the peppercorns, coriander seeds, crushed red pepper and cumin seeds and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the water, honey and remaining 1 tablespoon of lime juice and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderate heat until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 15 minutes. Strain the shrimp sauce into a heatproof bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.

In a medium skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil until shimmering. Add the shrimp, season with salt and pepper and cook over high heat for 1 minute. Turn the shrimp, add the shrimp sauce and simmer just until the shrimp are cooked through, about 2 minutes. Swirl in the butter.

Ladle the soup in soup bowls, spoon the hot shrimp into the middle and drizzle the shrimp sauce on top. Sprinkle with the chopped mint and serve.

Make Ahead The cucumber soup and shrimp sauce can be refrigerated overnight separately. Reheat the shrimp sauce gently before using. If you are short on time, the cucumber-avocado soup is delicious on its own. Just follow the recipe through step 1, then serve with a drizzle of olive oil and chopped mint.