Cold English Cucumber Soup

Quick & easy summer soup recipe! This cold soup is perfect for those summer days when it's too hot for the oven. This soup is delicious, full of flavor, and refreshing. It's like a taste of summertime...

Ingredients:

4 cups low-fat plain yogurt                                     

1 cup light sour cream                   

1 English cucumber, ends trimmed off & cut into 2" chunks

2 cloves garlic, peeled

1/2 tsp dill weed 

1/2-1 tsp Kosher salt

Zap everything in blender until smooth. Chill for a couple of hours. Stir again before serving. 

Makes ~ 6 cups.

No-Bake Cookies with Peanut Butter, Oats & Chocolate

Sweet tooth? Too hot for the oven? Try these creamy and chewy no-bake cookies. They are easy to make and before you know it, a big batch of these cookies will be sitting on your table. Extra bonus--you'll only need to use one pan. 

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup milk

2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups old-fashioned oats

Add sugar, butter, milk, and cocoa to a medium saucepan. Heat the mixture to boiling and let boil for one minute, stirring often so it doesn't burn. Remove pan from heat. 

Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla, mixing well. Add the oats and mix thoroughly. 

Place by tablespoon (for small) on parchment paper and let set for a couple of hours. Store in an airtight container. You can freeze any leftovers.

Makes about 48 small or 24 large cookies. 

Fresh Blackberry Crisp

 

It's summertime and fresh berries are everywhere. This recipe is easy and can be whipped up quickly. Enjoy your food!

Ingredients:

3 cups fresh blackberries 
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp water

1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 cup butter

Preheat oven to 375. Pour blackberries into a buttered 

8" x 8" baking pan.

In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients except the butter. Sprinkle mixture over the berries. Cut and drop small pieces of butter across the top. 

Bake at 375 until filling is bubbly, 20-25 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes. This crunchy, oaty, crisp goes great with vanilla frozen yogurt.

Sweet & Sour Summer Veggie Salad

There are many great things about this delicious and colorful summer veggie salad. There's the crunch factor; store up to two months in the fridge; easy to make; healthy; and, it uses up a lot of veggies if you're on overload. The spices and veggies can be switched up to suit your own tastes. 

1 English cucumber

1 large red bell pepper

1 large yellow bell pepper

1 large red onion

1 tbsp Kosher salt

2 cups white vinegar

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 tsp dill weed

1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper

2 handfuls of ice

Thinly slice all of the veggies and put them in a medium bowl. Toss veggies with the salt. Bring the vinegar, sugar, dill, and cayenne to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove the pan from heat and add two handfuls of ice. Put the veggies in a wide mouth 2 quart jar or whatever you have around that will work. Pour the vinegar mixture over the veggies. Store in the fridge. You're done!

Traditional Pine Nut Pesto

It's time to harvest that big beautiful basil in your garden! I'm growing 5 big pots this year. It takes a lot of basil to make a small amount of pesto but it's well worth it. 

This traditional pesto recipe uses fresh basil and pine nuts. You can switch out the basil for cilantro or spinach, and use walnuts instead of pine nuts. Walnuts typically cost less than pine nuts.

Pesto freezes well and can be mixed with pasta or vegetables, spread on toasted bread, or used as a pizza sauce.

Ingredients:

4 cloves garlic, peeled (or as much as you want)

1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

2 cups basil leaves, packed

1/3 cup pine nuts

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4-1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Blend the garlic and salt in a food processor. Add the basil and pine nuts and blend well. Add the cheese and blend again. Remove lid, scrape inside of the bowl, cover, and add the olive oil through the top of the food processor lid. Blend until all 

ingredients are thoroughly combined and the pesto 

is smooth. 

Store in the fridge in an airtight container or freeze.