This summer’s weather has kept me mostly indoors. First, it was cold and rainy (for an entire month straight, Don’t get me started.) and I stayed inside to keep warm and dry. Since then, it’s been oppressively hot and humid, and I’ve spent most of my time inside trying to keep cool. Mind you, my cooking has kept the kitchen extra hot, but I sit under the ceiling fan and suck it up, because quite frankly, it’s no better outside.
But every once in a while, we get a perfect warm, but not hot, dry sunny day that tempts me outside with a promise of perfect relaxation. And on those days, heating up the kitchen with a hot stove is the last thing I want to do. In fact, spending time indoors at all seems like blasphemy.
Today was one of those days, and blog posting be damned, I was not going to waste my afternoon chopping, mincing, roasting and sautéing. Instead, I made the easiest, most refreshing snack I could think of off the top of my head, and threw it together in 5 minutes. Tzatziki, that delicious cucumber-yogurt-garlic dip from Greece, sounded perfect, but I wasn’t in the mood for what would inevitably turn into an endless supply of chips and dip. By deconstructing tzatziki, I cut down on chopping and ended up with something that was beautifully suited for a perfect summer day.
What you need:
- 1/2 english cucumber Note: you could use a regular cucumber, but you might want to peel it
- 8 oz plain greek yogurt
- juice of 1/2 lemon (about 1 tbsp)
- 2 cloves garlic, pushed through a garlic press (or minced)
- salt and pepper
- 1 bag pita chips (or homemade pita chips: recipe another time)
What to do:
- Cut cucumber into slices.
- In a bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper
- To serve: put a cucumber slice on a pita chip. Top with yogurt mixture. Serve immediately.
Note: to make these for a crowd, just make a few, and leave out the pita, cucumbers, and yogurt in bowls for your guests to construct their own.
Tags: vegetarian
