I Have Re-Discovered . . .

. . . cold food! 

This summer has been HOT!  The temperatures have been setting records.  Earlier today it was 105 degrees on our outdoor thermometer (40.5 degrees Celsius).  Needless to say we have spend most of the day in the house.  Which lead this story to the kitchen, unfortunately none of the windows in the kitchen have window coverings.  In recent days our kitchen has been over 90 degrees with the air conditioning run.  Yuck!  Hot!  Not even going to turn the oven on!  So grandma came over today with a thick length of cloth that we folded over and pinned to cover the south facing window.  It is much better in the kitchen this evening.  

Last night I made a tomato-basil salad and this evening I tried something new with the cucumbers that grandma brought over.  I have eaten cucumber and I am definitely not a fan.  I enjoy pickles which are made from cucumbers, but I think I found a non-pickle way to fix them that makes them more tolerable.  Thankfully the quick topping I used is the same dip that I make for sugar snap peas.  Yummy!!

Tomato-Basil Salad

Ingredients

2 medium ripe tomatoes

2 green onions

Handful of fresh basil leaves

salt

pepper

Greek vinaigrette

Instructions

Slice tomatoes into medium-thin slices and arrange on a plate.  Slice green onions into thin strips and sprinkle over tomatoes.  Chop fresh basil leaves and sprinkle over tomatoes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Lightly sprinkle with Greek vinaigrette. Serve immediately.

Cucumber Dill Rounds

Ingredients

Cucumber

Cream cheese

Dill

Garlic Salt

Instructions

Scoop out a few spoonfuls of cream cheese into a bowl.  Sprinkle with dill and garlic salt to taste.  Mix well.  Cut cucumbers into medium-thin slices and top with the cream cheese mixture.