The October Garden

As I have mentioned in earlier blogs, the garden has been extremely late in production this year due to a most chilly Spring. Here it is October 1st and we are just harvesting our corn and tomatoes. We also only had one cucumber plant which seemed to be in critical condition for weeks and we doubted there would be a harvest. Well, the plant perked up with TLC from The Husband (or was it the Miracle Grow?) and it produced some lovely bounty.

One of cucumbers was extremely long; approximately 18 inches. Most impressive indeed. A favorite recipe for cucumber in my repertoire is Tsatsiki, a refreshing Greek dip which is delicious with toasted pita bread wedges or as part of a Greek or Middle Eastern dinner. The dip is simple to make, refreshing and very tasty. Give it a try sometime when you are trying to figure out what to do with an 18 inch cucumber!

Tsatsiki (Greek Cucumber Dip)

2 medium (6-7 inches) or 1 VERY LARGE cucumber

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sour cream

1 cup plain yogurt

2 medium cloves garlic, minced finely

Peel, seed, and coarsely grate the cucumber.

Combine everything in a bowl and mix well. Cover tightly and refrigerate until very cold. Serve as a salad, appetizer or a dip.

I usually drain my yogurt overnight when I use it in dips to get some of the excess moisture from it. To do this, I line a fine mesh sieve with either paper towel or a coffee filter and put the yogurt in this, over a bowl in the refrigerater overnight. It really makes a difference in making a thicker dip.