Cucumber and Tomato Dill Salad with Smoked Salmon & Feta

A light and fresh salad with cucumbers and tomatoes tossed in a lemon dill vinaigrette then topped with smoked salmon and feta.

Lemon and dill pair well with salmon.   I often cook salmon with lemon and dill so I decided to put together a salad that would combine these flavors with smoked salmon.  I love the different textures of crisp cucumbers and juicy tomatoes in a Tomato and Cumber Salad and dill pairs well with cucumbers too.  So I thought this salad would be a perfect way to compliment the flavors I associate with salmon.  It turned out great. This salad is light and fresh with bright flavor and a perfect saltiness.  It's great as a side salad or light lunch, but you don't have to add smoked salmon if you don't have any.  It is great on its own or even served alongside grilled salmon for a Labor Day cookout.

Cucumber Tomato Dill Salad is great for a Labor Day cookout  [Tweet this]  

Cucumber and Tomato Dill Salad

Prep time:  15-20 minutes
Servings:  4-6

Ingredients:

1 pound grape tomatoes halved
2 cucumbers seeded peeled and chopped
2 Tbsp minced red onions
1 lemon, juiced
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp dry dill
Salt & pepper to taste
Smoked salmon
Feta

Toss together the tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions until well mixed.

Then, mix the lemon juice, oil, and dill and pour over the vegetables.  Add just a little salt and pepper to your taste.  Toss well to combine and let set in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Serve cold or at room temperature with smoked salmon and feta.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Enjoy.

For more fresh light salads check out:

Simple Carrot and Cucumber Salad

Greek Salad              -

Tomato and Cucumber Salad

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Tomato and Cucumber Salad

A light and fresh salad of crisp cucumbers, juicy tomatoes, and crunchy pistachios tossed in a sweet creamy lemon dressing.

This is a delicious, fresh, light, and simple salad.  I had seen many variations of this salad on all sorts of blogs and had to try my own version.  It's great with just the tomatoes and cucumbers, but I wanted it to be a bit more filling so added pistachios (I also love the crunchy texture they add).  A simple lemon juice dressing was the obvious choice for this salad and since I added pistachios I also decided to add a little honey.  I love honey with pistachios.  I also had a little Garlic & Fine Herbs Boursin cheese left from something else I made so I added that to the mix too.  It made a delicious combination. I had this salad to accompany a snack platter for a light dinner and leftover salad made a great lunch.

This is a delicious, fresh, light, and simple salad. [Tweet this]

Tomato and Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:

4 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 cucumbers, seeded and chopped
1 lemon, juice of
1 cup roasted pistachios
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp Boursin cheese (optional)
Salt to taste

First mix together the dressing.  Juice one lemon and to the juice add honey and Boursin.  Mix thoroughly.  Or you could use Honey Lemon Oregano Dressing.

Toss together the tomatoes, cucumbers, and pistachios.  Then toss everything in the dressing.  Add a little salt to taste and let sit for up to 1 hour for the flavors to meld. It can also be refrigerated for a day or two.  Beware though, after too long the pistachios lose their crunchiness (but I still enjoy the texture of them they just become kind of chewy).

Makes about 4 servings.

Enjoy.

Check out Honey Lemon Oregano Dressing, mentioned above, in:

Lamb Salad

For more light and fresh salads check out:

Greek Salad

Tropical Fruit Salad

Pigeon Pea Salad

Linked to:  Best of the Weekend, Show off, Pretty Pintastic, Treasure Box, 2 Cup, Teach Me, Lou Lou Girls, Tasty, create and share, Full Plate, Freedom, Foodie Friends

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Lentil Caprese Salad

A lentil salad with tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette. It's great as a side or a light lunch.

I got the idea for this salad from Pinterest.  The recipe I saw was for a Caprese Pasta Salad from Simply Scratch.  It looked amazing and she used little mini mozzarella pearls and orecchiette pasta.  I wanted more fiber in my salad so I decided to try using lentils and I didn't have the mozzarella pearls but I always have string cheese in the fridge so I used that instead.  I loved the salad I stored it in the fridge and had it for lunch all week.  It looks the best when it's freshly made as the basil wilts over time but it still tastes great.

My pictures are of the salad after it sat in the fridge for a day.  The basil is not as vibrant green as it started but I made this on a rainy day so I had very little natural light in my apartment.  I don't have any fancy photo lights just some lamps and overhead lights that don't look good in pictures so I waited and took my pictures the next day when I had sunlight.

Lentil Caprese Salad

Ingredients:

1 cup dried lentils
1 1/2 - 2 cups grape tomatoes, halved or quartered
1 cup fresh basil, cut julienne
2-3 mozzarella string cheeses, sliced
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Rinse lentils and pick through to remove any rocks or debris.  Bring lentils to a simmer, in a saucepan, with 2 cups of water or broth (you can add a clove of garlic to the water if you like).  Let simmer, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes or until soft.  Drain lentils and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, prepare all of your other ingredients and then just toss everything together.  Serve immediately or store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Makes 6 servings.

A little pesto would taste great tossed into this salad.

Enjoy as a side dish or a light lunch.

Linked to:  Two Cup, Lou Lou Girls, Teach Me, Tasty Tues, Tickle my Tastebuds, Whimsy Wed, Wonderful Wed, Yuck Stops Here, Cook, Craft, Share, Full Plate, Plant based potluck, Eat Create, Freedom Fri, Foodie Friends, Best of the Weekend, Pretty Pintastic, Sat Night Fever, Share it Sun, Merry Mon, See Ya in the Gumbo


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Penne with Tomatoes, Mushrooms, and Choi Sum

A vegetarian pasta dish to help us recover from Thanksgiving overload.  This dish uses up leftover grape tomatoes, while adding mushrooms and choi sum (or you could use spinach).

For those of you who do not know what choi sum is here is a picture.  I see this all of the time in Chinatown, and it's relatively inexpensive.  I have used it before in stir-fries, soups and just boiled or stir-fried as a side. I originally planned to use spinach in this recipe but, when I got to Chinatown, the spinach looked wilted and the choi sum looked fresh and crisp.  So choi sum it was, it was also $0.89/lb where as spinach was at least $1.50/lb.  I like the choi sum because it is a hardier green than spinach, maybe a good substitute in this recipe would be kale or something similarly bold and green.  Choi sum does have a distinct flavor, but it did not seem bitter, it melded nicely with the other flavors and added a little crunch and lots of nutrition.  For more information on choi sum click here.

Ingredients:

2 small onions, chopped
2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp dried basil
1 tsp oregano
1 cup grape  tomatoes (leftover)
4-5 cups chopped choi sum
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup Thai basil, torn (leftover)
Few dashes red chilli flakes, optional
Salt and pepper
Penne

I started by cutting and preparing all of my ingredients.  Then, when I was ready to start dinner I started a big pot of, salted, water to boil for the pasta.  While the water was heating, I heated a frying pan, about medium-medium low, with  about 1 Tbsp of olive oil.  To this I added the onions and cooked until tender.  Then I added the mushrooms, minced garlic, and spices stirring until the mushrooms became tender and started to shrink.  Next I added the whole grape tomatoes and covered the pan for about 10 minutes until the tomatoes became soft and wrinkled.  By this time the water was boiling and I added the pasta (enough for two) and let it boil for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, I mashed the tomatoes with a potato masher to break them up, and added the choi sum.  The choi sum crested well above the pan, but I covered it and let it cook for a couple of minutes before I began to stir.  I added the balsamic vinegar and gently stirred while the choi sum began to wilt.  In no time it wilted to less than half of its original size and I added the basil and red chilli flakes (if the sauce seems too thick add some pasta water) then turned off the heat.  You can stir in some Parmesan if you like and add salt and pepper to taste.  When the pasta was done  I drained it and tossed it with the sauce.  Makes 2 servings.  Serve topped with Parmesan. 

It turned out great.  For a meatless dish it was incredibly filling and all of the flavors tasted great together.  Best of all I feel healthy, and full, after eating it.  Pastas are a great way to experiment with different foods and flavors.  Be creative and enjoy.

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Bruschetta

A light, fresh snack made with tomatoes, basil, and balsamic vinegar on top of toasted bead. Makes a great appetizer or light meal.

 

After a couple of days eating rich, heavy food (with lots of cream and butter) I needed something light.  I still had one loaf of my homemade caibatta bread that was going stale and I wanted to use it before it became hard as  rock.  My answer was Bruschetta.

I can always find grape tomatoes in Chinatown, and they are usually inexpensive (I got a big bag, about 2-3 cups of tomatoes, for $2). Then I just needed basil.  Traditional basil is not something I usually find in China town, and at a regular grocery store it can be expensive, so I picked up 1 pound of Thai basil for $1.  Here is my recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cups chopped tomatoes
20 basil leaves, sliced
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Toasted thin slices of bread

I cut the tomatoes into 4-8 pieces each, depending on the size, and tossed them in a bowl.  Then I chiffonade-ed (I don't know how to make the past tense of chiffonade...any ideas?) the basil leaves and tossed them with the tomatoes.  Added vinegar and some salt and pepper, tossing to coat the tomatoes and let it sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour (I think that this allows the flavors to blend).

Meanwhile, I sliced up my last loaf of Caibatta.  It was pretty tough having sat out for about 4 days (I could have put it in plastic, but in my opinion this ruins the texture of the crust.  It's fine for sandwich breads, but I usually just wrap Caibatta and other rustic breads in a kitchen towel, or paper if you have it.) but I brushed the slices with olive oil and fried them in a frying pan, on both sides.  Then, while the toast was still warm I rubbed it with a cut clove of garlic. Serve toast topped with tomato mixture. Makes enough for 2.

Toasting the bread  made it softer and the Bruschetta turned out great.  Rubbing the toast with garlic is a must.  This was the first time I did it, usually I skip this step or add some minced garlic to the tomatoes, and wow it really adds just the perfect amount of garlic flavor.  I highly recommend that you don't skip this step.  The Thai basil was great too, it may not taste exactly like traditional basil, but I can hardly tell the difference and in this recipe it tasted great.  This was an awesome meal/snack and for less than $3.  You can't get that at a restaurant.  Enjoy.

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