Cucumber Feta Salad with Dill

I'm doing an 8 Week Health Challenge which requires me to keep track of what I'm eating.  I'm not one for dieting, or diet food.  It's boring and it makes me cranky.  I've discovered good tasting healthy food doesn't need to be boring.  You can eat cheese.  You can indulge in moderation.  This challenge forces me to get a little creative with recipes.  In that case, it's not so challenging but fun....I'm food obsessed.  It's a sickness.

I came up with this recipe while craving something fresh, crisp and with loads of flavour.  The cucumbers give the perfect crunch, the lemon dressing is tangy, the feta lends that delicious saltiness, the slight sharpness from the sweet onion and the dill rounds it out perfectly.  I love this salad.

You get two pictures because it's just so pretty...perfect for spring!

Cucumber Feta Salad with Dill

Serves 4

1 1/2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 1/2 tbsp fresh squeezed Lemon Juice
Salt and Pepper to taste (remember the Feta is salty)
1 English Cucumber, sliced into rounds
1/4 small Sweet Onion, thinly sliced
2 ounces Feta Cheese in brine (Light or regular)
Fresh Dill

Combine the first 3 ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
Place the cucumbers on a small platter or plate.  Top with the sweet onions and then the Feta cheese. Sprinkle over as much fresh dill as you like and drizzle the dressing over it all.  Voila.

Citrus Dressing

I'm fairly certain we're all longing for Spring to show it's beautiful face.  Enough of the snow, the cold and the dreary days. Old man winter can take a hike now.  Please and thanks.

With Spring on the brain, I'm moving away from hearty comfort laden foods and craving brighter and lighter fare.  I made a delicious salad with a vibrant and juicy dressing.  I drizzled this dressing over spinach and then tossed in orange segments, green onions, goat cheese and topped it off with a few perfectly seasoned seared scallops....YUM!  However, this would be delish in a kale salad or tossed with Quinoa or Couscous, dried cranberries, red onion, fresh Parsley and Feta Cheese.  Play with it!

Citrus Dressing

Makes 4 servings

2 tbsp fresh squeezed Orange Juice (I used Naval Oranges)

1 tbsp fresh squeezed Lime Juice

1 tbsp Honey

2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tbsp shallot, finely chopped
Freshly ground pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a jar.  Shake to mix.

Black Velvet

It's March.  It still feels a lot like January.  Longest.  Winter.  Ever.  It drives me to drink....no, not really but I do enjoy a tipple here and there.  So do the Irish and on that note, I give to you the Black Velvet.  Two things I would never ever think of combining would be Guinness and Bubbly but I did, and I'm shocked and delighted to tell you it's a delicious combination.  It's smooth, has some depth and the bubbly seems to pull out some fruitiness from the beer.  

This drink was invented in 1861.  I know some Guinness lovers (my dad) would probably cringe at this but they do actually drink this in Ireland....and now in my house.  Perfect for St. Patrick's Day!

 

Cheers!

Black Velvet

Champagne or Sparkling Wine

Guinness

Pour 1 part Sparkling Wine into a Champagne glass.  Carefully top up with 1 part Guinness.  Equal parts...how easy is that?

Shrimp Guacamole

Now, there's nothing wrong with good old Guacamole but why not add shrimp to liven things up a bit?!  Living on the edge.....

I'm pretty sure everyone has their own version of Guac and although this isn't authentic, it's tasty.  I poach the shrimp instead of buying pre-cooked, which always have a bit of a rubbery texture to me.  I also don't do  Cilantro so I use Parsley but you can totally substitute with your green of choice.  This is a simple dip but the shrimp adds just a little something different.  A little pizzazz, if you will.  This time of year, we could all use a little sparkle while we await the arrival of Spring......

Shrimp Guacamole

Serves 4-6 as an appetizer

6 large Shrimp, poached*

2 ripe Avocados, roughly mashed

1 green onion, finely sliced

1 tomato, seeded and finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped 

1-2 tsp Sriracha (depending on your heat tolerance)

1/4 tsp cumin

1-2 tbsp fresh Lime Juice

2-3 tbsp chopped Parsley or Cilantro

1/4 tsp salt

Freshly ground Pepper

Chop poached shrimp into small pieces.  Set 1/4 of them aside.  Add the others to a bowl.

Add the remaining ingredients to the shrimp and gently combine.  Taste for seasoning.  Add the rest of the shrimp on top to garnish.

*Bring a medium pot filled halfway with water to a boil.  Add half a lemon.  Turn the heat down to barely a simmer and add shrimp, making sure not to boil water.  Poach until curled and pink, 1-2 minutes.  Remove from water and let cool.