CUCUMBER SOUP

My friend Elizabeth Smyth uses greek yogurt for everything, and recently brought over these ingredients for cucumber soup. She made it in about 10 minutes, and we had a healthy soup, perfect for these hot summer days. Here is my effort to recreate it.

• 4 small cucumbers--peeled, seeded, and grated
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 cups plain greek yogurt (avoid nonfat)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (good quality, extra virgin)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• • 1 bunch fresh mint leaves, chopped (optional)
  • 1 bunch fresh dill, chopped (optional)
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  • Combine the grated cucumber, lemon juice, mint, dill, garlic, yogurt, olive oil, and salt in a blender; blend on high speed until smooth. Serve immediately or chill in refrigerator until ready to serve. Garnish with a squeeze of lemon and drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil. I prefer to serve this in a glass or mug and sip it!

LAVENDER SIMPLE SYRUP

A recent trip to the Lavender Festival in Pennsylvania inspired lots of experiments with lavender. So far, our best result has been our lavender simple syrup. It complements ingredients that don't overpower its simple flavor. Bourbon, vanilla, cinnamon all seem to drown out the lavender (although you will find many recipes on the Internet suggesting this combination). The following drinks (so far) have worked best. Sugar cookies, shortbread and lavender whipped cream are on next my experimentation list!

Lavender Simple Syrup

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

3 tablespoons lavender

Bring ingredients to a boil; cover, turn off heat. Let steep for 30 minutes.

The possibilities are endless, and these few have been our favorites so far!

Lavender Lemon- or Lime-ade

Fresh lemon or lime juice
1-2 T lavender syrup
3 oz club soda water or plain water
lemon wedge garnish

1. Add lemon/lime juice into a glass; add lavender syrup.

2. Stir and fill with ice.

3. Top with soda water or water and lemon wedge.

Cheaters version: Use Santa Cruz's lime and lemon juice (not from concentrate), available at Whole Foods.

Put in a jar and store or deliver to a friend (tie jar with twine around lid with extra to tie around a front doorknob).

Lavender Martini

Cold Vermouth

Vodka

Serve in a cold martini glass and garnish with a fresh lavender sprig.

This drink is so beautiful and would be perfect for a summer cocktail party. Or picture this, a warm summer night, you and your spouse sipping these outside, after burgers on the grill, kids playing knuffle ball and riding scooters. Fabulous.

Lavender Sapphire Collins

1 ½ oz Bombay Sapphire Gin
¾ oz lavender syrup
3 oz club soda
lemon wedge garnish

1. 1. Squeeze ½ lemon into a Collins glass, add lavender syrup and gin.
2. 2. Stir and fill with ice.
3. 3. Top with club soda and lemon wedge.

Cabbage Slaw with Orange Dressing

Adapted From The Splendid Table's: How to Eat Supper

To me, summer means room temperature, fresh food. Instead of caloric and hot fries, chips (or my husband's favorite tator tots), serve fresh vegetables to round out the American burger meal. The citrus in this dressing is a very nice alternative to a mayonnaise dressing. The best news is the east preparation; it all comes together in a food processor!

Dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil

1 small garlic clove, crushed

1/2 t ground cumin

1/2 t ground coriander

shredded zest of 1/8 of large orange

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Slaw:

1/2 small knead napa cabbage, outer leaves discarded, cut into quarters (we used regular head of cabbage b/c that is what we had and didn't have carrot

1 small carrot, halved

Topping:

1/2 cup roasted, salted pumpkin seeds, pepita seeds, cashews, or almonds

smoked temper or tofu, ham, smoked turkey, or bacon (optional protein)

Preperation could not be more simple. Place dressing ingredients into food processor and puree. Switch to slicer disk and slice the cabbage and carrot into the dressing. Top with seeds and protein of choice. Voila!