On our last visit to our youngest son, we snacked on a very tasty dip he prepared, among a nice spread of various other hors d’oeuvres.  It was a great feeling to see that he is becoming a great host, and practices his recipes on his parents.

If you have adult children, you will agree that it makes you feel rewarded, seeing them grow up into responsible, self-sufficient individuals.  It confirms that you have done a good job, and now it’s their time to shine, and show it off.

Now back to the dip.  It was his home made Greek Tzatziki Dip, for which he shared his recipe with me to try at home, and to post for all of you, in case you have never tried making it yourself.

It is very refreshing any time of the year, but even more so during hot summer days.  It may be served as a dip with veggies, chunks of Pita Bread, with Gyros or Souvlaki, or as a salad dressing.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of cucumber, chopped of shredded (one large cucumber-seeds removed, or 2-3 small ones ,with seeds,  as these have very small and tender seeds
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (garlic chopper is perfect for this job)
• 2 cups  Greek Yogurt, plain (or sour cream if you don’t like yogurt)
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1 Tbs lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black, or white pepper, ground
• 1 Tbs dill weed, chopped

Directions:

1. Peel the cucumbers, rinse under running water, pat dry.
2. Finely chop, or shred on a large eye hand grater, or food processor.
3. Salt cucumber and place in a strainer over a bowl, to drain any extra juices.
4. Mince the garlic.
5. Chop the dill.
6. Place cucumbers in a mixing bowl.
7. Add garlic, dill, pepper, salt,olive oil, lemon juice, and Greek Yogurt.
8. Mix well with a spoon, to fold in nicely.
9. Cover and chill for about an  hour.

Serve as suggested above.

TIP: If you are not very fond of Dill, you may use chopped, fresh or dried mint leaves.

Labor Day is just around the corner, which means it’s time to start planning a party.  I have already posted several recipes for party foods, but this time I will share one that has been around for a while.

It used to be very popular few years back, and it’s gaining popularity once again.

Actually, one of my readers  asked me to post my recipe for the Rye Bread Dip, so here it is.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups mayonnaise (Hellmans Light, is my favorite)
• 2 cups sour cream (see TIP below this post)
• 1 Tbs Italian Parsley leaves, chopped
• 1 Tbs onion, minced
• 2 Tbs dill
• 1 packet Dried Beef, chopped(optional if you are a vegetarian)
• 1 round loaf of Rye Bread

Directions:

1. In a medium size bowl, mix mayonnaise and sour cream.
2. Chop the Dried Beef to small chunks.
3. Blend in the parsley, onions, dill and chopped beef.
4. Slice off the top of the round rye bread loaf (about 1 inch from the top)
5. Scoop out the middle section of the bread, and cut up into 2×2 inch squares.  The bread shell will become  a bread bowl.  The sliced off top of the bread may serve as a cover for the dip before serving, or it may be cut up into chunks, for dipping.
6. Set aside the bread chunks.
7. Fill the bread cavity with the dip (see TIP below this post).
8. Place the filled bread bowl on a serving platter, and arrange the cut up bread chunks around it.
9. Dip in, and enjoy!

TIP: To prevent the “bread bowl” from getting soggy, you can place a serving bowl, filled with the dip, inside the bread cavity, and as begin to run low on the bread cubes, you can cut up the remaining bread, to replenish.

To lighten up this recipe a little further, you may substitute the sour cream with Light Sour Cream, or Greek Yogurt.

With all the frequent rain showers we experienced lately in our area, my garden is in its glory, and thriving.

If you love gardening, as I do, you will agree that no matter how much, and how often, you water your garden, it does not measure up to one good rain fall, and the plants just seem to grow in front of your eyes soon afterward.

This season’s  harvest already began in my garden, and, with great pleasure, I was able to pick some baby red beets, dill, chives, summer squash, zucchini, green beans, and basil.

My raspberries produced about a pint of fruit this year, and today I was able to pick a few blueberries already.  I am very excited about having fresh berries and herbs from my garden, and to share them with my granddaughter.

Don’t you just love the freshness of these veggies and fruits…..and best of all….I know these have not been sprayed with any chemicals.

Tip: If  you wonder what can one  do with red beet leaves, I have a recipe coming up in my future posts.

I already showed you some of my flower patches, and I mentioned my small organic garden, which I started two years ago. All my plants are cultivated in a mix of mushroom soil and organic gardening soil. I do not use any additional fertilizers, and definitely no pesticides.

I grow perennial herbs and fruits, and annual vegetables.

This is my organic garden.

Here are some of the plants in my garden:

Parsley, Basil, Dill Weed, Oregano,Green Beans, Potato Plant, Red Beets

The fruit group includes:

Blueberry Bush Blueberry Flowers Green Blueberry Fruit

Raspberry Bushes Raspberry Flowers Raspberry Green Fruit

Blooming Strawberries Blushing Fruits First Harvest

My vegetables selection changes annually, but mostly consists of: Tomatoes, Zucchini, Summer Yellow Squash, Red Beets, Cucumbers, Green Beans, and this year I have added a couple of potato plants and Sorrel plants.

I will share some pictures of these as the “fruit of my labor” begins to show a little bit more.