Tzatziki

One of the things that always summer to me is lamb on the BBQ. And nothing goes better with grilled lamb than Tzatziki. I have never had a recipe for tzatziki before, always making it from what rattles around in my noggin. For this fo round, I used a recipe from The Greek Cook by Rena Salaman.

The only difference is my adding lemon juice and lemon zest and my insane straining of anything with extra liquid!

• 6-8 ounces plain yogurt
• 6 inch piece of cucumber, peeled and thickly grated
• 1 or 2 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (optional)
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint
• salt

NOTE: Hate mint. Yuck. Left it out. I may be one of the few Greeks on the planet that dislikes mint!

NOTE NOTE: I buy plain greek yogurt. If you buy regular plain yogurt strain it first. Coffee filters are an amazing invention. I don’t drink coffee but always have them on hand to line a fine mesh strainer with. They keep what your straining in one place and don’t fall apart.

NOTE NOTE NOTE: After I grate the cucumbers, I let those strain a bit too, and then squeeze them dry. You don’t have to do this, but I like my tzatziki thicker.

Put the yogurt in a bowl and add the cucumber and mix. Add the garlic, mint, olive oil (if using), lemon juice, zest, and salt. Mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and chill lightly.

Fabulous with grilled lamb or chicken - we had this with lamb sausage – or with pita chips.

Macaroni Salad

Macaroni salad is without a doubt my son’s favorite side dish. Winter or summer, makes no difference at all. When I have bought macaroni salad in the past, he would hide the container in the fridge and then keep it directly in front of him, doling out meager portions to everyone else.

Honestly, it never occurred to me to make this for him before. Can you imagine? I make butter to see how it’s done, or ricotta because I am curious, or English muffins just because it’s cold out, but I am buying macaroni salad!? This needed to change  – and quickly!

This was so simple to make and came together in a snap! (I am still sitting here grumbling and shaking my head in disbelief at my – well, LAZINESS is the only thing that would fit here!)

• 2 cups of dry pasta – a small shape like elbows, shells or Barilla Piccolini Fusille (which is our fav)
• 1/4 C diced celery
• 1/4 C diced carrot
• 1/4 C chopped scallions
• 1/4 C chopped bell pepper
• 1 T minced parsley
• 1/2 C diced tomato
• 1/2 C mayonnaise
• 3/4 t dry mustard
• 1 1/2 t sugar
• 1 1/2 T cider vinegar
• 3 T sour cream
• 1/2 t salt
• Pepper to taste

NOTE: Remove the seeds and pulp from the tomato. The bell pepper is the color of your choice. The peppers and tomatoes are optional, really, but the colors are pretty, the crunch is nice and it adds to the overall flavor.

Cook the pasta, rinse and drain well.

NOTE: Yes, rinse the pasta. The only time I will ever tell you to rinse the pasta is for a cold salad. While the starch that’s on the pasta helps a sauce cling to the pasta, it don’t taste too great cold!

Add the pasta, celery, carrot, peppers, scallions, parsley and tomatoes to a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, mustard, sugar, sour cream and salt together. Pour this mixture over the pasta and stir to combine.

Season with s&p.

BBQ Sauce

This is my Mom’s recipe – with a few changes over the years from me. A work in progress, so to speak. My Mom never really struck me as the BBQ sauce type. But, there one weekend, was the most wonderful BBQ sauce I had ever tried.

How she came up with the recipe is a mystery.

You could blame it on the rain and cold.

On boredom at being at the beach in the cold and the rain.

On the LONG drive from the beach to the stores, and realizing just before dinner that you had no BBQ sauce.

You can even blame it on not wanting to deal with the ‘weekend people’ in town – especially cleaning out the grocery store (and liquor store, truth be told!) of all the good stuff by Friday afternoon.

I prefer to think that there is a far more altruistic reason – wanting the best for one’s family, a better flavor, a more healthy version.

• 4 T dry mustard
• 2 C cider vinegar
• 4 2/3 C ketchup
• 1/2 C Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 C sugar
• 1/4 C honey
• 2 T tabasco
• 1 T salt
• 1 t fresh ground pepper

This recipe can easily be halved. If you make the whole recipe you need a LARGE bowl! I always keep the empty ketchup bottles to store the BBQ sauce – makes my life SO easy! I have also switched in brown sugar for the white and molasses for the honey.

Place the mustard in a bowl. Pour in vinegar and stir until mustard dissolves.

Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until combined.

Store in fridge in an airtight container.

Makes 1 1/2 quarts.

How easy was that!?