By Kat Wojtylak
Finished salad just waiting for you to dig in.
- Our equestrian lifestyle barely leaves us with any time with our horse, and then comes a garden we had every intention of weeding and caring for meticulously during the summer months. We may not have gotten the yields and the picturesque garden we had hoped for, but buried underneath all those weeds is almost always an abundance of cucumbers we have no idea what to do with. You can make endless pickles, put them in your water, or top off salads, but in the end you’re fighting a losing battle. They will prosper no matter what you do to them (kind of makes you wish horses were more like cucumbers as maybe there’d be less vet bills due to their resilience).
- But have you ever considered using cucumbers as the star of your show? By using a unique and very simple preparation technique, you end up with a non-soggy mess that’s able to take on a ton of flavors. I liked what I saw in a magazine, and from there doctored it up for what I had around the kitchen. No fuss, no muss. The beauty of this newfound inspiration was no hassle, and no heating up the kitchen.
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All the fun and colorful ingredients to make this version of Cucumber and Blueberry Salad.
Slicing and seeding a cucumber in half moon shapes, makes for a super easy way to take this unsung hero and apply it into a variety of uses.
Slicing and seeding a cucumber in half moon shapes for this recipe.
Enjoy your holiday weekend! To full plates and eating your tarte out.
Cucumber and Blueberry Salad
3 medium cucumbers
1/4 cup of sunflower seeds, unsalted
1/4 cup of white vinegar
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
1/2 cup of red onion, minced
1 pint of blueberries, rinsed
3 tablespoons of mint, thinly sliced
1 cup of feta cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Rinse your cucumbers and peel them. Slice in half lengthwise and scoop the center out with a spoon. Slice into bite sized pieces and set aside in a medium sized bowl.
In a skillet over low heat, place the sunflower seeds and lightly brown them. Should take about two minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
In a small microwave safe bowl, combine the vinegar and sugar, heat for thirty second and stir till sugar is dissolved. Whisk in the olive oil, garlic powder and onion powder, add a little bit of salt, fresh ground Pepper and set aside.
In your large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients with the cucumbers and sunflower Seeds. Pour on half of the vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper. Add more vinagrette as desired, season accordingly. Serve immediately. If not serving immediately, wait on adding the blueberries and mint until you’re ready to go. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Wegmans
The finished Cucumber Blueberry Salad just waiting to accompany your next dinner, or during labor day festivities.
About the writer: Author Kat Wojtylak is a horse enthusiast turned food blogger. She maintains a day job in the horse world handling marketing and brand support to various companies, while enjoying her evenings and weekends writing recipes and blogging all about her culinary experiences. Visit her blog at EatYourTarteOut.com or email her at tartechic@eatyourtarteout.com.
