I didn’t do a very good job taking advantage of my jet lag this morning. I woke up early to gray, heavy skies and thought – what a perfect morning to make a cup of tea and take a blanket to my desk and write. But it turned out that it was also a perfect morning to lie under a pile of down comforters and waste an hour on various forms of social media. And I was only in Europe for a few days so it’s probably my only morning of jet lag. Oh well.

I’ve been wanting to get this post up before it comes irrelevant – I’m sure many of your gardens are winding down, and personally, my morning cravings have turned more towards baked apples and oatmeal than bright green smoothies. But I know we still have a few hot days ahead of us, and there are still 3 cucumbers hanging on the vine, so smoothies it is.

Our cucumber vine flourished this year – I had forgotten just how many huge cucumbers one modest vine could produce. Sadly, more than one beautiful, plump, homegrown cucumber languished and shriveled up in our fridge. I don’t know if the variety we planted had a particularly short shelf life, or if we just don’t really eat cucumbers, but it seemed nearly impossible to keep up with them.

I did find a couple of good ways to use them up, and one of the simplest was adding them to my green smoothies. I’m pretty loyal to my standard green smoothie recipe (although these days I tend to omit the water and add ginger), but every once in a while I switch it up. The flavor of cucumber is super refreshing, and pairs well with lime and mint. I added avocado for creaminess and a little bit of banana and mango for sweetness and body. Oh, and of course, the green part: lovely tuscan kale, another plant that’s flourishing in my garden. It’s not my everyday smoothie but it’s a really good one when I want something a little different.

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Cucumber-Avocado-Lime Green Smoothie

A smooth and creamy green smoothie with lots of vegetables.

• Author: Katie at the Kitchen Door
• Yield: 2

Ingredients

• 1/2 large cucumber, peeled
• 1/2 banana
• 1 c. lemonade
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 c. frozen mango
• 1/2 avocado
• 6 large leaves tuscan kale, center ribs removed
• 5–6 leaves fresh mint

Instructions

Add all ingredients to blender in order listed (you want to be sure the lemonade goes in early to ensure even blending). Blend on high until smooth and creamy. If using a high-powered blender, serve right away; if using a regular blender, you may want to strain it through a fine mesh blender before serving for a smoother drink.

The post Cucumber-Avocado-Lime Green Smoothie appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

This weekend feels like the first real one I’ve had in months. Looking back at my calendar, it’s clear that it’s not just a feeling – since the last week of June, I’ve either been moving, unpacking, driving, or flying to/from Russia on every single weekend. Not a lot of care-free, lazy summer days in there. But this weekend is different! Which may be why the weekend anticipation hit me so hard Friday afternoon, and I woke up this morning ready to do only things that are happy and relaxing – like making blueberry muffins, going for the first exploratory jog in my new neighborhood, hanging out in the garden, drinking wine with friends, and making up new cocktails to sip on the porch. It doesn’t hurt that the weather is absolutely perfect – clear, sunny, just chilly enough to wear a light sweater, a perfect late summer (or early fall!) day.

I promised myself I would limit the time I spent glued to the internet, but blogging can be happy and relaxing, too, so I did want to share this fun dessert-cocktail. We’ve had a huge number of cucumbers come out of our garden, more than we can eat, actually, so I’ve been trying to think of things to make other than pickles that will allow us to hang on to them longer. I first saw cucumber sorbet in Martha Stewart Living, but Healthy Green Kitchen and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall have also published recipes for the vegetal dessert. Inspired by all three recipes, I made a batch of mint-and-gin-laced sorbet to use up some of our mongo-cukes. I decided to float a scoop in my favorite summer refresher – sparkling rosemary lemonade – and to add a shot of gin for good measure. All together, it’s a refreshing, super summery, happy way to kick off a weekend.

Lemon-Rosemary Gin Fizz

Serves 6.

• 1 c. sugar
• 1 c. lemon juice
• 2-3 sprigs rosemary, plus more for garnish if desired
• ice
• 6 c. chilled seltzer water
• 6 shots gin

1. Place sugar, lemon juice, and rosemary in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, and simmer, stirring, for 1-2 minutes, until sugar is fully dissolved. Remove from heat, cover, and let steep for 15 minutes, then discard the rosemary from the syrup.
2. Fill a pitcher 1/4 of the way with ice. Add the lemon-rosemary syrup, the chilled seltzer, and the gin, and stir to combine. Pour into tall glasses and garnish with a scoop of cucumber sorbet if desired (recipe below).

Cucumber Sorbet

• 2/3 c. sugar
• 2/3 c. water
• 15-20 small mint leaves
• 2 large cucumbers, peeled
• 2 TBS lemon juice
• 1 TBS gin

1. Add the sugar and water to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved, then remove from the heat and add the mint leaves. Let steep for ten minutes.
2. Cut the cucumbers in half lengthwise, and scoop out and discard the seeds. Cut the cucumbers into quarters, and place in a blender.
3. Add the mint syrup, lemon juice, and gin to the blender with the cucumbers, and blend until the mixture is completely smooth. Chill the mixture for at least one hour, then process in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.

The post The Weekend! // Lemon-Rosemary Gin Fizz with Cucumber Sorbet appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I’m back home! Only for 10 days, but I’m going to pretend it’s longer, so that I don’t start freaking out about leaving again prematurely. I got back yesterday around noon, and even though I’d been awake for almost 18 hours, I was determined to enjoy the beautiful summer Saturday, so Trevor and I went on a park picnic date, and ate crackers and cheese and did some serious people-watching. The group yoga people hanging out there were especially entertaining – think three people balancing one on top of the other in weird, acrobatic poses, but with yoga hands (and decidedly yoga-centric mentalities, from what we could overhear). Out of curiosity, we tried it out for ourselves this morning on the lawn – we weren’t very successful, but it was highly amusing.

When we came back from the park, I was pretty much a zombie, but I managed to stay awake long enough to eat a big plate of the dry-rub pork ribs Trevor made for dinner. (How could I not have? The whole house smelled amazing.) The meat was pulling off the bone so easily that I immediately knew I would have to make sandwiches with the leftovers. So today, after our weekly trip to the garden, I chopped up some cabbage to make coleslaw and sliced some of our homemade pickles while Trevor toasted hamburger buns and reheated the pork in the pan, just long enough to crisp up the edges. Sandwiches were assembled and promptly devoured. Since this was a two-for-one meal (with the ribs for dinner the night before) and all the components were easy, I knew I had to share it here – it makes a pretty killer lunch. Plus, I’m very into pickles right now, (which is good, since we have about 10 mammoth cucumbers in the fridge with the threat of more being ready next week), so anything I can put them on is an instant favorite. So here’s to summer weekends, boyfriends with culinary skills, and delicious sandwiches.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Serves 4.

• 2/3 recipe of oven-roasted dry-rub ribs, recipe below
• 1 c. purple coleslaw, recipe below
• 2 chopped spicy dill quick pickles
• 4 hamburger buns, toasted

1. Remove the rib meat from the bones with a fork and shred into bite-sized pieces. Reheat over medium-low heat in a frying pan, until warm and the edges are beginning to crisp. Remove from heat.
2. Divide the pork evenly between the four bottom hamburger buns. Top each serving with 1/4 cup of coleslaw and a few chopped pickles. Place the top bun on the sandwich and serve immediately.

Oven-Roasted Dry-Rub Ribs

Adapted from this Instructables Recipe. Serves 6, or 2 with enough for 4 leftover sandwiches.

• 1 full rack of country-style pork ribs
• 1 TBS + 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 TBS ground cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 1/2 tsp brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp mustard
• 6 whole cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 jalapenos, sliced lengthwise into quarters and seeds removed

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Prep the ribs by patting them dry and removing the silverskin membrane from the ribs.
2. Mix all of the dry rub ingredients (chili powder through mustard) together in a small bowl until evenly mixed. Rub half of this mixture on each side of the ribs. Then place the rack bone-side down on a baking sheet.  Add the garlic cloves and the jalapenos to the baking sheet, and roast for one hour. After the first hour, remove the ribs and filp over, and drain the fat from the pan. Then roast them for two more hours, flipping every thirty minutes. After the full three hours of cooking time, remove the ribs from the oven and let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Purple Coleslaw

Makes 3-4 cups coleslaw.

• 1/3 c. mayonnaise
• 1 TBS sugar
• 2 TBS apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp celery seed
• 1 small head of purple cabbage, shredded or thinly sliced
• 1 Anaheim pepper, seeds removed, finely diced
• 1/2 medium onion, finely diced

1. In a large bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, salt, and celery seed until smooth. Add the shredded cabbage, diced pepper, and diced onion, and toss to coat thoroughly with the dressing. Let sit, covered and in the fridge, for at least one hour before serving.

The post Pulled Pork Sandwich with Coleslaw and Pickles appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I had every intention of writing a few blog posts while I was on vacation. Really, I did. Since I know the next two months are going to be crazy, I’m highly aware of the risk of unintentionally abandoning this space. But I got too wrapped up in relaxing, swimming in the lake, spending time with my family, and exploring Maine, and blogging fell by the wayside. I don’t regret it one bit, but I am finding it a little bit hard to get back into the swing of things in my non-vacation life, including blogging.

Tonight, though, I managed to make myself an actual meal for the first time since getting back. This particular recipe turned out to be just the thing to ease me back into cooking, for a number of reasons. One, the weather has been oscillating between hot and rainy and really hot and sunny, so the minimal amount of stove-time and large amount of fresh, cooling veggies in this dish was quite appealing. Two, on vacation I ate a lot more spaghetti, ice cream, and cheese than I normally do, and I replaced my daily green smoothie with a daily half bottle of wine. I needed something fresh and healthy to help reverse the damage, and this  completely fit the bill. Three, I’m generally feeling a little stressed out and short on time, so the fact that I could make this from start to finish in under 30 minutes, including photographing it, was a major bonus. Four, it was delicious. And it had watermelon.

I’ve been thinking about watermelon an abnormal amount over the past week. While we were in Maine, we got a big one that I blended up into watermelon margaritas. Then BuzzFeed featured one of my watermelon recipes from last year in their “How To Eat Nothing But Watermelon All Summer” article last week. And I really can’t get these gorgeous Chili Lime Cucumber Noodles with Salted Watermelon that Laura made out of my head. There’s just something about watermelon in July – it’s so emblematic of a wholesome American summer, grabbing ice-cold slices stacked high from a plate and eating them barefoot in the grass, juice dripping from your elbows, before running off to play some more. So I grabbed a just-enough-for-one-person-sized chunk of melon at the grocery store on the way home yesterday, in part to continue the feel of vacation. After thinking about what to make with it all day at work, my mind finally settled on a Greek-inspired couscous salad. The combination of watermelon and feta is all the rage, so I took it one step further and added a few more Greek elements – kalamata olives, cucumber, and a tangy vinaigrette. It was just right.

Greek Couscous Salad with Watermelon and Feta

A summery couscous salad with fresh watermelon, feta cheese, and olives. Great on hot days!

• Author: Katie at the Kitchen Door
• Yield: 4

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c. dry couscous
• 2 c. water
• 1 medium cucumber, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 1/2 c. cubed watermelon
• 25 pitted kalamata olives, sliced in half
• 3/4 c. feta cheese
• 1 medium shallot, peeled and finely diced
• 1 1/2 TBS red wine vinegar
• 4 TBS olive oil
• salt
• 6–8 sprigs of mint, finely chopped

Instructions

1. Combine the couscous and the water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then immediately remove from heat and cover with a lid. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, until couscous has absorbed all of the water.
2. Toss the cucumber and watermelon cubes with the feta and olives in a large bowl. Fluff up the couscous with a fork, then mix that into the cucumber-watermelon mixture.
3. Whisk together the shallot, red wine vinegar and olive oil to make a vinaigrette. Season to taste with salt, then add to the couscous and stir to coat evenly. Sprinkle the top with chopped mint. Serve cold or at room temperature.

The post Back to Real Life // Greek Couscous Salad with Watermelon and Feta appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Vote for me here!

The second stage of the “Ridiculously Delicious Challenge” hosted by Marx Foods consists of developing your own recipe using two ingredients out of a box sent by Marx Foods.  There aren’t many things I like better than receiving a box full of food in the mail, which actually seems to happen to me at a wonderful frequency, so I was a little bit thrilled about this.  Upon opening the box last Tuesday, I was greeted with small samples of many exciting spices – including saffron, dried Tepin chilies, and grains of paradise – but the thing that really got me was the dill pollen.  Mostly because as soon as I opened the top of the box the scent of dill pervaded my entire apartment.  (Thanks to a Christmas gift of lovely glass spice jars from my baby bro, the scent of my apartment has since returned to equilibrium.  Thanks Ryan!)  While sitting and writing out ideas of different recipes that could incorporate two of the spices in a harmonious way, I could not escape the scent of the dill, and so I was having a tough time imagining saffron scented rice or Tepin chile enchiladas or really anything that didn’t scream of the Great White North.

I wanted to come up with a simple but elegant combination that would really show off both the dill and my second chosen ingredient – Szechuan peppercorns.  My solution – cucumber cups stuffed with a feta-dill filling and served with a lemon-Szechuan dressing.  Really, they came together quite nicely, and even though I did my photo shoot 30 minutes after breakfast (such is the life of a very busy college student with limited daylight hours at home – I also did my hot fudge photo shoot at 9:30 in the morning and ended up eating half of it before forcing myself to stash it in the freezer) I ended up eating the whole tray.  These would be lovely as a fresh and bright party appetizer, although the dressing might need to be served on the side for neatness.  You will probably need to tinker with the cucumber-filling-dressing ratio until you find your perfect combo, but what I have listed here is a good base.  Ridiculously dillicious, you might say.  God I love puns.

Voting will take place on the MarxFoods website from March 1st to March 4th.  Vote here!

Cucumber Cups with a Feta-Dill Stuffing and Lemon-Szechuan Dressing

Makes 1 cucumber’s worth (4-5 pieces).  Scale as needed.

• 1 cucumber
• 2 oz. crumbled feta cheese
• 2 TBS sour cream
• 3/4 tsp. dill pollen
• 2 TBS lemon juice
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• Szechuan peppercorns, ground/grated, to taste
• Dill pollen, for finishing

1. Peel the cucumber and cut into 1 inch rounds.  Scoop out the middle from 1 side of each round, so that the cucumber forms a stand-alone cup.
2. In a small bowl, mix the feta cheese, sour cream, and dill pollen until well combined but not completely smooth.  In another small bowl, vigorously whisk the lemon juice and olive oil together until uniform.  Add the grated peppercorns a pinch at a time, tasting the dressing between additions, until the spiciness is to your liking.
3. Stuff each cucumber cup with a tablespoon of feta filling.  Sprinkle more dill pollen on the top of each cup, and drizzle with dressing.

The post Dillicious. appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.