There is no flavour I love more in the world than dill. Really. Cucumbers, however, as much as I like them, cause me much pain and grief, thanks to my diverticulitis. Do you suffer from the same? Try cutting all of the skin off the cucumber. It helps, trust me.

These sandwiches go perfectly with a nice hot cup of jasmin tea — great flavour combination!

Ingredients:

• 2 small (preferably seedless) cucumbers
• 2 teaspoons of kosher salt
• 1/4 cup organic cane sugar
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of dry mustard
• 1 tablespoon of fresh dill chopped
• 6 slices of rye or whole-wheat bread
• 8 oz of semi-soft cheese or cream cheese

Method:

Slice cucumbers crosswise into 1/8 – inch – thick slices. Place cucumber slices in a medium bowl and toss with salt. Let cucumbers stand 15 minutes. Rinse and drain cucumbers. Pat dry with paper or tea towels (using tea towels saves the paper waste!).

In another bowl whisk together, vinegar, sugar, mustard, and dill until sugar is dissolved. Stir in cucumber and let stand a minimum of 5 minutes — it thickens!

Spread cheese on 6 slices of bread in a thin layer. Layer cucumber slices on top of 3 slices of bread in a thin layer. Top with remaining bread and remove crusts. Cut sandwiches into halves, quarters, or triangles.

Alright, alright — you got me. It’s not Cinco de Mayo, but can’t we pretend?

The weather’s getting colder and soon there’ll be… *brace yourself* …snow on the ground.

With the long weekend finally here, why don’t you get in one last hurrah with this tasty organic Margarita recipe?

Ingredients:

• 3oz of 4 Copas 100% Agave Organic Tequila
• 2oz of freshly squeezed organic lime juice
• 1oz of simple agave syrup
• Topped with some organic sugar and kosher salt for the rim

Method:

1. Prechill your glasses.
2. To make the simple syrup add:1 part agave nectar,1 part organic sugar &1 part water to a sauce pan and cook & stir over low heat until the sugar is disolved.
3. Next fill your coctail shaker with the tequila, lime juice, syrup and ice and shake unitl until mixed and cool.
4. Mix up 2 parts salt and 1 part sugar and put it in a dish.
5. Now dip the rim of your chilled glass in the sugar/salt mix, it should stick. **Make sure you do this before you fill your glass with Margarita. Don’t ask
6. Now strain the Margarita into your glass and enjoy!

Time for a very unconventional recipe. I’m pretty sure i’m the only one that eats these sort of treats — I’m one of those “what do I have left in the fridge and how well will it combine to form a mega snack” kind of people.

That being said, this is delicious. Well, I think so at least. Let me know if you’re brave enough to try it

Ingredients:

• 4 Flour tortillas
• 2 tb Butter, melted
• 2 tb Cane Sugar
• 3/4 ts Cinnamon
• 2 c Strawberries, chopped
• 1 tb Chopped fresh mint
• 1/2 ts Grated lime rind (I’ve used lemon rind and juice before and it tastes just as good, I promise)
• 1 tb Lime juice
• 1 1/2 ts honey

Method:

Brush both sides of each tortilla with butter. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over each side of tortilla. Bake on lightly greased baking sheet in 375 degree F oven for about 10 minutes or until crisp and golden. Cut into quarters.

Combine strawberries, mint, lime rind and juice and honey; cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Put the salsa in a bowl and dip your tortillas in it. Yummmmy!

Alright, this might be the coolest DIY I’ve ever stumbled upon!

How to make eco-graffiti — no spray paint, markers, or nasty toxic chemicals, just… moss! I have a few friends who are guerrilla gardeners here in Ottawa and I’m definitely going to recommend to them that they try this out.

The moss continues to grow and changes patterns — it really is living art. How creative is that? Living and breathing art!

I, for one, could definitely see decorating the back of my house in a giant green piece of art. It’d really be something to see it move and grow over the summer. Maybe next year!

How-to: How to make moss graffiti

Alright, story time: My cookbook has a lemon section, can you tell? This cookbook was part of my inheritance from my grandmother who loved to cook. She and I spent a lot of time cooking together and everything I know about cooking I owe to her. Sadly, it’s in rough shape — there are Reader’s Digest clippings Scotch taped in and newspaper clippings attached to pencil-written recipes. My grandmother couldn’t read much past a 4th grade level but loved the pictures from recipe books and worked very hard to make her cooking adventures result in these professionally done picturesque Good Housekeeping entries.

This was my favourite and, hilariously enough, it was her most hated. She wasn’t a fan of melon of any kind. And turning to this page, I’ve noticed a note with an asterix: “*This is the one bambi lickes”

It’s true. I do. So hey, if you make some and love it, thank my grandmother.

Ingredients

• 4 cups cubed ripe cantaloupes
• 1 lemon, juice and rind of
• 3 cups sugar

Method

1. Place the cantaloupe in a bowl and add the lemon juice and rind.
2. Pour the sugar over the top (make sure it’s good and saturated!) and let stand overnight.
3. Transfer to a large kettle and cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until thick.
4. Let cool to room temperature, then stir to keep the fruits evenly distributed.
5. Pour in hot sterilized glass jars and seal.

Makes about 4-5 cups.

I know, it sounds weird, right? But trust me, there’s nothing better to garnish a summer drink than a slice of sweet/sour/salty pickled lemon slice. And if you’ve got left over organic lemons from the last recipe, why not try it? The best part about this garnish is that you can eat the pickled lemon slices rind and all! In fact, I’ve been known to pickle the lemon rinds on their own and eat them right out of the jar — maybe you’re not as daring as I am but at least give the whole pickled lemon slices a try, okay?

Ingredients

• 8 lemons, sliced into circles
• 32 ounces lemon juice
• 1 cup salt (kosher)
• 1 cup sugar

Method

1. Mix the lemon juice, salt and sugar in a pot.
2. Bring to a boil, and let cook to about body temp.
3. Add the lemon slices to a largish tupperware container, and pour the brine over them.
4. Refrigerate for at least one week.

This is the perfect summer drink — the addition of grated ginger really gives the lemonade a delicious zing! I drink lemonade at least 5 times a week every summer so I’m always looking for ways to jazz up my ordinary lemonade and trust me, this recipe’s perfect.

I’ve just recently – thanks to this green project – have switched up my favourite recipes from standard grocery store purchases to healthier, green choices. And let me tell you, organic fruit and vegetables are so much more delicious! I find that this recipe in particular is much better with organic lemons and ginger. Try it out for yourself!

Ingredients

• 10-12 medium organic lemons (scrub them well, slice them thinly)
• 3 tablespoons grated fresh organic ginger (crystallized ginger works well enough, but fresh is best)
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar (I’ve switched to raw sugar as I like the taste much more)
• 5 cups cold water

Method

1. Mash lemons, ginger, and sugar (and salt, if using) in large, deep bowl with potato masher or wooden spoon until lemon slices give up their juice, sugar is dissolved, and juice is thickened to syrup consistency, about 4 minutes.
2. Pour half the lemon slices and syrup through large sieve over bowl; press on solids with masher or back of wooden spoon to release as much liquid as possible. Discard solids; transfer liquid to serving pitcher. Repeat process with remaining lemon slices. Stir in water until blended.
3. Chill well and stir to blend before serving over ice.
4. Enjoy! No, really. Grab yourself a good book and some sunglasses and go sit outside! Enjoy the summer while it’s still here.