Hungarian Sour Cream Cucumber Salad

We grew cucumbers! It only took two and a half months from seeds to cukes, but we did it!

Just before we harvested our first cukes from our Tower Garden, I asked friends on Facebook for their favorite recipes. My friend Brian suggested a sour cream cucumber salad and several friends backed that up. Apparently, this is a quintessential Southern summertime dish. While I have lived in Charlotte for the past 12 years and have also lived in Birmingham, Alabama, and Lexington, Kentucky, I had no idea! Definitely making this again!

XOXO,
Amy

PS: I added Hungarian to the name, because I saw other versions of this salad use that in the recipe phrase AND the hubby and I just visited -- and loved -- Budapest!

Hungarian Sour Cream Cucumber Salad
Inspired by Tasteofhome.com

1/2 cup sour cream (I use light)
3 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon white sugar
Ground pepper to taste
3-4 cucumbers, peeled (if desired) and thinly sliced
1 small sweet onion or 1/2 Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
Dill to taste

In a large bowl, whisk together the sour cream, vinegar, sugar and pepper. Add the cucumbers and onion, tossing to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least four hours. Top with dill and serve.

Note: When preparing this for a dinner party Chez George, I forgot to read the recipe sufficiently in advance, so I didn't know about the fridge time. The salad was able to sit in the fridge for only about an hour. It still tasted good, but it was definitely better the next day. Sometimes things just have to marinate.

Here is my younger daughter Penny, who harvested our first cucumbers from our Tower Garden.

Herbs of 2012

I don't have a green thumb. In fact, my thumb is more the crusty brown hue of the un-watered and withered. I lack the dedication and interest to keep my gardens alive past June. I don't weed. I don't prune. 

One summer I attempted to grow green beans, and I had a beautiful harvest...of about 10 beans. Note I said beautiful not bountiful. 

Several times I've planted tomatoes. I've heard so many comments about prolific tomato plants. "Oh, my tomatoes are just going crazy! I can't eat them fast enough! I canned all weekend and made 49 gallons of salsa!" I figured that it must be a cinch to grow tomato plants as tall as the garage that hang heavy with fruit. I figured wrong. My tomato crop was a big, fat nada. Zilch. Nothing. Zero. 

Every year, though, I manage to keep a bucket or two of herbs alive on my back porch. This is a testimony to the hardiness of these tasty plants and not at all to my skill level in the garden. Believe me, if I can keep them alive, anyone can. 

This year, I'm growing my favorite herbs in a few sunny yellow planters. Basil and mint live in one...

And parsley, dill, and rosemary are in the other.

Do you grow herbs in your garden? If you haven't given it a try, I'd encourage you to buy a little container of your favorite herb for your patio or stoop or sunny window. It feels so summery to snip a few leaves of basil from your own backyard to add pizzazz to Herbed Quinoa or Corn & Tomato Salad. It's just a tiny bit of effort, and, in my humble opinion, it's well worth it.     

I Just Need Some Air by Lady of the House

Truth be told, I am not a green thumb. Though I adore flowers, know their names, even stop to smell them--I can't seem to keep them alive. My options are limited due to this fact, but even more so now that we're in a north facing flat with no garden. Meanwhile Spring, in all her glory, buds and blooms.

So I went out today in search of some sprig of nature that just might let me at least try and look after it. And after chatting with the nice gals at my local nursery, it was determined that the perfect plant for my type is an air plant. They don't need much, meaning I probably can't screw it up, and they also happen to be wild and wonderful.

I fished out some delicate glass vases my sister gave me ages ago. (CB2 still makes this one!) Then I started by sprinkling a shallow layer of sand into the base of each vase. I added a little reindeer moss for some fluff and color, suspecting the air plant might hinge itself a bit more easily with a little cushion. Then I placed the air plants, strung the vases with twine, and hung them in the kitchen window. I'm delighted to have a bit of the outside in. Now if I can just keep them alive... Wish me luck!

xoxo

{ Lady of the House }

p.s. I just set up an email address, if you'd ever like to drop me a line or ask a question like, "What should I get my sister-in-law for her birthday?" : hdhhLady@gmail.com

p.p.s Oooh! And I'm on Twitter now too: @HDHHLady .Well aren't we fancy!