Cucumber Salad with Dilled Yogurt

Cucumbers fresh from the garden are one of life's little pleasures.  The harvesting season is entirely too short, if you ask me; I wish it was all year long.  Of course, there are cucumbers available at the grocery store all year long, but just because they look like cucumbers, doesn't make them cucumbers.  Fresh summer cucumbers not only smell like cucumbers, they taste like them too (which isn't true for the winter cucumbers in the grocery store).

Because it is so crazy hot here right now (90 degrees Fahrenheit and oppressively humid at 10am) , I don't feel like fighting the air conditioning in the kitchen with the heat from my oven.  So, it's going to be a salad sort of day.  I've got some of those luscious cucumbers and some big, beautiful tomatoes resting on my counter, and I can almost hear them calling to me to dress them in yogurt and dill.  They like that.

This version of this salad is simply utilizing what I had on hand.  A squeeze of lemon in the yogurt sauce is nice, too, but I didn't have any.  If you've got a lemon, go ahead and give it a little squeeze.

Cucumber Salad with Dilled Yogurt
(serves about 4)

• 1/2 c plain yogurt (full fat)
• 1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh dill
• 1-2 big tomatoes, sliced about 1/3" thick    
• 1-2 cucumbers, sliced on the diagonal 1/3" thick
• very thinly sliced red onion, (about 1/4 of the onion, maybe less)
• salt and freshly ground pepper

Mix the dill, yogurt, and a little salt together in a small bowl and set aside for at least 15 minutes to give the dill time to flavor the yogurt.*

Layer 2 tomato slices on each plate, topped with 3 cucumbers and a few strands of onion.  Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.  Drizzle yogurt sauce over and top with a little more chopped dill, if desired.

Eat with a fork and knife.

* Note - the longer you allow the dill and yogurt to do its thing, the stronger the dill flavor will be.