Fresh Homemade Tzatziki- dress up chicken, veggies, a spoon! |

Well thank goodness Vancouver! I woke up this morning feeling drowsy, I noticed the blazing sunlight and figured I had slept through the morning. Feeling terrible about wasting my day, I pulled myself out of bed to discover that it was 8:30am! What an incredible day! I cruised outside for a stroll, lingering in the sun. It is not summer-warm yet, but it feels incredible and I am once again thrilled to live in this city! Feeling summery I am back on track with bright and fresh food, this dip is no exception!

I don’t know anyone that doesn’t like tzatziki (I am sure those people exist, and that’s okay!), and this recipe is easy and quick so you can be enjoying it in no time! One thing I did with this twist, that some will find strange and terrible, is I used sour cream instead of yogurt; I did this because it keeps the same flavours/textures but is lower in carbs. Feel free to sub in plain yogurt (I recommend Greek), and consider lowering the amount of lemon juice because it will be slightly more tart. Get in there, make this! I am going to grill up some chicken drumsticks for dinner and serve with a generous dollop of tzatziki and a squeeze of lemon!

Ugh, also I have an embarrassing kitchen confession! This is not the first time I’ve made this recipe, it is the first time I’ve gotten my stuff together to take pictures while making it. Anyway, that’s not the confession: I have been happily using my food processor with the grater attachment to quickly and efficiently grate everything. As I set up the grater and started to feed the cucumber through I thought to myself, “Man, people who use regular graters are fools! This is so fast and does such a great job! I was a fooooool before!” Immediately after feeding the last of the peeled cucumber through I realized that I had forgotten to deseed the cucumber… darn, well that’s okay, it will be more watery, take a little more squeezing. That’s okay! Then I popped open the processor and saw a coarse, pulpy mess, not the perfect shreds that I’ve created before… flargh! I left the regular blade in as well. Sigh, all this to say, don’t get cocky in the kitchen! I still made the tzatziki with this differently–textured cucumber, and it is still delicious.

Tzatziki

INGREDIENTS

1 large cucumber, peeled and deseeded (use a spoon to gently scoop them out)
1 1/4 cup sour cream
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
pinch of fresh dill, minced (*optional)
1 tsp coarse salt (taste for more)
1/2 tsp black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Grated the cucumber and place in a colander. Squeeze out as much water as possible. If you’d like, sprinkle with a little salt and let sit in the colander over a bowl for 10 minutes to draw out more water (you should be fine squeezing by hand though).
In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and stir well to combine.
Let mellow in the fridge overnight for the best flavour. Feel free to eat right away with veggies, barbecue, or a spoon.