The Most Amazing Sauce Ever.

I've been on a gigantic Greek food kick lately. I feel the need to make something Greek once a week. My dad requested that I make the 'gyro sauce' the next time I made falafels, and was happy to oblige. Little did I know that it would turn out to be... the best sauce ever! I kid you not.

Normally, I'm not a huge Greek yogurt fan. I don't care for cucumbers and I don't like dill. However, magic happens when they're all combined together. And it's stored in the fridge really well. I made a batch a week and a half ago and it's still in the bowl with some plastic wrap covering it, and it tastes just as fresh.

The best part: you can put it on ANYTHING. This recipe makes a huge batch, so after eating it with our spanikopita and falafel we had so much left over! I dipped pita bread in it, my dad used it in place of mayo on a wrap, we used it for a vegetable dip instead of ranch dressing, we poured some over quinoa pasta to make a cold pasta salad, I added some to spaghetti and it tasted like an alfredo sauce, I topped a quesadilla with it instead of sour cream, and today we mixed it with chicken to make a quick chicken salad. It tastes amazing on anything!

You really should try it! I've eaten it as part of same meal every day for almost two weeks now.

I think I have a problem.

Magic Tzatziki Sauce

Ingredients:

*3 cups plain Greek yogurt
*2 tbsp lemon juice
*2 medium cucumbers, peeled and diced
*1 clove of garlic, minced
*1 tbsp dill (you can substitute mint if you like, but the dill was amazing! I think I ended up dumping 2 tbsp in by  accident...)

Method:

1. Place the peeled and diced cucumber in a colander over a bowl. Sprinkle with salt, and place a plate and something heavy over the top. (I looked around the kitchen and grabbed three potatoes. It looked ridiculous to anyone else entering the kitchen.) Let it sit for 30 minutes. This will draw the extra water out of the cucumbers and make the sauce less runny. Drain and wipe dry with a paper towel.

2. In a food processor or blender, process the cucumber, garlic, lemon juice, and dill until smooth. Add in the yogurt and continue to process until smooth and even. (It honestly looks like ranch dressing to me.) Let it sit, covered, in the fridge for a few hours before serving.

Warning: It makes a lot. Next time I'll probably cut the recipe in half, so we can eat it all in a week. Don't be afraid to play with the amount of dill depending on your taste. I didn't add any salt, because I added too much salt to my cucumbers during the draining process, so it was already pretty salty! You could add pepper if you'd like!

30 Days of gratitude: Day 6

 

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It’s strange to think about, but in a way this has been one of the best years of my life despite all my medical issues. I’ve had the opportunity to travel with friends and family, eat at fancy restaurants, meet my favorite band, go to numerous concerts and theatre productions, and so much more. I’ve had a whole year of extra time where I’m not running off to student-teach or to worry about school and instead can swap books with my mom, run errands with my Aunt and Grandmommie, and work on my personal goals. My treasures are too numerous to count, but I’ll give it a try with a short list for now!

Life- there are good days and bad days, some are more painful than others, but I am alive. Friends- I’m overwhelmed with the number of people who support me, send me cards and messages, and who are always there to listen despite their own busy schedules. Boyfriend- I’m so lucky to share my life when someone who supports me, loves me, and accepts my quirks- like always having to drive ;) Animals- I love my pets even though they are super strange. My accident-prone TB, Color, Toby- the eyebrow sniffing stalker-dog, and Jack- who always makes me smile with his expressions. Instant love and comfort! Clothes- I am a clothes horse! I love matching different outfits with jewelry and following the latest trends. My clothes make me feel confident and comfortable. Movies- I have a DVD addiction. I love fictional worlds whether it’s in a book or on a screen, and I like the emotions and thoughts I get when I watch or read different genres. Ribbons- I saved every ribbon I ever won at a horse show. When I look at one I remember how much work, training, sacrifice, and help I needed to get each one. Different ribbons have different memories from 4-H shows, to local saddle clubs, and eventually to the collegiate circuit. I hope to add breed circuit to them soon!

 

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 5

 

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It’s easy to take everything around us for granted. We get angry when a restaurant gets our order wrong, frustrated when our cell phone dies, furious with traffic on our daily commute- but when we get down to it all, we have food at our fingertips whenever we want it. We can communicate instantly with someone on the other side of the world, and we are blessed with a job and a way to get there.  But it’s hard to remember how miraculous our life is when something is going wrong. I think I would be a lot less stressed if I took a step back and reminded myself to not be in a hurry. I think I was blessed with the opportunity in the form on a horrible car accident to reevaluate my life and how I live it. Nothing is worth being in such a hurry when it could be your last day. Text messaging and e-mails are wonderful, but there is nothing like a handwritten note. It’s worth it to set aside even five minutes to sit outside with a cup of tea and just take everything in with each sense. I am presented with opportunities every day, and now I stop and think when I feel like procrastinating or taking the easy way out- what could I be missing out on if I let this moment pass me by?