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It’s high summer here in Wisconsin and no one is enjoying it more than our family. Our kids have been enjoying the lake on weekends, with lots of swimming, fishing and kayak races. The grown-ups have been equally thrilled to bask in the season and all the foods of summer.
We had our first big summer gathering at the cottage, over the holiday weekend and dubbed it it a 5th of July Party. Although it may have appeared as a small group to some, with only a dozen adults and probably as many kids present, it was just the right size for our small cottage on a small lake in the middle of Nowhere, Wisconsin.
There was Sangria (coming soon!), there was Rhubarb Slush, there was Cornell Chicken, and even Jerked Beef. That list is just the tip of the ice berg. Of relevance to this post, their was fresh corn on the cob as well.
Our 5th of July fete was a great success if judged by the smiles and laughter of our human guests, and the cannines who were fetching water toys off the pier. In spite of all the food, we did pretty well with not having an over abundance of leftovers; there were however a few ears of corn that found themselves wrapped in cellophane and on the lower shelf of our fridge.
Just the next day, on the 6th of July, that same corn found itself falling into a hot iron skillet where I roasted it to a brown tenderness. A few sweet baby bell peppers joined it, and before you know it another party was commencing on the stovetop.
My original intent was to serve this with some traditional tortilla chips but before I could open the bag, that little light that sometimes illuminates between my ears started flashing. “Use the cucumber, use the cucumber, use the cucumber,” the signals were coming loud and clear. In lieu of the store-bought, processed and salt and fat-laden chips, we subbed a fresh fat cucumber and the party went on and on. Happy summer, try this light and healthy taste of the season. I know you’ll like it. -Dan
Dan & Scott split their time between Wisconsin and Southwest Florida and are dads to six boys. Good food runs through their veins, and they love showing others how to cook easy recipes.
I love cucumbers but never thought of using them as a “chip”. The salsa you made sounds really delicious but as a single person—but I am definitely using that idea with the cucumber–and I just remembered–cucumber sandwiches!!
Dan…what an incredibly beautiful and healthy dish to enjoy all Summer long! Now will you just send some of your gorgeous produce down to Florida? We can’t wait till Fall when our farmers’ markets get going again!
I love fresh salsa but the idea of using cucumbers fresh from my garden to as a vehicle to eat it is awesome! You have just made my snack time that much better. Thank you so much!
Dan, I love the “deconstructed” nature of this. And happy to see you resisted that little bag and went the healthful route. This is for sure on my summer party “to do” list. I think I’ll have to sub basil for the cilantro though. Hope you don’t mind! 🙂 Will you be bringing this healthful dish to our #theWeekendSocial tonight. Love to see it!
Beautiful, flavorful, healthy and amazing! I would love to have a nice plate of this by the pool tonight! Possibly for our annual around the 4th of July annual get together!
What a really neat idea.. i never thought of cucumber slices as chips. how cool is that!
This would be delicious for a cookout. Yum!
I love corn, avocados and cilantro… this sounds so delicious to me! Must make it.
That’s summer on a plate! Lovely and healthy!
YUM! I can’t wait to try this. We LOVE cucumbers in our house!
I love cucumbers but never thought of using them as a “chip”. The salsa you made sounds really delicious but as a single person—but I am definitely using that idea with the cucumber–and I just remembered–cucumber sandwiches!!
Haven’t had a cuke sandwich in ages!
Dan…what an incredibly beautiful and healthy dish to enjoy all Summer long! Now will you just send some of your gorgeous produce down to Florida? We can’t wait till Fall when our farmers’ markets get going again!
Thanks, Linda! Produce from me in July and warm sunshine from you in February sounds like a very fair deal to me… 🙂
I love fresh salsa but the idea of using cucumbers fresh from my garden to as a vehicle to eat it is awesome! You have just made my snack time that much better. Thank you so much!
Thanks for the comments, Rhonda. I’m happy like this one and hope you give it a try!
Dan, I love the “deconstructed” nature of this. And happy to see you resisted that little bag and went the healthful route. This is for sure on my summer party “to do” list. I think I’ll have to sub basil for the cilantro though. Hope you don’t mind! 🙂 Will you be bringing this healthful dish to our #theWeekendSocial tonight. Love to see it!
Basil would bring even more summer to this, KC. And, you know I thought of you as I chopped… 🙂 Thanks so much for the comments!
Beautiful, flavorful, healthy and amazing! I would love to have a nice plate of this by the pool tonight! Possibly for our annual around the 4th of July annual get together!
Thanks so much!