Green Recipe No. 14

I read somewhere that using your microwave instead of the stovetop or oven saves up to 70% of energy use.  So not cooking at all is best, right?  Here's a non-cooking recipe.  I made this today for dinner with biryani.  

TZATZIKI

2 cups plain yogurt

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and grated

1/2 cup light sour cream

1 T. salt

2 T. fresh lemon juice

2 T. fresh dill, minced or 2 T. fresh mint, minced (don't use them both together - yuck)

1 t. dried oregano

2 garlic cloves, mashed and minced to a paste

Salt to taste

Line a sieve with cheesecloth and drain yogurt over a bowl in the refrigerator over night.  (You can skip that step but it will be less runny if you do it.) Mix cucumber with 1 T. salt, chill 2 hours and drain (Ditto on the runny factor, but I don't recommend skipping this step.  Discard the drippings from the yogurt.  Mix the yogurt with the cucumber and reamining ingredients.  Salt to taste.  Serve with pita or just as a side salad.  To make it into a salad dressing, put it into a blender or food processor while it's running, slowly add 1/2 cup olive oil until emulsified. 

Tip for mashing/mincing the garlic:  peel and chop the cloves.  Then flatten on a cutting board and cover with about 1/4 t. salt.  The salt acts like an abrasive.  Use the flat side of your knife to mash and "puree" the garlic - going back and forth with the sides of the knife. Keep doing this and mincing until it's a paste.