Cucumber Beet Salad

I can’t believe it's Labor Day - where has the Summer gone? The cucumbers are finally winding down; I’d say when all is said and done, we will have harvested about 68 - 70 pounds. Thank goodness for friends, neighbors, and my Buy Nothing group - they took them eagerly. 

We’re still getting lots of zucchini and yellow squash, greens, beets, turnips, kohlrabi, and the tomatoes are finally starting to ripen; as a matter of fact, we had veggie bacon BLTs for dinner tonight with a delicious Brandywine tomato - it was so so good. 

Today we harvested the black turtle beans, and they are sitting in the drying rack - can’t wait to turn them into soup this winter. Hope everyone is enjoying this lovely day.

Ingredients:

1 small to medium cucumber - sliced

1 large or 4 small beets 

1 Tbsp sunflower seeds 

2 Tbsp feta cheese -crumbled 

Lemon dijon dressing:
3 tbsp lemon - juiced
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 small clove of garlic - crushed
1 tablespoon of olive oil
salt and ground black pepper - to taste

Instructions:

Wrap the beets in aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil, and roast them at 400 degrees until cooked. 

While the beets are roasting, combine all dressing ingredients in a small jar and shake to combine. 

When the beets are cooked, remove from foil, put in a cold water bath, and slide off the peels. 

Slice cucumbers and scatter 1/2 of them on a platter. Add the beets and drizzle with some of the dressing. Add another layer of cucumbers and beets, and drizzle with additional dressing. 

Sprinkle the feta and sunflower seeds over the cucumber/beets and serve!