The Lazy Tzatziki- a Delicious Way to Keep the Kitchen Cool (plus Drinks!)

This unassuming dish addition can act as a sauce, spread, and solution to all summer cooking woes. With a tasty and healthy mix of yogurt, cucumber and spices, this is sure to keep you cool and inspire culinary exploration. The leftover juice can even be made into a refreshing drink!

This is a "lazy" recipe only because it allows for flexibility and deviation of steps. Only have dried dill or bottled lemon juice? Perfectly acceptable! I don't want to have to go back outside to fetch an ingredient that will rot in my house, and I assume you don't want to either. That being said, you're welcome to get the fresh versions if you'd like.

Step 7 contains ideas for how to use this, but honestly the sky's the limit here, so enjoy!

For the tzatziki

1 cucumber, peeled if desired

1 1/2c yogurt of choice

1T olive oil

1T lemon juice (fresh or bottled)

1T dried or fresh dill

Dash of garlic powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

For the drink

Juice of cucumber from above

1 can sparkling/soda water

1T lemon juice

Sweetener to taste

(if desired, 1oz vodka)

To make as much as pictured

Double everything

To shred the cucumber, I suggest a box grater, though any other shredding device would work. A peeled cucumber will shred easier and give a lighter colored juice, while an unpeeled cucumber increases fiber and vitamin content. It is still healthy regardless, so pick your poison.

To shred a cucumber safely, cut off the end of one and push that face against the grater in strong, controlled motions. If you are worried, they also make cut proof gloves! Shred until you get to the other rounded end, approx. 2in, and discard or save to eat with the tzatziki later.

You will need to squeeze the liquid out of the cucumber. This can be done with a cheesecloth, but as this is tzatziki for the lazy man, I just used my hands. Some moisture is okay, so don't fret about it too much.

You can run that juice through a sieve/colander/cheesecloth/cloth to get the last bits of cucumber solids out, and funnel that juice into a cup. Then add the sparkling water, lemon, sweetener, and optional liquor, and pour over ice. Yum!

Note- You can drink the bits without any staining too. I normally do this, as I am in fact quite lazy. I strained it for y'all. You're welcome :)

The amount of yogurt you need to add varies. A smaller cucumber will only need a cup, whereas a larger one would want a cup and a half. Of course, you could enjoy one ingredient more then the other and skew it that way, but don't deviate too far, otherwise the flavor and usability will be lessened.

You can combine this step with step 5.

Add the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper at this stage. Taste and adjust. It should be creamy, light, and slightly savory, but if you are worried about the "to taste", I recommend seasoning small spoonfuls to test quantities, then applying that to the rest of the batch. This is a method that can be used in lots of other cooking too!

Wait 5-10 minutes and enjoy! Garlic powder, pepper, and dried dill both improve with a small wait time for the flavors to bloom,. Though the wait is not needed, it is recommended for best results.

While you wait, why not read up on what you could use this for? (see next step)

Tzatziki is best used with deep spices, such as cumin and garlic, or lighter flavors, such as citrus, and herbs, such as oregano, rosemary, thyme, and basil. That is a lot to work with!

Cooking suggestions

Roasted chicken seasoned with orange and herbs

Grains such as cous-cous, quinoa, or farro cooked in broth and dried fruit with nuts

Falafels (chickpeas ground with cilantro or parsley, fried/baked in balls)

Cold suggestions

Used as a dip for veggies and pita bread

Used as a sauce in sandwiches- tea or cold cut sandwiches work

Used as a salad dressing (thin with more olive oil and/or lemon juice if needed)

Used to finish that bag of crackers that mysteriously appeared in the pantry

Used as a replacement for that chip dip that mysteriously disappeared the other day