THE PINK SHOE COOKBOOK: The Night of the Cucumber

With bathing suit season a breath away, I (and Adam inadvertantly since he eats what I cook!) have gone back on Weight Watchers for kicks and giggles!

I decided to do the online option since the new mobile app makes it so easy to keep track of points on the go (and even has a built in point calculator!). Not to mention I just love WW recipes. There are thousands of them and I feel like every day I have a new favorite. In this case my new favorites are what I made last night. A night I will refer to as years go by as The Night of the Cucumber.

I was at Stop and Shop the other day and they had simply gorgeous cucumbers. A good size. Firm. Vibrant green. I bought a few and decided to plan a meal around them. After consulting my WW cookbooks I decided to go with Poached Salmon and Cucumbers with a side of Cold Cucumber Soup.

Now, I had never poached a fish before and was a little dubious about how it would come out (overcooked fish is an abomination). But the broth used to poach the salmon is so flavorful - it gives a rich taste to the fish without adding any extra calories. And poached cucumbers? Might sound a little off but once you try them you will fall in love. They miraculously retain their crispness and impart a delicious bright and grassy flavor to the dish. It screams SUMMER.

And since I have been wanting to do a cuke soup for a while anyway - I decided to serve that on the side. Cuke Two Ways, if you will. The soup was incredibly easy, cool and refreshing. And went deliciously well with the salmon.

Poached Salmon and Cucumber
Serves 4, 5 pts a serving
1 lb salmon
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and sliced thinly
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
½ cup white wine
2 tbsp fresh dill (or more if you love dill, which I do)
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp lemon rind
2 cups brown rice

In a large pan – bring to a boil the broth and wine. Add the dill, lemon, salt and pepper and let simmer for 20 minutes to let the flavors blend.

Feel free to taste it and adjust the seasonings as you see fit. I added a bunch more dill because I LOVE DILL.

Add the cucumbers and let cook for 2 minutes

Add the salmon, skin down, and simmer in the broth, covered, for 5-7 minutes.

(I only used 1/2 the fish since it was just for adam and I and I dont like fish leftovers. O froze the rest of my salmon for another time!)

Serve over rice with cucumbers and broth spooned on top.

Cucumber Soup
4 servings. 2 pts a serving.
3 cups low fat plain yogurt
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 tbsp fresh dill
1 tbsp fresh mint
1 tbsp fresh chives
1 tbsp lemon juice (optional)
½ tsp salt
1/4 – ½ cup water.

Blend all ingredients but the water. Taste and adjust herbs/seasonings to suit you. Add water and stir until desired constistancy. Chill 1 hour. Serve with some chopped dill or mint on top.