Cucumber Salad with Millet Flat Bread

Hmmm....Yummy cucumber salad, the perfect summer dish. The summer heat always brings on a craving for a fresh cucumber salad with lots of flavor and simple ingredients. My husband and I have done a bit of traveling together in the in the Middle East where there are a few versions of a cucumber salads that have similar tastes but can be completely different depending on who's opinion you get. I personally love making a cucumber salad that keeps it simple. It is a delicious side dish, or can be paired with some flat bread to make a great dinner. Or you could roll it up in a brown rice wrap and make a meal out of it as well. Easy, fresh and tasty...what more could you ask for in the summer when you want to be outside taking advantage of the beautiful weather.



Ingredients:
6 small or 3 large peeled cucumbers quarter-diced
(sliced and then quartered into 4 pieces)
1 large red pepper diced
1/2 cup of diced cherry tomatoes
1/3 cup of organic balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
drizzle a little agave
cracked pepper and sea salt to taste
1 ts. of minced garlic (dried or fresh)
handful of fresh basil, thyme and oregano chopped
fresh squeezed lemon (optional)
1 3-4oz. package of goat cheese feta, or goat cheese flavored with garlic and herbs (optional)


Mix all the ingredients together, if you bought goat feta cheese sprinkle and break up the pieces to fully cover the salad, if you bought the more pliable goat cheese, cut it in cubes and mix in and through, as well as on top. Then keep in the fridge from 15- 30 minutes before serving to let the flavors blend together and to keep the salad chilled. It is that easy.


Now to add some flat bread to the salad...

Ingredients:


Dry:

1 1/4 cup millet flour (or grind millet seeds in a coffee grinder)

1 cup of sweet sorghum flour

1/2 cup of brown rice flour

2 ts. of xanthan gum or gaur gum

2 ts. of baking powder

1 ts. of sea salt

1 ts. of cracked pepper

2 ts. of minced garlic

2 ts. of dried rosemary

2 ts. of dried sweet basil

Wet:

2 ts. of apple cider vinegar

1 whisked free-range organic egg

3 TB. of extra virgin olive oil

2 TB of honey

1 cup of hot/warm water

Mix all the dry ingredients together. Then mix all the wet ingredients together seperately. Slowly pour the wet into the dry and let the baking powder and vinegar react and start to bubble a bit.

Mix all the ingredients well and dust with millet flour or cornmeal before rolling out in a 13x13 circular baking pan or cookie sheet. Make sure you oil/flour the pan so the bread doesn't stick, or use parchment paper down on the baking sheet. The batter is sticky so you have to form the bread in a square or circle depending on your pan size. Lay it out so that it is about 2 inches thick all over. Then...

Add to top of bread:

3/4 cup of crushed canned tomatoes brushed over the whole bread

4 large diced garlic cloves scattered

1/2 cup diced fresh herbs (I used basil, thyme and oregano) sprinkled

Sprinkle sea salt and freshly cracked pepper

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. You can tell it is done when the garlic cloves are browned and the edges are browning.

Let cool a few minutes and then use a pizza cutter to slice up the bread in squares or triangles.

Serve it up with the chilled cucumber salad and viola! You have dinner!

Enjoy!