Easy Tzatziki Sauce

I don’t know what’s going on lately, but I just can’t get warm. My hands always run cold, but now it’s my hands and my feet and my whole damn body. My favorite thing to do is turn on the electric blanket and snuggle in bed with a book, whether it's an acceptable bedtime or as soon as I get home from work. 

We’re coming off of a wintry mix, which is the worst weather term ever coined. Meteorologists were like, "hmmm, how can we confuse people when we don’t know what the hell the weather will do, but we want to assure them it will be shitty?" It started as lightly falling snow, but began sticking pretty quickly, turning from gentle, picturesque snow, to those heavy, wet flakes that slush up the road and make for frightening driving. It switched over to sleet and rain and is now the gray sludge of winter that makes you question why you decided to stay in a climate that continually endures the wintry mix. 

It’s gotten to the point where I can’t remember what the sun feels like on my skin. What would it be like to live in a world where I don’t need a hat and gloves and coat and scarf and boots to go check the mail? Summer? Pleasant temperatures? Enjoying the outdoors? Lies, all of it. 

It’s around this point of the year where I fall into a deep, dark place. Chocolate and booze don’t really help, though it doesn’t stop me from trying to drown the winter blues in both of those. It’s the most vicious cycle because I’m cold and miserable, so I eat comfort food to feel better, then I’m still cold and miserable afterwards, only now I’m bloated, too. 

In an effort to eat more veg without feeling bored, I’ve been making tzatziki sauce practically every week. It’s freaking delicious and it’s so damn easy. I’ve included the recipe below, but I feel kind of silly calling it a recipe because you’re just stirring a bunch of stuff together. Use a food processor for the cucumber; I have a small, one-cup processor and it's perfect for this*

Tzatziki Sauce

Ingredients:

1 medium cucumber

2 cups plain Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh dill, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Peel and pulse cucumber in food processor. Scoop the cucumber onto a cutting board and dab with a kitchen towel to get out excess moisture. Cucumbers are like 90% water, so don’t skip this step or your sauce will be hella runny. You could use a cheesecloth if you're bougie, but who has cheesecloth lying around the house? 

2. Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl; add cucumber and season to taste

3. Refrigerate until ready to serve; this is a great dish to make ahead of time. I usually prep a batch on Wednesday and use it throughout the week. It pairs nicely with carrot sticks, tomatoes, pita, chips, pretzels, bread, cheese aka everything

*If you don’t have a food processor what are you doing with your life try throwing everything in a blender and pulse; I like it a little chunky, but that's up to you