Recipe Swap: Avocado and Cucumber Tartine

It's always fun to receive a new blog for the Blogger's Choice swaps. Obviously I'm familiar with Caroline's blog, The Barbee Housewife, since she's a member of my cooking board, but I haven't had a chance to really look through her blog. Since Caroline is relatively new to blogging I actually went through her entire blog to check out what she's made. I had a really hard time picking something to make - I actually made something for breakfast after seeing it on her blog, post to come soon - but in the end I needed something easy for lunch one day and this Avocado and Cucumber Tartine looked like it would fit the bill.

I bought a Portuguese roll from my supermarket the same day I made this for lunch, which I highly recommend. There's nothing like fresh-baked bread on a simple sandwich like this. Mincing the cucumber and mashing the avocado took about as long as my toaster oven took to toast the bread, which makes this a super fast lunch.

Holy yum, this is one amazing sandwich. Like cancel your lunch plans, go to the supermarket to purchase the ingredients and whip one up today amazing. You can't go wrong in my book when avocado is involved, but add a crispy baguette and tangy cucumber salad and you've got perfection on a plate. The creaminess of the avocado blended nicely with the tang from the rice vinegar and the nuttiness of the toasted sesame oil.

I'm already contemplating when I can make this sandwich again. So, so good. Thanks for sharing this one, Caroline!

Avocado and Cucumber Tartine
As seen on The Barbee Housewife, from Smitten Kitchen

1 6-inch baguette
1/2 cup cucumber, seeds removed, minced
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Salt and pepper
1 avocado, halved, pit removed
2 teaspoons sesame seeds

Cut bread in half lengthwise and toast.

While the bread is toasting, combine the cucumbers, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and salt in a small bowl. Allow to sit for at least 5 minutes. Mash the avocado in a separate bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Once the bread is toasted, spread the mashed avocado on each baguette half. Top with the cucumber salad, making sure to drizzle the liquid on top. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Tomato & Cucumber Salad

Since Memorial Day weekend was also Baby Girl's baptism, we decided to keep things very, very low-key on Monday so we could rest and relax after a weekend of go, go, go. I knew I wanted to make my all-time favorite potato salad but I was also in the mood for something new. Jaida made this recipe for Tomato & Cucumber Salad for the recent BBQ swap so I decided to give it a shot.


I cut the recipe in half because SP isn't really a fan of cucumbers and because I had a feeling it wouldn't keep well. I should have scaled it back even further because I was the only one who ate it and there was just too much of it. I really liked the flavor and acidity from the vinegar so I'd make it again to bring to a cookout with more people.

Tomato & Cucumber Salad
Sweet Beginnings

1 cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded and sliced
1/6 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 container of plum or cherry tomatoes, cut into halves
1/3 cup coarsely chopped red onion
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl, combine the cucumber, vinegar, sugar and salt. Let stand at room temperature for an hour, stirring occasionally.

Add tomatoes, onion, and oil to cucumbers and toss to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper.