Recipe: Cool Cucumber Dressed Celery Slaw

Nothing says summer like a cool cucumber salad, and when you combine the cool crunch of cucumbers with fresh slaw, you have the ultimate in a summer picnic offering! The typical cabbage slaw is accented here with the cool juicy crunch of both cucumbers ans celery, and the yogurt dressing is light on fat, but high on flavor with fresh mint. This salad is super fresh flavored, and it should be eaten that way as well. For best results, prepare just before serving.

Cool Cucumber Dressed Celery Slaw
(Makes 4-6 side salads.)

Ingredients:

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3 cups thinly sliced celery
2 cups finely shredded red or green cabbage
1 medium cucumber, peeled and seeded if seeds are too big
1 cup plain nonfat yogurt
3 Tbsp sugar (more or less to taste)
1 to 2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh mint
      
Directions:

• In a large bowl, toss together the celery and cabbage; set aside.
• In a separate bowl, make dressing by first grating the cleaned cucumber into a strainer placed over a bowl, then pressing grated cucumber lightly with the back of a large spoon to squeeze out excess liquid; discard liquid.
• Dump cucumber out of strainer and into a clean bowl, and add the yogurt, sugar, and mint, stirring until sugar dissolves. 
• Pour the dressing over the celery and cabbage mixture and toss well to combine.
• Serve immediately or refrigerate if necessary for up to 1 hours.  The salad will tend to get watery if you keep it any longer than that.
• Toss again just before serving.