Cookaholics Bulletin Board

I'm harvesting an average of 9 really good sized cukes each weekend for the last 4 weekends and my plants appear to be very, very happy so as much as I hope this trend continues I'm running out of cucumber ideas. I've looked thru the cucumber salad thread and am going to try Pierre Franey's version next but would love to have some ideas besides cucumber salad. I have a cucmber salad recipe that we love but after 3 weekends in a row we need a break. I made a cold cuke/buttermilk soup this weekend that I've made it before but it was awful - had to toss it - and don't know what went wrong. I have still 5 that need to be used before next weekends' harvest which will likely be 9+.

Ah, summer.....loving it!!!!!

Pickles? Relish?

I've heard that some people add them to green smoothies. You could probably go through quite a number that way. Sliced in water (instead of lemon) is good too. I dip slices in hummus in lieu of bread, plus they are traditional in cream cheese and cucumber tea sandwiches, and topped with cream cheese and a variety of garnishes as appetizers. Greek salad is good too (and can use a lot). I put them in my green salads with bell peppers, tomatoes, avocado, and sunflower seeds with balsamic vinaigrette. You'd use a fair bit in homemade tzatziki sauce as well. That's all I've got..

I just made a batch of gazpacho, which used up a large amount of those tomatoes, as well as the cukes, both in the soup, plus diced up for garnish. One of my favorite things to make in the summer, when I have enough tomatoes.

And one of my favorite quick pickles to make is simply to take cukes, cut in half legthwise, scoop the seeds out, and cut them into sticks, about 1/2" wide by about 2 1/2" long. Then put in a quart jar with 1/4c each white sugar and vinegar (for two cukes, about 2/3 of a jar), plus 1/2 tsp salt, and shake to dissolve the sugar. Soak 3 hours, or longer in the fridge, and serve as is, drained, or add some seasoning - a little sesame oil, hot oil, or, my favorite, nam prik pao. I just made about 2 quarts of this, before all those tomatoes came in, and had made a Thai curry, with mostly veggies from the garden. I had this on the side, and, despite the heat, it's one of those things people can't stop eating! It's good left over, if there is any. Bell peppers are also good pickled this way, and served with the cukes.

My dad always peeled and sliced them along with some red onions and packed them into a mason jar. He poured about a half cup of white vinegar over the cukes, then added about a tsp of sugar,salt and black pepper. He covered the jar and refrigerated it and 24 hours later he served them as a side salad or mixed in a salad or just as a condiment.
BTW... salt and pepper is to taste

Let me know how the Pierre Franey recipe turns out. It's one of my favorites.

How about something like this?

CUCUMBER AGUA FRESCA

INGREDIENTS:

4 1/2 cups coarsely chopped seeded peeled cucumbers (about 4 medium)
4 cups cold water
2 cups ice cubes
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup fresh lime juice
2 large pinches of salt
Additional ice cubes

DIRECTIONS:

Combine 2 1/4 cups chopped cucumbers, 2 cups water, 1 cup ice cubes, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup lime juice, and 1 pinch of salt in blender. Blend until sugar dissolves and mixture is smooth but slushy, about 2 minutes. Transfer mixture to pitcher. Repeat with remaining chopped cucumbers, 2 cups water, 1 cup ice cubes, sugar, lime juice, and salt.

Place additional ice cubes in 8 glasses. Fill with cucumber drink.

Yield: Serves 8

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/ ... sca-201229

I put them in my smoothies; but only about a 1/3 of a cuke in each one, along with a few other greenies and lots of berries. How about some tzatziki sauce for either gyros or some chicken skewers?

What about cucumber cocktails? Supposedly these are "hot". Here's an old article from SFGate that might get you started: http://www.sfgate.com/wine/article/Bart ... 503533.php