What to do with cucumbers

[Elizabeth86]

Our garden is overflowing. We made a ton od pickles for the boys. Baby girl is the only one that likes them raw, she picks one every day. What else do you like to do with cucumbers. Ive never had them any way besides raw or pickled ever.

[Laura Corin]

Use them in gin and tonic instead of lime.

[Elizabeth86]

Use them in gin and tonic instead of lime.

lol thanks, but no alcohol for this breastfeeding mama and my dh would die if I put a veggie in his drinks.

[Arctic Bunny]

Relish?

[Tap]

We love cucumber lime salsa.  I'm too tired to list ratios but it is 

 

Roma tomatoes, cucumbers peeled and seeded, sweet onion/white onion, green onion, lime juice and zest, cilantro, salt, a smidgen of sugar if the tomatoes are bland, apple cider vinegar.

[Seasider]

Tzatziki!

[Melissa in Australia]

Put some in potato salad.

 

 

My in laws ( German) made cucumber salad. Too slimy for me but a big hit with some.

 

Sneak some into the worm farm when nobody is looking. worms love them

[Melissa in Australia]

Put some in potato salad.

 

 

My in laws ( German) made cucumber salad. Too slimy for me but a big hit with some.

 

Sneak some into the worm farm when nobody is looking. worms love them

[Laura Corin]

lol thanks, but no alcohol for this breastfeeding mama and my dh would die if I put a veggie in his drinks.

I used to drink tonic water with ice and lime when I was breastfeeding. Maybe tonic water with ice and cucumber?

[Melissa in Australia]

Last time I has Thia the stir fry had cucumber strips in it. It tasted great. The peel and seeds were removed.

[Guest]

I make pickle relish with my extras, although I'm not sure what to do this year, because I have about 20 jars of relish from previous years!

[Beth S]

Gazpacho (cold tom & cuke soup).

I read that it's best to use cucumbers with the WARTS for pickle-making.  (It indicated texture?)

 

I'll recommend what I did yesterday:  Put 20 of them in a box out on the church porch, so they'll be adopted by others!  :-)

[SparklyUnicorn]

My MIL cooked them before in a stir fry.  Not bad. 

 

Maybe cucumber granita:

 

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/cucumber-granita

[Amira]

Cucumber feta salad

 

1/2 kilo cucumbers, chopped (and peeled, if your cucumbers have tough skins)

1/4 cup crumbled feta

1-2 T chopped mint

1/2 T or more sumac

Pinch or more cayenne

A bit of minced garlic

Blop of olive oil

Lemon juice

Salt

 

Mix everything together and serve.

 

Uyghur cucumber salad

 

1/2 kilo cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and chopped

2 T salt

2 T black rice vinegar (not black vinegar and it's available at Asian groceries)

1 tsp sesame oil

 

Mix the cucumbers and salt in a strainer and let sit for 15 minutes. Rinse well and squeeze out any liquid. Combine the vinegar and oil and mix into the cucumbers. Add salt if you need to, but I never do.

 

 

Uzbek salad

 

Equal amounts cucumbers and tomatoes, chopped

Thinly sliced onion

Salt

 

Mix the vegetables, adding as onion and salt as you like, and let sit at least 30 minutes before serving.

[Clemsondana]

I make a simple cucumber salad a lot in the summer - 4c sliced cucumbers, 1 c mayo, 1/4 c vinegar, 1/4 c sugar, salt and pepper. Chill for 4 hrs for the cucumbers to crisp up. I've tasted something similar that was sour cream based, so you might be able to sub sour cream or maybe even yogurt - I've never tried. My parents prefer a mix cucumber and tomato topped with an italian or oil and vinegar-style dressing. Sometimes I slice them use them as a base for spoonfuls of chicken salad instead of crackers. Last year I started playing with a concoction where I spiral sliced them, added a bit of salt to pull out the water and then drained them, and then added a mix of mayo, salt and pepper, tomato, and bacon - sort of a low-carb version of my favorite BLT pasta salad. It's not quite ready for prime time yet, but I sometimes make a single serving for myself as a quick healthy lunch. Can you tell that I, too, am usually swimming in cucumbers this time of year?

[kewb]

Cucumber salad

 

Thinly sliced cucumber

Thinly sliced onion

White vinegar

Water (for example, if you used 6 Tbsp of vinegar,you would use 3 Tbsp of water)

Chopped fresh dill (3-4 tablespoons or more, to taste)

A couple of tablespoons of sugar

Pinch of salt

Ground pepper

Pinch of pepper flakes if you like a little heat.

[mytwomonkeys]

My grandmother always put them in a bowl with cut up onion & would soak them in vinegar, sugar, and water. Then she'd refrigerate it and serve with dinner or lunch as a side. It sounds gross typing it, lol - but it was really very yummy!

[J-rap]

I like them in smoothies.

 

ETA:  I also love them in chilled, cucumber mint soup!

 

Here's one recipe:

 

http://www.marthastewart.com/315733/chilled-cucumber-mint-soup

 

 

 

 

Edited July 17, 2017 by J-rap

[Wabi Sabi]

My kids and I really enjoy a Japanese style cucumber salad: 

http://www.japanesecooking101.com/sunomono-cucumber-salad-recipe/

[Heathermomster]

Cucumber/lemon/mint detox water...

[Selkie]

Thinly sliced cucumbers make a good sandwich, with either a little mayo or cream cheese.

[Teachaheart]

Cucumber kimchi http://drbenkim.com/how-to-make-cucumber-kim-chi.htm

 

Avocado cucumber rainbow rolls

[Um_2_4]

Sliced, with feta cheese (good one) and fresh mint on a good baugette. Best summer sandwich ever!

[Lizzie in Ma]

Ever since I cut back on carbs, I use them with cheese instead of crackers, it's lovely!

[Alessandra]

Use them in gin and tonic instead of lime.

Or Pimm's.

[Reefgazer]

Cucumber and mayonnaise sandwiches, or cucumber and tomato salad with oil and vinegar. 

[Lady Florida.]

Our garden is overflowing. We made a ton od pickles for the boys. Baby girl is the only one that likes them raw, she picks one every day. What else do you like to do with cucumbers. Ive never had them any way besides raw or pickled ever.

 

I've never known any way to eat cucumbers besides raw. I've never seen a recipe in which they're cooked. Do you mean pickled vs. not pickled? Or do you mean plain, not seasoned, just eat the cucumber? Unless you mean the latter, I can't imagine anything else you would do with them. If you just mean no one likes them plain, some things you can do-

 

-Cucumber and cream cheese finger sandwiches

-Dip them in hummus or ranch dip

-Cucumber and tomato salad with oil and vinegar (already mentioned by a pp but it's so good I had to repeat it)

-Cucumber dill salad with either mayonnaise or sour cream. Fresh dill is best but dried is good too.

-Dice them up and add them to a couscous salad. Add tomatoes, green onions, fresh parsley and feta cheese. Dress it with olive oil and either white wine vinegar or rice vinegar. Lemon juice (fresh) is good too. Serve cold.

-Make cucumber spa water. Put a few slices in a glass pitcher (it doesn't seem to taste the same in plastic ones). Fill with cold water and refrigerate. You can also add some lemon slices and/or fresh mint leaves, but it's good with just cucumber. It feels extravagant and is so refreshing! Much better than store bought flavored water.

-Tzatziki - Good on so many things, not just gyros or grape leaves.

Edited July 18, 2017 by Lady Florida.

[Arctic Bunny]

My DS asked me to buy a cucumber so he could slice it and eat it with peanut butter. So, there's that, too....

[VaKim]

I fry them, just like yellow squash. Tastes very similar. Not quite as sweet, maybe. 

[Carol in Cal.]

Slice or cut in chunks.  Soak in white vinegar overnight, drain.  (Note:  peel first)

(This gets rid of the burpiness that some get with cukes.)

 

Then serve with:

 

A mixture of sour cream and milk

or

Rice wine vinegar with a little white pepper

or

Chunks mixed with tomato chunks and balsamic vinegar

[Loesje22000]

Cucumber spread (to spread on slices of bread or crackers)

Soup

 

Occasionally we just add them through rise

[KrissiK]

Put them in paper bags, give them to your kids and have them go play ding-ding-ditch to your neighbors and leave the cucumbers on their front porches.😜

[Spy Car]

Put them in paper bags, give them to your kids and have them go play ding-ding-ditch to your neighbors and leave the cucumbers on their front porches.😜

 

Out here it is ding-dong-ditch.

 

Perhaps we need a s/o? :p

 

Bill

[Mergath]

Whenever I make a cold pasta salad (the kind with Italian dressing and tomatoes) I always add lots of chopped cucumbers to it. And you can add cucumber slices when you make stir fry. They're actually delicious cooked.

[RootAnn]

We're giving ours away. One ding-dong-ditch so far, several friend giveaways using "do you want anys," one try at the leave-in-front-of-church-with-a-sign-to-take-as-many-as-you-want, and one try with the same sign idea at the library.

 

The library was the best as I got rid of a bucket of them there. Church offered limited returns (only four were taken). One of the neighbors and a couple friends took six large ones each.

 

We'll have more in a couple of days & will be giving more away. By the bucket load.

[gaillardia]

A variation we make of the cucumber salad...yes on the onions, tomatoes, vinegar. We also add at least a tablespoon of olive oil and a bunch of chopped fresh basil. OH so good. A little sugar, less than a teaspoon, if you don't like it tart. Let it chill for an hour or so. I like the way it keeps, but some may not.

 

ETA: and no mayo

Edited July 22, 2017 by Gaillardia

[Tina]

yes, chopped up in cream cheese with dill weed for a bagel spread.

 

[idnib]

Canned salmon or tuna mixed with a little mayo and use the cucumber slices as crackers for the topping or for scooping.

 

You can also cut a cucumber in half lengthwise, scope out the seeds with a spoon, and fill with the salmon or tuna salad.

Edited July 22, 2017 by idnib

[RegGuheert]

We eat LOTS of cucumber salad when we have a lot of cucumbers.  Love it!  Unfortunately, the groundhog has not left very many for us to eat this year. :glare:

 

ETA: MomsintheGarden just got these special lids to make fresh pickles more easily.  She's only done it once, so the jury's still out.

Edited July 22, 2017 by RegGuheert

[KathyBC]

Cucumber Salsa
Unlike the recipe says, I seed nothing. So, so tasty.

[momacacia]

Juice them, out them in a smoothie, use them like cups for guac and hummus.

[KungFuPanda]

I like cucumber sandwiches, just thin cucumbers, cream cheese, and herbs. I also like chopped salads that are heavy on the cucumbers. Mostly I learned to plant fewer cucumbers because I get tired after a batch or two of pickles.

[vickjul]

Korean Cucumber Salad is a favorite here -- https://kimchimari.com/korean-cucumber-salad/ . I love cucumber kimchi also, but it's more labor intensive, and the rest of the family doesn't like it as well.

[umsami]

There's a Thai cucumber salad with peanuts that I love.

 

I love cucumber sandwiches.  One yummy way to make them is by using whipped cream cheese mixed with some ranch dressing mix.  I slice and salt my cucumbers and let them sit on a paper towel for a bit so not as wet.

 

 

[Seasider]

Cucumber Salsa

Unlike the recipe says, I seed nothing. So, so tasty.

I think there's something wrong with that recipe.

 

It says eat with tortilla chips. It should say eat with a spoon, no need to share.