April 24, 2007
The Coupon Clipper - Spring Cucumbers
The Coupon Clipper scours the specials for the best deals in New York's big grocery stores.
With the weather finally creeping into comfortable spring, it’s finally time to start spending a lot of our time thinking of ways to cool off. Some might think of beverages with lots of ice, but for some reason we were thinking about cucumbers. It’s hard to think of another vegetable so cool and so crisp. It might be the perfect warm weather vegetable, and apparently grocery stores feel the same way. They are 3 for $2 at Key Foods, 3 for $1.99 at Pathmark, but leave it to C-Town for pulling out the impressive win with 4 cucumbers for $1 (though we were a little confused about the fact that they had to point out that they were both green and long).
Faced with such a daunting number of cucumbers, it might seem hard to figure out how to use them. There is always tzatziki sauce, which we’ve managed to use as condiment for just about everything. And it might seem strange, but we do quite love little cucumber sandwiches. If that’s too haughty for you, we suggest a nice spring salad. Halve 2 to the 3 cucumbers, and then scoop out the seeds. Slice them into 1/2 inch strips and place in a large bowl. Pour in 1/3 cup of red wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and teaspoon of salt. Let the mixture combine for an hour. When it’s ready, cut up a couple tomatoes, a small red onion, a good handful of mint and toss with 3 tablespoons of olive oil.
|
i like to rub cucumbers over my eyes after morning wake n bake
Thai Cucumber Salad
2 medium-sized cucumbers
1/2 cup very finely minced red onions
1 seeded and chopped jalapeno pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup freshly minced cilantro
1) Peel and seed the cucumbers. Cut into quarters lengthwise, then into
thin slices.
2) Combine everything except the jalapeno pepper and cilantro sprigs into a
medium-sized bowl. Mix gently. Cover tightly, and let marinate in the
refrigerator at least 4 hours.
3) Serve cold. Top with the chopped jalapeno pepper and sprigs of
fresh cilantro.
Wow, those salads sound REALLY yummy. Thanks, guys!
There was also an awesome cucumber-based drink recipe that won a NY Times summer cocktail contest. It's called, naturally, The Cuke:
6 limes, rinsed
1 cup packed mint leaves, no stems, plus 6 sprigs for garnish
3 unwaxed cucumbers
½ cup sugar
2 cups vodka or gin, preferably Hendrick's gin
Sparkling water.
1. Thinly slice 3 limes and place in a pitcher. Juice the rest and add juice to pitcher. Add mint leaves. Slice 2 cucumbers and add, then add sugar. Muddle ingredients. Add vodka or gin. Place in refrigerator to steep 30 minutes or longer.
2. Peel remaining cucumber and cut lengthwise into 6 spears.
3. Fill 6 highball or other large glasses with ice. Strain mixture from pitcher into each. Top with a splash of sparkling water, garnish each glass with a sprig of mint and a cucumber spear, and serve.
Really refreshing!