At this time of the year my garden and the farmer’s markets are full of the bounty of summer. I love seeing all the tomatoes, corn, and zucchini and thinking of the things I can make with them. Another summer vegetable that I look forward to are cucumbers. I’m sharing two recipes with you today. One is an old favorite that I have tweaked a bit and the other is a new one I tried recently that everyone seems to like.
Easy Refrigerator Pickles
It wouldn’t be summer if I didn’t make a batch of these almost weekly. The original recipe calls for white sugar. There’s nothing wrong with sugar in small quantities but I almost never have it in the house. Last year I tried substituting agave syrup but the flavor was rather flat. This year I tried honey and I like the results. This recipe will just about fill a one quart mason jar, depending on how tightly you pack the cucumbers.
1 large or two small cucumbers, peeled and sliced (I like to leave some of the peel on the cucumber – it looks prettier and adds crunch besides retaining the fiber and nutrition in the cucumber peel.)
1 small white onion, sliced thin
1/4 cup white sugar or other sweetener
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
Begin by combining the sweetener, water, vinegar, and salt in a small sauce pan. Bring to a simmer and stir until the sweetener is dissolved. It doesn’t have to boil.
Let this cool and preferably chill in the refrigerator before moving on. Layer the cucumber and onion in a jar, alternating each and packing tightly until the jar is full. Pour the cold vinegar and water mixture into the jar until the liquid covers the cucumbers. Put the lid on it and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
These easy pickles are a favorite of my husband’s. I hope you enjoy them, too.
Cucumber Salsa
It might surprise you that I do not own a large food processor. I’m perfectly fine using a knife to do all of my chopping but I was demonstrating this recipe in a park recently and I wanted it to move along a little faster. I went online looking for a vegetable chopper that did not require electricity and found this little darling…
It’s rather small, just 4 cups, but it was big enough to make one batch of salsa. The round green button is a knob that pulls a cord to rotates the blades. I was doing the demonstration at an event geared toward kids and this device was a big hit. Everyone wanted a turn at pulling the cord. One thing that I have noticed about kids is that if they are involved in the preparation of a meal, they are much more likely to at least taste the results and this time was no different. We all got a workout, too!
Here are the ingredients for the salsa:
One medium cucumber, cut into large chunks
One medium bell pepper, cut into large chunks
One small white onion, cut into large chunks
One medium tomato, cut into large chunks
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, diced
1 teaspoon cilantro, or to taste
Juice of 1/2 large lime
1/4 teaspoon dried dill
salt and pepper to taste
Put the harder vegetables (the cucumber, pepper, and onion) in first and process those a few times before adding the tomatoes.
Add the tomato and process until everything is uniformly diced. Add the jalapeno, garlic, and cilantro last and process a few more times just to blend everything together.
After everything is processed transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the lime juice, dill, salt and pepper. Chill for at least two hours before serving.
Of course you could use a regular food processor for this, or just chop your vegetable with a knife. I wouldn’t recommend a blender, though, as this is meant to be a salsa and should have some chunkiness.
I have eaten this with a spoon but it also goes great with tortilla chips and here’s the other thing. I try not to keep large bags of chips in the house because they are a weakness of mine. It works better for me to make my own chips and make just enough for a single portion or two. To do this cut corn tortillas into triangles, arrange them on a baking sheet and spray or brush them with a little olive oil. Sprinkle with salt or seasoning and bake them in a 400 degree oven for about 5 minutes or until crisp.
Cucumber salsa makes a nice, fresh tasting alternative to regular salsa and it’s a great way to use all of the vegetables that are in season right now.
Please let me know if you enjoy these recipes.
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