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Cucumber Surplus?
SPICY FROZEN CUCUMBERS
- 4 cups (about 12 to 14) pickling cucumbers,
3"-4" long, washed and thinly sliced
2 large onions, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon whole white mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground tumeric
- Combine the cucumbers, onions and salt in a
glass or ceramic bowl. Let stand at room temperature for 2 to 4 hours to
extract the moisture.
- Rinse and drain the vegeables well, blotting
them with paper towels to remove excess moisture.
- Combine all remaining ingredients and mix well
until all the sugar has dissolved, about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Stir in the onions and cucumbers.
- Pour the cucumber mixture into clean plastic
freezer containers, leaving 1" of headspace for expansion. Cap and seal well.
- This will keep well in the freezer for up to a
year. Be sure to label containers with pickling date.
- To serve, thaw in refrigerator for minimum of
4 hours. Serve chilled. You need to use all of a jar of these within about a
week of their thawing date.
This recipe makes approximately 5 pints.
Oklahoma-Style
Fried Cucumbers
- 2 medium cucumbers, peeled and cut into 1/4"
slices
2 eggs, beaten
1 & 1/2 cup fine, dry seasoned breadcrumbs
vegetable oil
Dip the cucumber slices into the egg and dredge
through the breadcrumbs. Fry the breaded cucumber slices in hot oil (375
degrees) in skillet until browned, turning once. Drain well on paper towels.
Serve with the dipping sauce of your choice, like horseradish sauce, ranch
dressing, honey-mustard sauce, etc.
COOL CUCUMBER SOUP
- 4 large cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 (16-ounce) container low-fat plain yogurt
1 garlic clove
1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed
1 teaspoon salt
- In a blender or a food processor, purée all
the ingredients until smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender as
necessary.
- Transfer to a large bowl, cover, and chill for
at least 2 hours, or overnight. Serve chilled.
For an extra-sweet touch, add 1 tablespoon honey
to the ingredients. And it's nice to garnish each bowl of soup with a cucumber
slice and a few sprigs of fresh mint.
FREEZER CUCUMBERS
- 2 quart sliced cucumbers
- 2 TB salt
- 3 medium onions sliced
- Mix and let stand 2 hours. Then rinse
thoroughly.
- 1 1/2 C Sugar
- 1/2 C vinegar
- Heat enough to dissolve sugar. Add 1 tsp.
celery seed. Cool, pour over cucumber mixture and freeze.
I wasn't sure I'd like these much. I'm not
normally a fan of sweet type pickles. I can't attest to the flavor after being
frozen yet, but these sure were good before they were frozen!
But even making a double batch of this recipe only put a dent into the cucumbers
already picked, not to mention those that are almost ready to be picked. Search
began for yet another way to use those cucumbers. I
These two recipes have helped to alleviate the
cucumber surplus, for now.
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