A cucumber a day...

A Cucumber A Day Keeps The Doctor Away

           Cucumbers have the highest alkaline forming rating of all the vegetables available in your local grocer or your backyard garden, so eat them as often as you can and any way you can.  My favorite way is to pluck them off the vine and eat them as a snack.  A cucumber fresh off the vine is crunchy and sweet and

Beyond the Bull's
            Chimichurri lamb with cucumber yogurt dipping sauce

cool---cool as a cucumber.  But, cucumbers also pair well in condiments with the heat from chilis and spices, and they are excellent alkaline boosters to accompany poultry and fish.  You know the old saying an apple a day keeps the doctor away?  I am officially replacing it with a cucumber a day!  Here are six ways to use cukes in your daily meal planning, each starring the smartest of all vegetables---the cucumber.   Eat smart, America!

1.        Cucumber dip

Dice a cucumber, add a dollop of Greek yogurt, a few jalapeno slices, cilantro and an avocado.  Blend until smooth and use it to dip crudités or whole grain pita wedges.

2.        Cucumber soup  

In the blender combine mint, cucumber, chicken stock, and goat cheese for a cool as a cucumber refreshing chilled soup starter before any meal.

3.       Chopped cucumber salad 

Cucumbers can be sliced, diced, curled or rough chopped, and make any salad a “smart” salad when paired with radish, tomatoes, basil, with or without a goat cheese garnish.  Even on their own, they are perfect with fresh herbs and a sprinkle of oil and lemon.

4.      Cucumber condiments  

Ice box pickles are easy to make with no cooking required.  Just pack cucumber slices into a jar of cider vinegar, a little brown sugar, some onion and celery.  Add celery seed, mustard seed, a pinch of sea salt and refrigerate.   

5.     Cucumber jalapeno salsa 

Try this recipe for a piquant, smart salsa.  Cucumbers don’t last very long in the refrigerator once cut, so make only what you can eat a day or two at a time.

Yield:   Approximately 6 cups          

Ingredients

3 each cucumber, Mexican, small dice, peel on

2 each jalapeno, brunois

1 cup corn, frozen whole kernel

4 each scallions, diced, green part only

8 sprigs cilantro, fresh, rough chopped

1 cup vinegar, apple cider

1 pinch sea salt

2 tablespoons sugar, dark brown, real molasses

1 each juice and zest of lemon

Directions

Combine apple cider vinegar, salt, lemon and sugar and whisk until sugar is dissolved.  Fold in the remaining ingredients.  Chill and serve.

Recommended Service:  Top off fish or fowl, mix into quinoa as a salad or top off a dinner salad by adding a little oil and cucumber salsa.

           6.       Wholey cucumber

              My favorite---the perfect snack food eaten whole! 

If you are so busy with family schedules, professional commitments and personal obligations that there is no time left for meal preparation, you can always go to the Bull for a platter of chimichurri  lamb  with a side of slaw, Brussels sprouts, tomato-jalapeno-corn salsa and the best goat yogurt sauce in the upstate, starring the smartest vegetable of all---the cucumber!

Buon Appetito e Buona Salute, Chef AngelaB

Beyond the Bulll (an "eat smart" kitchen)

233 W. Main St., Central, SC 29630
http://antiaginggastronomy.blogspot.com/
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