| Moscow Food Co-op Recipes | |
Meals Kids Might Eat:
Summer of Cucumbers
by Judy Sobeloff, Newsletter Volunteer, from the August 2007 newsletter
Cucumbers, now there’s an idea for a healthy, refreshing summer treat. Or so our naïve heroine thought, undaunted by her children’s initial echoing “Yuck!” (the elder) and “Yuck!” (the younger). Not an auspicious beginning, but if she waited for full-fledged auspiciousness she’d still be waiting.
Cucumbers, I discovered, are primo summer fare for good reason (Listen up, kids! Nutritionists back me up!) Not only, I read, is water the “most abundant nutrient in cucumbers” (www.organicfood.com), but “the inner temperature of a cucumber can be up to 20 degrees cooler than the outside air” (www.foodreference.com). Note to self: Book next summer’s vacation to East Inner Cucumber.
First, my children (cheerfully, eagerly) joined me in making Nancy’s Mother’s Cool Summer Cukes, a recipe my friend Nancy remembers fondly from her childhood, which in turn inspired this article. On hot summer days the woman known to us today as “Nancy’s Mother” would peel and slice up cucumbers in the morning, refrigerating them all day in a container with ice water and vinegar for—voilà!—a cool, quick pickle. Despite my children’s lack of enthusiasm for cucumbers, they love pickles—and besides, with the removal of the tell-tale green peel, I thought this dish stood a fighting chance. Anyone want to place bets?
For experimental purposes, we made three varieties of Cool Summer Cukes, as Nancy had recommended using rice vinegar for sweetness or adding sugar if using red wine vinegar. My kids did enjoy the peeling and chopping, but with the addition of the vinegar, things turned... sour. When it came time to make the red wine vinegar with sugar version, my five-year-old, who had been expressing various objections along the way, actually protested, “But Mama, I don’t like sugar!” I’m still boggled by that one.
Fortunately, a seven-year-old friend joined us for the official taste testing. To warm up the judges, I gave them each a cucumber-cream cheese tea party sandwich on special tea party dishes, certain to be a hit. But lo, only our guest claimed to like it, saying, “It’s creamy and crunchy at the same time.”
Our guest judge also professed to like all three Cool Cuke varieties, though no one was fooled into thinking these were pickles. Despite negative ratings from my two for the rice vinegar version, which their friend liked the best, matters improved when it finally occurred to me to have the three-year-old express his opinion before his big sister. “I want another taste!” he cried, regarding the red wine vinegar-sugar combo. “I really like it!”
For the most part, the adults liked all three Cool Cuke versions. The mother of the guest judge exclaimed, “I love these, and my mom used to make something just like it.” Even more gratifying was the response of the guest judge’s father, who said, “Anything pickled I totally hate, but I liked this.” He liked the wine vinegar with sugar version when salt was added, and particularly liked the chopped up onion with it.
Last up was my friend Caitlin’s Cucumber-Tomato Salad, a truly refreshing salad that I loved, perfect for summer. While Caitlin claimed her four-year-old son gobbles this up (except for the feta) and has done so many times, she was unable to provide a list of dates and places. By then the children were exhausted from the rigors of the tasting process, and I was too demoralized to even show this to my two—but when I called our guest witness to the stand and gave her the salad (a tamer version made without olives, basil, and garlic), she pronounced it “good.” Her pickle-hating father (anonymity maintained here in the interest of preserving dignity) liked this salad as well, except for the olives. As he reminded us, “I hate anything pickled. Aren’t olives pickled grapes?” He insisted he was joking, but no one believed him.
Nancy’s Mother’s Cool Summer Cukes
Peel and slice cucumbers. Place in container with cold water and rice vinegar or red wine vinegar with a little sugar, (about half water, half vinegar). Add ice cubes and chopped onion. Seal container and refrigerate for 1-6 or more hours, tasting partway through and adjusting vinegar-water balance. Salt to taste. Nancy also suggests serving these with large ripe tomatoes filled with tuna or tofu salad.
Caitlin’s Cucumber-Tomato Salad
2 cucumbers, peeled and sliced
4 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 red onion, minced
¼ cup lemon juice
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. chopped basil
¼ cup black olives, pitted and chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
½ cup crumbled feta cheese (or a less intense kind for kids)
Toss all ingredients in salad bowl and chill for at least three hours.
Cucumber-Cream Cheese Tea Party Sandwiches
Spread cream cheese on white or mild bread. Peel and slice cucumbers and arrange
on bread. Make into sandwich or leave open-faced. Cut on the diagonal into
four quarters. Slice off crusts with knife, natch.
VARIATIONS: Add dill or scallions to cream cheese. Substitute peanutbutter
for cream cheese.
Judy Sobeloff believes that someday her children will embrace vegetables.
|
Copyright: Copyright on articles, recipes, and
images are jointly held by the Moscow Food Co-op
and the respective authors, except were otherwise noted. |
For additions or corrections to this page, please contact the Webmaster.
