Eat More Cucumbers!
Replies
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paperpudding wrote: »
I think I have mentioned once or twice that I really do not like cucumbers
Fortunately for me I do not need any help with blood pressure or diuretics and I'm sure I can get enough potassium and vitamins from other foods and I don't have any toxins to need detoxing.
I like cucumbers a lot. But I agree that there is not one specific food that I have to eat to keep my blood pressure in check or get potassium. (P.S. if you have any cucumbers you need to get rid of .... ) 2 -
claireychn074 wrote: »
Hah! Maybe it’s a Brit thing? Marrows = oversized courgettes (zucchini) and fly tipping is when you dump rubbish somewhere you shouldn’t and run.cmriverside wrote: »I’m now getting marrows fly-tipped on my doorstep
^^ LOL I have no idea what this means!!
As I declined the last lot of courgettes (my fridge is still full of them) my sneaky neighbour waited until it was dark then left a load on my doorstep. I did exactly the same to them last year so it’s now courgette-wars 🤣🤣
Nope. U.S. resident here. Not just a Brit thing. I don't much care for summer squash of any kind, but especially zucchini, because when I was growing up every backyard gardener (including my mother) grew them and tried to foist them on friends, co-workers, neighbors. All summer long it was watery zucchini stewed with tomatoes as the green veg (plus lots of zucchini bread, which was OK). Maybe I should try roasting it now to see if it's better that way -- but who wants to roast in summer?
Before anybody other than university academics knew what the Internet was, there were IRL memes in the U.S. about sneaky ways people tried to get rid of zucchini. Put it in a nice bag or wrap it like a gift and leave it on a bench or bus. Or put the bag on your car's front seat and leave the car door unlocked (if they took the car too, it was a small price to pay to get rid of the zucchini).2 -
claireychn074 wrote: »I usually love cucumbers and courgettes. But my neighbours have grown an impressive crop this year (thank goodness I haven’t grown any) and I’m now getting marrows fly-tipped on my doorstep. To be fair I did the same to them last year but I can’t keep up with the blasted things! This weekend is narrow chutney time.I’m desperate.
So. A bumper crop of zucchini/courgettes and cucumbers?
Cucumber can be dehydrated nicely.
Zucchini/ courgettes are delicious if you boil and mash with garlic and a little butter. This is a great way to use the cricket/baseball bat sized ones. And it freezes nicely.1 -
With all this talk about neighbours flytipping excess produce, I wonder if food banks and soup kitchens vegetable donations.3
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With all this talk about neighbours flytipping excess produce, I wonder if food banks and soup kitchens vegetable donations.
This is a good idea! A couple of our small ones will accept fresh produce. The big regional one here won't from individuals but will from corporations.
I like zucchini and other summer squashes a lot. I make a zucchini bread that's really just a delicious chocolate cake. Also zucchini pickles, or marinated and grilled on skewers. It's an easy thing to chop and saute and add to pretty much any pasta dish or taco or enchilada filling. It can add a lot of bulk and take on the flavors of whatever you're cooking with very nicely, without adding many calories at all. This past week I had a giant one that I sliced and combined with sliced eggplant to make eggplant and zucchini parmesan.
Shredded zucchini can be stored in the freezer easily enough too if I get the itch for zucchini bread/cake midwinter, though I'll also freeze the loaves themselves to be given later as a dessert for meal trains (I do a lot of these - usually for new parents but sometimes other situations too. It's nice to know that my garden and freezer storage can be used to help others too.)4 -
I had a side dish at an Indian street food restaurant the other day. It was chopped seasoned cucumbers, corn and tomatoes with crushed cornflakes, called corn bhel. It was out of this world.
I would dearly love to learn how to make it, but the bhel recipes I find are different.1 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »claireychn074 wrote: »
Hah! Maybe it’s a Brit thing? Marrows = oversized courgettes (zucchini) and fly tipping is when you dump rubbish somewhere you shouldn’t and run.cmriverside wrote: »I’m now getting marrows fly-tipped on my doorstep
^^ LOL I have no idea what this means!!
As I declined the last lot of courgettes (my fridge is still full of them) my sneaky neighbour waited until it was dark then left a load on my doorstep. I did exactly the same to them last year so it’s now courgette-wars 🤣🤣
Nope. U.S. resident here. Not just a Brit thing. I don't much care for summer squash of any kind, but especially zucchini, because when I was growing up every backyard gardener (including my mother) grew them and tried to foist them on friends, co-workers, neighbors. All summer long it was watery zucchini stewed with tomatoes as the green veg (plus lots of zucchini bread, which was OK). Maybe I should try roasting it now to see if it's better that way -- but who wants to roast in summer?
Before anybody other than university academics knew what the Internet was, there were IRL memes in the U.S. about sneaky ways people tried to get rid of zucchini. Put it in a nice bag or wrap it like a gift and leave it on a bench or bus. Or put the bag on your car's front seat and leave the car door unlocked (if they took the car too, it was a small price to pay to get rid of the zucchini).
Did you mean the practice is not a Brit thing or the phrases are not just Brit?
I am very familiar with the practice of sneaky ways to dispose of excess squashes, but never heard of "marrows" or "fly tipping."1 -
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kshama2001 wrote: »lynn_glenmont wrote: »claireychn074 wrote: »
Hah! Maybe it’s a Brit thing? Marrows = oversized courgettes (zucchini) and fly tipping is when you dump rubbish somewhere you shouldn’t and run.cmriverside wrote: »I’m now getting marrows fly-tipped on my doorstep
^^ LOL I have no idea what this means!!
As I declined the last lot of courgettes (my fridge is still full of them) my sneaky neighbour waited until it was dark then left a load on my doorstep. I did exactly the same to them last year so it’s now courgette-wars 🤣🤣
Nope. U.S. resident here. Not just a Brit thing. I don't much care for summer squash of any kind, but especially zucchini, because when I was growing up every backyard gardener (including my mother) grew them and tried to foist them on friends, co-workers, neighbors. All summer long it was watery zucchini stewed with tomatoes as the green veg (plus lots of zucchini bread, which was OK). Maybe I should try roasting it now to see if it's better that way -- but who wants to roast in summer?
Before anybody other than university academics knew what the Internet was, there were IRL memes in the U.S. about sneaky ways people tried to get rid of zucchini. Put it in a nice bag or wrap it like a gift and leave it on a bench or bus. Or put the bag on your car's front seat and leave the car door unlocked (if they took the car too, it was a small price to pay to get rid of the zucchini).
Did you mean the practice is not a Brit thing or the phrases are not just Brit?
I am very familiar with the practice of sneaky ways to dispose of excess squashes, but never heard of "marrows" or "fly tipping."
I meant the practice, which was how I read the first reference upthread to "it" being a Brit thing. Apologies if I misread it. I see a singular pronoun, I look for a singular antecedent.
I have heard of marrows and courgettes from watching/reading British cooking shows/books, but was not familiar with the phrase "fly tipping."1 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »
This is where things like Buy Nothing and Freecycle have a part to play in the equation.
Although here in the Pacific Northwest many people just do drive by vegetable porch distribution.2 -
springlering62 wrote: »I had a side dish at an Indian street food restaurant the other day. It was chopped seasoned cucumbers, corn and tomatoes with crushed cornflakes, called corn bhel. It was out of this world.
I would dearly love to learn how to make it, but the bhel recipes I find are different.
I love bhel puri chaat too. I use the recipe below but it’s probably not what you are looking for. In general chopped raw veg and coriander, some salted cereals and optional nuts, mixed with chutney.
https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/dishoom-bhel/
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Here’s a bhel put chaat recipe that sounds similar to what @springlering62 had.
https://m.recipes.timesofindia.com/recipes/fresh-corn-bhel/rs58713315.cms
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Here’s a bhel put chaat recipe that sounds similar to what @springlering62 had.
https://m.recipes.timesofindia.com/recipes/fresh-corn-bhel/rs58713315.cms
Getting closer! Theirs didn’t have a potato and had mint. It’s worth a trip back downtown to reorder and try to figure it out. Plus, any excuse for their paneer wrap!1 -
drive by vegetable porch distribution
forevermore known as fly-tipping.2 -
SuzySunshine99 wrote: »I will!
But only because my sister is getting a bumper crop of them in her garden and keeps leaving them outside my door. Home grown have so much more flavor than grocery store cukes.
I had some cucumbers I needed to use or lose too (also from the garden), so decided to try making a cucumber soup (with greek yogurt, dill, and parsley, plus some lemon). Will report back. Usually gazpacho is my go to for using up cukes, but I wanted to try this.
I think that sounds so good, too! Let us know how it turns out. Sounds kind of like tzatziki soup. How do you thin it?
My favorite cucumber use is Tabouleh with tomatoes. I zest a whole lemon and use it in the lemon vinaigrette to dress it. Makes it extra lemony. Also if using couscous (vs. bulgur) it sticks to the cucumber & tomato chunks evenly which is kind of nice. I'm making it tonight, actually, as a base for chicken on the grill.2 -
MargaretYakoda wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »
This is where things like Buy Nothing and Freecycle have a part to play in the equation.
Although here in the Pacific Northwest many people just do drive by vegetable porch distribution.
Yes, I used to use freecycle.org to get rid of excess produce. Now I use my local FaceBook gardening group.2 -
kshama2001 wrote: »MargaretYakoda wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »
This is where things like Buy Nothing and Freecycle have a part to play in the equation.
Although here in the Pacific Northwest many people just do drive by vegetable porch distribution.
Yes, I used to use freecycle.org to get rid of excess produce. Now I use my local FaceBook gardening group.
I used to garden. But disability put an end to that.
Now I’m the one accepting veggies from friends. Although I pay back by dehydrating and returning some for my friends winter pantries.
5 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »claireychn074 wrote: »
Hah! Maybe it’s a Brit thing? Marrows = oversized courgettes (zucchini) and fly tipping is when you dump rubbish somewhere you shouldn’t and run.cmriverside wrote: »I’m now getting marrows fly-tipped on my doorstep
^^ LOL I have no idea what this means!!
As I declined the last lot of courgettes (my fridge is still full of them) my sneaky neighbour waited until it was dark then left a load on my doorstep. I did exactly the same to them last year so it’s now courgette-wars 🤣🤣
Nope. U.S. resident here. Not just a Brit thing. I don't much care for summer squash of any kind, but especially zucchini, because when I was growing up every backyard gardener (including my mother) grew them and tried to foist them on friends, co-workers, neighbors. All summer long it was watery zucchini stewed with tomatoes as the green veg (plus lots of zucchini bread, which was OK). Maybe I should try roasting it now to see if it's better that way -- but who wants to roast in summer?
Before anybody other than university academics knew what the Internet was, there were IRL memes in the U.S. about sneaky ways people tried to get rid of zucchini. Put it in a nice bag or wrap it like a gift and leave it on a bench or bus. Or put the bag on your car's front seat and leave the car door unlocked (if they took the car too, it was a small price to pay to get rid of the zucchini).
Quoting myself here intentionally, as it's far too late to edit.
Coincidentally I went out (as in eating at a restaurant outside) for a late brunch this weekend at a Spanish restaurant, and had eggs served over a pisto, which was a mix of stewed eggplant, peppers, and zucchini -- I thought I tasted tomatoes and a not insignificant amount of olive oil as well -- and it was absolutely delicious. Just so much deeper and richer flavor than the stewed zucchini and tomatoes I grew up with, so I may have to revisit that.
To stay on-topic, the meal also included a cucumber-flavored gin and tonic -- so yummy and refreshing!
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Cucumber juice sweetened with a little carrot juice or apple juice is really refreshing in summer.2
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For those who like cucumber drinks, but who don't require their drinks to be sweet, I'll point out that these exist:
I've tried the bitters and really like them in plain sparkling water, with or without alcohol, perhaps with a lime wedge either way. (I bought them on Amazon; presumably not the only option). One only uses literally a few drops, to get a pronounced flavor, so I haven't calorie-counted it (there's a small amount of alcohol in it, 39% . . . but 39% of 4-5 drops is pretty much nothing - it's like an extract, like vanilla extract, only you need even less to get flavor).
I've not tried the concentrate, but am considering it. It's not a syrup, not sweetened, but is 20 calories per 1/5 fluid ounce serving. It contains some vegetable glycerin, natural flavor, water, salt (5g carbs, 15mg sodium are the only non-zero items on the nutrition label).
Both of these seem pricey per bottle, but have dozens of servings in them. The bitters label doesn't have a serving count, but I've had it since March, use it fairly regularly, and there's still over half the bottle left. The concentrate lists 62 servings.2 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »claireychn074 wrote: »
Hah! Maybe it’s a Brit thing? Marrows = oversized courgettes (zucchini) and fly tipping is when you dump rubbish somewhere you shouldn’t and run.cmriverside wrote: »I’m now getting marrows fly-tipped on my doorstep
^^ LOL I have no idea what this means!!
As I declined the last lot of courgettes (my fridge is still full of them) my sneaky neighbour waited until it was dark then left a load on my doorstep. I did exactly the same to them last year so it’s now courgette-wars 🤣🤣
Nope. U.S. resident here. Not just a Brit thing. I don't much care for summer squash of any kind, but especially zucchini, because when I was growing up every backyard gardener (including my mother) grew them and tried to foist them on friends, co-workers, neighbors. All summer long it was watery zucchini stewed with tomatoes as the green veg (plus lots of zucchini bread, which was OK). Maybe I should try roasting it now to see if it's better that way -- but who wants to roast in summer?
Before anybody other than university academics knew what the Internet was, there were IRL memes in the U.S. about sneaky ways people tried to get rid of zucchini. Put it in a nice bag or wrap it like a gift and leave it on a bench or bus. Or put the bag on your car's front seat and leave the car door unlocked (if they took the car too, it was a small price to pay to get rid of the zucchini).
Even though I have central AC, I use my oven very little in the summer.
However, I will cook zucchini outside on the grill - lightly oil, a little salt and pepper, and grill until they are soft.4 -
MargaretYakoda wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »MargaretYakoda wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »
This is where things like Buy Nothing and Freecycle have a part to play in the equation.
Although here in the Pacific Northwest many people just do drive by vegetable porch distribution.
Yes, I used to use freecycle.org to get rid of excess produce. Now I use my local FaceBook gardening group.
I used to garden. But disability put an end to that.
Now I’m the one accepting veggies from friends. Although I pay back by dehydrating and returning some for my friends winter pantries.
Who in the world would disagree with this????
Seriously people. Some of you are an absolute trip. I swear.1 -
My current go-to recipe for cucumbers is Sichuan smashed cucumbers. This is a version I like.
https://www.chinasichuanfood.com/smashed-cucumber-salad/
Here's a simpler version without chilli.
https://www.seriouseats.com/sichuan-style-smashed-cucumber-salad-recipe1 -
Americans might think that fly-tipping as some sort of slang but it is an official term.
https://www.gov.uk/report-flytipping1 -
Americans might think that fly-tipping as some sort of slang but it is an official term.
https://www.gov.uk/report-flytipping
Cow tipping was a thing here for a while.
I have this mental image of pranksters tipping flies, giggling madly, and running off.
4 -
@springlering62
I had a girlfriend who grew up in rural Canada who claims cow tipping was a teenage pastime. She said that cows sometimes fall asleep standing up and 4 or 5 teenagers can genty tip one over. Not sure what to believe about that.0 -
MargaretYakoda wrote: »MargaretYakoda wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »MargaretYakoda wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »
This is where things like Buy Nothing and Freecycle have a part to play in the equation.
Although here in the Pacific Northwest many people just do drive by vegetable porch distribution.
Yes, I used to use freecycle.org to get rid of excess produce. Now I use my local FaceBook gardening group.
I used to garden. But disability put an end to that.
Now I’m the one accepting veggies from friends. Although I pay back by dehydrating and returning some for my friends winter pantries.
Who in the world would disagree with this????
Seriously people. Some of you are an absolute trip. I swear.
Sometimes people click on Disagree by mistake but you have a number of disagrees on this thread where you were just expressing an opinion, so there's no legit reason for disagreeing, IMO. Looks like you may have picked up a Disagree Stalker. You can ask a mod to look into this. They can tell if a particular person is following you around disagreeing with everything you say. Stalking is against the Community Guidelines:
https://www.myfitnesspal.com/community-guidelines2 -
Love cukes! A slice in ice water is so refreshing!
1 -
kshama2001 wrote: »MargaretYakoda wrote: »MargaretYakoda wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »MargaretYakoda wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »
This is where things like Buy Nothing and Freecycle have a part to play in the equation.
Although here in the Pacific Northwest many people just do drive by vegetable porch distribution.
Yes, I used to use freecycle.org to get rid of excess produce. Now I use my local FaceBook gardening group.
I used to garden. But disability put an end to that.
Now I’m the one accepting veggies from friends. Although I pay back by dehydrating and returning some for my friends winter pantries.
Who in the world would disagree with this????
Seriously people. Some of you are an absolute trip. I swear.
Sometimes people click on Disagree by mistake but you have a number of disagrees on this thread where you were just expressing an opinion, so there's no legit reason for disagreeing, IMO. Looks like you may have picked up a Disagree Stalker. You can ask a mod to look into this. They can tell if a particular person is following you around disagreeing with everything you say. Stalking is against the Community Guidelines:
https://www.myfitnesspal.com/community-guidelines
Thanks. I think I may have a disagree stalker.
Not sure if it’s worth it to bother the mods. But maybe if it keeps up.
An excess of disagree reacts doesn’t hurt anything…. Does it?1 -
MargaretYakoda wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »MargaretYakoda wrote: »MargaretYakoda wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »MargaretYakoda wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »
This is where things like Buy Nothing and Freecycle have a part to play in the equation.
Although here in the Pacific Northwest many people just do drive by vegetable porch distribution.
Yes, I used to use freecycle.org to get rid of excess produce. Now I use my local FaceBook gardening group.
I used to garden. But disability put an end to that.
Now I’m the one accepting veggies from friends. Although I pay back by dehydrating and returning some for my friends winter pantries.
Who in the world would disagree with this????
Seriously people. Some of you are an absolute trip. I swear.
Sometimes people click on Disagree by mistake but you have a number of disagrees on this thread where you were just expressing an opinion, so there's no legit reason for disagreeing, IMO. Looks like you may have picked up a Disagree Stalker. You can ask a mod to look into this. They can tell if a particular person is following you around disagreeing with everything you say. Stalking is against the Community Guidelines:
https://www.myfitnesspal.com/community-guidelines
Thanks. I think I may have a disagree stalker.
Not sure if it’s worth it to bother the mods. But maybe if it keeps up.
An excess of disagree reacts doesn’t hurt anything…. Does it?
No, you won't get in any trouble from "disagrees."
I don't think there is a specific rule in the Guidelines about Disagree Stalkers...I don't know where kshama came up with that...I looked!
"Disagrees" are the fruit flies of forum life. 4
<slinks away to watch fireworks>
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