Saturday, August 10, 2013

Sweet 'n Sour Cucumber Salad


With the birth of one of our children about 15 years ago, we received a meal from a Sunday school classmate that included this salad. I asked her for the recipe and she happily obliged. I've been making it ever since. Usually during cucumber season, I make it at least once. But today, I couldn't find the recipe...so from memory (I hope I'm right)...here goes.


Thinly slice 1 medium white or yellow onion and saute until tender in a scant amount of olive oil. Stripe-peel your cucumbers and slice. With normal cukes, I slice them thin, usually with the food processor. But these long skinny english cucumbers, I sliced thicker.


Place the sliced cucumbers and onions in a glass bowl of salted water and let set for about two hours. Yes, there will be a little bit of oil in the water.


After two hours, drain all veggies in a colander and rinse with cool water. Here's where you remove as much of the oil as possible.


While the cucumbers are draining, on low to medium low in a small saucepan, cook 1 cup organic evaporated cane juice, 1/2 cup white vinegar and about 2 teaspoons of celery seed until the sugar is dissolved. Stir or whisk frequently and it should be done before it starts to boil, although there may be a few bubbles around the edges.

Place the veggies in a plastic or glass bowl and pour the syrup over the top. You can either stir them or place a lid on top and give it a few good shakes and turns. These are best when they've had a few hours to let the flavors meld together in the refrigerator. This recipe is really easy to double too. I had too many cucumbers today, so I quickly stirred up a second batch of the sugar/vinegar syrup. This is also a recipe that an organic version should be easy to put together. My organic evaporated cane juice crystals are vegan too. You could probably use organic sucanot in place of the cane juice crystals, but it may alter the taste some.

Enjoy!


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