I sowed the seeds, they poked their heads out and then NOTHING!
They grew to be about 6 inches tall?! Poor little cucumbers.
So this year they got precious little garden space- I set aside about a foot for them at the edge of a row, in case they didn't grow, I wouldn't have dedicated an entire block to failure, again. You can't say I don't learn! And up came four little plants. And grew and grew and grew. Wouldn't you know with their little amount of space they are flourishing and are trying their darndest to escape the garden.
With happy cucumbers comes an abundance of cucumbers, and their are only so many cucumber salads one family can eat.
We have pickled some.
We keep cucumber water in our refrigerator (YUM!).
But one of my favorite uses is this recipe for Sauteed Cucumbers that we found in How To Cook Everything:
I have to admit there is really little "sauteed" about it- It turns out alot like our fried okra. I can't say its healthy but its super yummy!
Sauteed Cucumbers with Lemon
We make some personal adjustments :)
About 1 Lb Cucumber (this is really good for those Gigantic cucumbers that you missed when they were normal size suddenly appear from no where)
1 Lemon
2 TBL Veggie Oil
2 cups All Purpose Flour for dredging (I use half flour and half cornmeal)
salt and pepper to taste
Peel the cucumbers, if waxed (of course we can skip this step)
Cut cucumbers in half
Scoop out the seeds with a spoon
Cut into 3/4 inch chunks
Zest the lemon you will need about 1 tsp of zest
Cut lemon in half and section as you would an orange (we usually only use half a lemon)
Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat
Place flour in large plastic or paper bag
Add cucumbers to the bag (we use a large plastic container for this)
Shake well
Add dredged cucumbers to the skillet
Cook for about 10 minutes until the outsides are crispy and the interiors can be easily peirced with a thin bladed knife
Stirring occasionally (we let them cook without stirring for the first 5 minutes)
Add the lemon zest and sections
Cook for another minute
Serve :)
