Allotments 4 All

May be a cr*p year for tomatoes but a brilliant one for cuekes - I've got loads.  So far they have mainly gone into salads & batons for dips - today I made soup whih was ok - any other ideas please?

Once again, Delia's Pickle is a must.

Here's the next batch salting down.

I second Tims Cucumber pickle.  It is delish!!  thanks Tim.

But I DO small dice the cu & small chop the onion - mixes much better & has better mouth feel.

Yes, I am a chopper rather than a slicer.  I tend to because my gluts in the past have been crystal apple cucumbers, so being round, the suit chopping.

and where will i find this recipe please?

Brilliant idea thanks, Tim, but I can't find the recipe on her site either.  :)

Oh!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/photo04/cooking/delia.jpg

Thank you Tim, that looks really good - I've just counted 16 cucumbers ready to eat so best get pickling.  :)

Ooh this looks really good, I love pickles - I'm going to try it this year. My cucumbers are still tiny babies, but there are a LOT of them.

Last time I had a cucumber glut I cooked them in curries sometimes. There are South Indian recipes which use their own cooking cucumbers, with thick yellow skins. But the recipes worked very well with our salad cukes. Also cooking works for cucumbers which have gone past their best and taste bitter.

this one is adapted from a book called 'Andhra Cuisine':

300gms cucumber
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
lemon-sized tamarind (or use a lemon or 2 tbsp vinegar)
lemon-sized jaggery (or use tsp sugar)
2-3 stems curry leaves
pinch turmeric
pinch asafoetida
salt to taste

chop cucumber marinate in salt and turmeric for 10 mins
squeeze out water
in hot oil splutter mustard seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves
add cucumber and sprinkle a little water
add tamarind juice/other sour and jaggery/other sweet
add chilli
cook 10 mins or so till soft
serve with rice

PS if you want to search online for cucumber recipes apparently it's called dosakkai or dosakayya

Just steamed & in a Lemon Sauce?

you keep surprising me with your recipes! what's in the lemon sauce (don't say lemon!)

This is one we liked from the net:

·   1 medium sized shallot, finely diced
·   1 cube butter (ed. 1 oz!)
·   1/2 cup white wine
·   1/4 cup heavy cream
·   5 tbsp. parsley for garnish
·   Juice of 1 lemon
·   Zest of lemon (optional)
To begin the sauce, bring the wine to boil over medium heat in a small pot or saucepan. While the wine is heating, finely dice one shallot and add this to the wine. When the wine begins to boil, add pats of butter and stir or whisk frequently. Heat until the volume is reduced to about half, about 20 minutes. Next, add the juice from the lemon. Finally, add the cream while whisking or stirring. Heat until the mixture starts to boil and then reduce heat to minimum. Stir frequently until used. This sauce should be served hot or very warm.

As a fan of greek cooking I keep meaning to make some tzatziki the really, really delicious dip that is made with greek yoghurt, cucumber and garlic. When we are in Greece a dish of this and fresh bread is just heaven....plus a nice cold glass of ouzo!!!  ::)

http://www.sugarvine.com/Liverpool/recipes/recipes_details.asp?dish=132

I made this last year, lovely with cheese and crackers!! I didn't have carrots so I used more cukes and peppers, It worked really well! Really easy too

1 cup = 8 ounce
1 cup = 0.24 litre


End-of-Garden Relish
Ingredients:

          1    cup  Chopped cucumbers
          1    cup  Chopped green peppers
          1    cup  Chopped cabbage
          1    cup  Chopped onion
          1    cup  Green tomatoes, chopped
          1    cup  Chopped carrots
          1    cup  Chopped celery
          2    cup  Vinegar
          2    cup  Sugar
          2    tsp  Turmeric
          2    tsp  Mustard seed
          1    tsp  Celery seed

Method:
Soak cucumbers and tomatoes in salt water while grinding the rest. Drain.

Mix everything and boil for 20 minutes. Fill clean, sterile bottles and seal.