TESTIMONIAL ..... After I did that post on the benefits of cucumbers, I have started eating, in the afternoon, a BIG slice of cucumber, about one inch plus. Since then, I have felt better, had more energy, and a lot of soreness, aches and pains, have gone away. (Knock on wood) My arthritis has gotten better. Maybe a coincidence. Now I am working on losing about ten pounds. I have noticed a change in a few weeks ...... Here is more on the cucumber ......Cucumis sativus
The cucumber is a member of the Cucurbitaceous family, like melons, squash and pumpkins.
This vegetable is very high in water and very low in calories.
It is an excellent source of potassium, vitamin C and folic acid (only if it is unpeeled)
Cucumber is a women's friend when they are on a diet but also for its cosmetic properties.
Health benefits
Its high content in water makes it diuretic.
Cucumber has a cleansing action within the body by removing accumulated pockets of old waste material and chemical toxins.It might help in the treatment of arthritis since it helps eliminate uric acid.
Its poor content in calories make it the perfect food for diet.
We say that its juice is nourishing for our skin and hair. Its liquid has the reputation of being rejuvenator and makes us feel and look young. If you want to try, puree or slice a cucumber and apply it on your face.
Cucumber may also have the power to relax and alleviate the sunburn's pain.
Some people do not digest cucumber very well. If you do, prepare the cucumber a few hours before serving. Cut them into small pieces and sprinkle them with sea salt. Let stand for at least an hour in the refrigerator. You can also peel them.
How to eat it?
If your cucumbers are organic and unwaxed, you can eat them unpeeled. Just wash them thoroughly under running water.
Serve them sliced or diced in a salad or by themselves with a vinaigrette, garlic, mint or sesame seeds.
You can add a few slices in a sandwich or you can even juice it along with other vegetables.
You can cook the cucumber like you would do for a squash: steaming, boiling, braising... but you would lose its vitamins and minerals.
Peak season
Like all the other vegetables, cucumber can be imported and found in supermarket throughout the year.
If you have a garden or if you buy your food at the farmer's market, you will find cucumber from May to July.
When you buy a cucumber, it must be firm, especially at the extremities, and dark green. If it has already turned yellow and is wrinkled, it means that the cucumber is not fresh anymore.
Storage
Fresh unpeeled cucumber can be store in the refrigerator for about a week. The longer you store it the less crisp it is going to be.
If your cucumber is already prepared, peeled and cut, you can store it in the refrigerator but just for a day.
Showing posts with label cucumber. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cucumber. Show all posts
Friday, November 13, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Cucumber Recipes
After my cucumber article ..... well, here are some recipes.............
I think there is more to the cucumber than meets the eye.............
1 tbsp. sugar
1 c. sour cream
2 tbsp. vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
Cucumbers and onions
Mix sugar, sour cream, vinegar and salt together. Peel - slice cucumbers and onions. Add to cream mixture and chill for 2 hours.
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 cucumber
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash of dill
Mix the mayonnaise, milk, vinegar, sugar and salt together in a small bowl. Mix until smooth.
Peel and slice the cucumber very thin. Pour the sauce over the cucumber; sprinkle with dill,
Chilled Cucumber Soup
5 large cucumbers, peeled, seeded and quartered
1/2 c chopped mild onion (such as vidalia)
1-2 cloves minced garlic (degermed)
3 c low- or nonfat buttermilk
1 c nonfat plain yogurt
1/3 c fresh dill sprigs OR fresh spearmint leaves (not both)
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of cayenne pepper
Combine onion, garlic, mint (or dill) and 1/2 c buttermilk in blender and puree thoroughly (don't want large chunks of either). Pour into large container. Coarsely puree the remaining ingredients together in several batches, dividing the buttermilk and yogurt to provide enough liquid for each batch. Add to the onion mixture. Taste for seasoning and adjust salt, pepper, or more lemon juice.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Keeps for several days. Serving suggestions: Garnish with mint leaves or dill sprigs, a dollop of sour cream, freshly toasted french bread croutons (rub cut garlic clove over crust, thinly slice bread, brush with olive oil and toast till lightly brown).
I think there is more to the cucumber than meets the eye.............
1 tbsp. sugar
1 c. sour cream
2 tbsp. vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
Cucumbers and onions
Mix sugar, sour cream, vinegar and salt together. Peel - slice cucumbers and onions. Add to cream mixture and chill for 2 hours.
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 cucumber
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash of dill
Mix the mayonnaise, milk, vinegar, sugar and salt together in a small bowl. Mix until smooth.
Peel and slice the cucumber very thin. Pour the sauce over the cucumber; sprinkle with dill,
Chilled Cucumber Soup
5 large cucumbers, peeled, seeded and quartered
1/2 c chopped mild onion (such as vidalia)
1-2 cloves minced garlic (degermed)
3 c low- or nonfat buttermilk
1 c nonfat plain yogurt
1/3 c fresh dill sprigs OR fresh spearmint leaves (not both)
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of cayenne pepper
Combine onion, garlic, mint (or dill) and 1/2 c buttermilk in blender and puree thoroughly (don't want large chunks of either). Pour into large container. Coarsely puree the remaining ingredients together in several batches, dividing the buttermilk and yogurt to provide enough liquid for each batch. Add to the onion mixture. Taste for seasoning and adjust salt, pepper, or more lemon juice.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Keeps for several days. Serving suggestions: Garnish with mint leaves or dill sprigs, a dollop of sour cream, freshly toasted french bread croutons (rub cut garlic clove over crust, thinly slice bread, brush with olive oil and toast till lightly brown).
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
The Amazing Cucumber
This information was in 'The New York Times'several weeks ago as part of their "Spotlight on the Home" series that highlighted creative and fanciful ways to solve common problems. Some good information that is worth repeating ......... jbd
1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains: Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.
2. Feeling tired in the afternoon?
Put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.
3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower?
Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror. It will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.
4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds?
Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area..
5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool?
Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes. The phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!
6. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache?
Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!
7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge?
Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explorers for quick meals to thwart off starvation.
8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don't have enough time to polish your shoes?
Rub a freshly-cut cucumber over the shoe. Its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.
9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge?
Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge and voila, the squeak is gone!
10. Stressed out and don't have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa?
Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a pot of boiling water. The chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber will react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.
11. Just finished a business lunch and realized you don't have gum or mints?
Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath. The phytochemicals will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.
12. Looking for a 'green' way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel?
Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean. Not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but is won't leave streaks and won't harm your fingers or fingernails while you clean.
13. Using a pen and made a mistake?
Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing - also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!
And to think that I just used to add some water, vinegar, sugar and some spices. Now, looking back, we used to eat a lot of them in the summer when the garden started yielding them, and, we always felt better in the summer, I wonder?
1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains: Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.
2. Feeling tired in the afternoon?
Put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.
3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower?
Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror. It will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.
4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds?
Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area..
5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool?
Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes. The phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!
6. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache?
Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!
7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge?
Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explorers for quick meals to thwart off starvation.
8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don't have enough time to polish your shoes?
Rub a freshly-cut cucumber over the shoe. Its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.
9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge?
Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge and voila, the squeak is gone!
10. Stressed out and don't have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa?
Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a pot of boiling water. The chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber will react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.
11. Just finished a business lunch and realized you don't have gum or mints?
Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath. The phytochemicals will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.
12. Looking for a 'green' way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel?
Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean. Not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but is won't leave streaks and won't harm your fingers or fingernails while you clean.
13. Using a pen and made a mistake?
Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing - also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!
And to think that I just used to add some water, vinegar, sugar and some spices. Now, looking back, we used to eat a lot of them in the summer when the garden started yielding them, and, we always felt better in the summer, I wonder?
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