The Cucumber Czar

Because of the low acidity of the cucumber you shouldn't can it without vinegar. This explains the mass amount of pickling recipes available to you on the internet.

Red Hot Cucumbers

2 gal. cucumbers
2 cup delime
8 1/2 qt. water

Peel, slice and core cucumbers. Mix cucumbers with all above ingredents. Allow to stand 24 hours. Drain rings and wash in cool water. Pour cold water over rings and soak 3 hours.

Drain and add:

1 c. vinegar
1 tbsp. alum
1 small bottle of red food coloring

Add water to barely cover. Heat and simmer 2 hours. Drain. gentlly mix in the following,

2 c. cider vinegar
2 c. water
1 pkg. (13 or 16 oz.) red hots
10 c. sugar
8 sticks cinnamon

Bring to boil and pour over rings. Put lid on pan and allow to sit overnight. Pour off syrup into pan and reheat to boil and pour over rings, repeat this for 3 mornings. On 4th morning, heat everything and put into jars and process.

CUCUMBER SOUP

6 med. sized cucumbers, peeled
6 cups chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 tbsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. Salt
1 tomato, chopped


Blend cucumbers, broth and garlic in a blender or food processor. Add vinegar, and salt and tomato. Pour into sterilized jars and process in a pressure canner. Before serving, open jars and mix in 4 cups sour cream, refrigerate for up to 2 days and then garnish with the scallions and parsley.

Peach and Cucumber Salsa

1 Cup Diced Tomato
1 Cup Diced Cucumber
1 Cup Diced Frozen Peaches - still frozen
1/ 2 Cup Diced Yellow Bell Pepper
1 / 2 Cup Diced Red Onion
3 or 4 Diced Jalapenos
1 / 2 Cup Chopped Cilantro
3 Tbsp Lime Juice
3 Tbsp Orange Marmalade

Combine all vegetables in a glass bowl and gently mix. Put the marmalade in small glass bowl, heat in microwave till the preserves melt - about 10-15 seconds, add the lime juice and mix well. Drizzle this over the salsa. Mix in gentlly and process in a pressure canner.

Freezing requires no vinegar, and if you wish to stay away from the pickle, this is your best option.

CUCUMBER CASSEROLE

1 med. onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
4-5 carrots, grated (1 c.)
4-5 lg. tomatoes with juice, chopped (4 c.)
1 (14 1/2 oz.) can Italian style seasoned tomatoes
3 bay leaves
1 tsp. lite salt
1/2 tsp. Pepper
3/4 c. bread crumbs
3/4 c. wheat germ
4 lg. Cucumbers
1 tbsp. diet margarine
3 oz. low fat cheese, grated

Chop onion, garlic, green pepper, carrots and tomatoes. Add canned tomatoes, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Simmer the mixture for 20 minutes. Remove bay leaves. Add in the bread crumbs and wheat germ; spread on bottom of greased 9"x12" casserole dish. Peel and slice 1/8" thick cucumbers. Lightly salt cucumber slices. Layer cucumber slices and tomato mixture, making 2 layers and ending with tomato sauce. You can freeze this for 2 months, serve cold. (Might get soggy. however, to help with this, blanch all raw vegetables before freezing)

Cucumber Sauce

3 cucumbers
1 c. sour cream
1 c. mayonnaise
1 tbsp. fresh chopped dill
Salt

Peel cucumbers, split in quarters, discard seeds and chop finely. Sprinkle with salt and chill for 2 hours. Mix with sour cream, mayonnaise and dill.


Cucumber Bread

2 c. mashed cucumber
1 tsp. soda
3 eggs
3/4 c. oil
2 tsp. baking powder
1-1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. lemon extract
1/2 tsp. orange extract
1/4 tsp. vanilla
3/4 tsp. salt
3 c. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ginger

Mix well. Put in 8x4 loaf pan.
Bake 350 degrees, 1 hour.