The AMAZING Cucumber

If you’re a first time gardener, like me, you *might* have made the mistake of planting too many cucumber plants in all of your excitement and anticipation, heh.  Seriously, I’m not one to waste food, but my kids are getting a bit tired of “go eat a salad!” exiting my mouth.  So I looked online for a NON-CANNING version of making pickles, soon to be posted, but I also remember a very interested email my hubby forwarded to me a long time ago, that I just happened to keep!  So if your garden overfloweth with cumbers, try putting a few of these ideas to use…

This information was in The New York Times several weeks ago part of their “Spotlight on the Home” series that highlighted creative and fanciful ways to solve common problems.

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 explores 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 boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber with 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 finish a business lunch and realize you don’t have gum or mints?  Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with you> tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemcials 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!!

To-Die-For Homemade Peanut Buster Parfait Sundaes!

Totally NOT my picture (as we wolfed ours down before I even thought of taking a pic!), but you get the idea....

Seriously, our family is not good news for Dairy Queen.  We’ve made delicious homemade copycat Blizzards and now AWESOME copycat Peanut Buster Parfaits, my husband says it’s so much better then the commercial version!  I owe this one all to my youngest daughter, as she was having a craving for hot fudge sundae’s and wanted me to take her to Dairy Queen, the only ice cream place for miles.  Well you know me….the first (and really only)  though that went though my head was “gee, how hard could making hot fudge sauce really be??”  So I grabbed a recipe with good reviews and 5 minutes later was rewarded with a sundae that totally hit the spot!

It was thick, gooey, and rich…which then made me crave caramel sauce too, lol.  And how can you beat the financial savings, right?!?

Super easy, fast and delicious, with just a little deviating from the original recipe simply due to what we had on hand to use.  I’m sure either one would turn out great, but for those who are curious, here is my version:

Homemade Peanut Buster Parfait Sundaes-feeds a family:

• 1 TBLS butter
• 2 TBLS water
• 1/3 cup + 1 TBLS cocoa powder
• 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
• 2 TBLS Bakers brand melting chocolate or regular chocolate chips
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Lots of vanilla ice cream
• 1/2 cup chopped peanuts or cashews

Directions:

• On the stover over medium heat, combine the butter and water and stir until the butter is all melted.
• Add in the cocoa powder and blend as well as you can, it will be a thick paste.
• Add in the condensed milk and stir, stir, stir!  You may still see some cocoa “beads”, but just do the best you can to smoosh them out with a rubber spatula.
• Once the mixture has gotten warmed through-out and mixed as best as you can get it, add in the chocolate chips and vanilla and stir a bit more.
• Scoop some ice cream into a bowl, top with hot fudge sauce and peanuts, then enjoy!
• Any left over fudge sauce can be store in the fridge or freezer.

Summertime Tuna Pasta Salad

I’ve been making for years, at least a decade or so….my how time flies!  Mt first exposure to this type of salad was back when I worked at a mall and Macy’s was still called Dayton’s.  On my break times I’d sometime go up to the the Dayton’s Marketplace and get a small container of Light Tuna Pasta Salad, I loved it so much I tried to re-create it at home, as it was quite expensive on a “retail associate” wage, lol.  And contrary to my previous post and how I like my soups, I prefer my pasta salads to be on the “not-so-creamy” side.  For the most part I always use LESS dressing then what any pasta salad recipes call for, so if that gives you a hint…

Of all the pasta salads I’ve tried, this one is definitely still one of my favorites and in the “don’t make it often as I’ll eat it ll in a day” category.  It’s light and refreshing, perfect on a hot summer day, for a picnic lunch, or for the beach!  The celery is a MUST, even if you normally don’t like celery (like me) as the added crunch adds so much to this salad…that and the sweet burst of peas along with the comforting flavor of noodles and tuna, YUM!  Surprisingly, even though this has 2 cans of tuna in it I do not find the flavor to be overly “tuna-y”, but if you are a bit hesitant start wit just 1 can. Oh, and if you are not a big fan of mayo based dressings you should still give this a try, trust me.

You could also lighten this up by using reduced fat mayo.

Summertime Tuna Pasta Salad:

• 3/4 cup Hellman’s or Best Foods mayonnaise (this is key in keeping the salad non-creamy)
• 1 can of flaked tuna-drained
• 1 can of flaked tuna- UNDRAINED
• 1 tsp sugar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 stalk of celery-diced
• 1/2 cup onion-diced

• 8 oz elbow macaroni-cooked al dente and drained
• 1 cup frozen peas-thawed

Directions:

• Add the first 8 ingredients in large mixing bowl and blend well.  Taste and adjust the salt, pepper, and sugar level to your liking.  The dressing will look a bit watery, this is ok.
• Add in the noodles and peas, blending well to make sure all of the noodles are covered in the dressing.  Cover and refrigerate for an hour.
• Un-cover and mix the salad well to re-distribute the dressing, then cover again and refrigerate for another 3 hours before serving.
• This can be made a day ahead for picnics and such, it taste’s even better on day 2!

Creamy Potato, Cheddar & Corn Chowder with Bacon, Ham, or Chicken

Phew, that title is a mouthful, figuratively and literally!  I have to admit, I prefer my soups thick, so chowder is right up my alley!  This one is pretty simple, even though it is made with 2 pots.  The outcome is creamy, savory, hearty, and oh-so-good, just like those gourmet soups you pay an arm and a leg for!  The nice thing about this recipe is that you can tailor it to you liking by choosing the meat and veggies that go into it, as well as the thickness! This would be AWESOME served in a sourdough bread bowl!!!

The original recipe HERE calls for carrots and broccoli, but I prefer to omit both and add corn in instead.  Also, if you prefer a thinner soup you can omit step #3 (mashing the potatoes) .  We all love this so much that I always make a double batch, and even then it doesn’t last more then 2 days.  Here is my adaptation:

Creamy Potato, Cheddar & Corn Chowder with Bacon, Ham, or Chicken (serves 6-8) :

• 2 cups of water
• 2 large russet potatoes or 3-4 red potatoes, diced
• 1/4 cup diced onions
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese-grated
• 1 can of corn, drained
• 1 cup diced ham, chicken, or 3-4 slices of cooked and crumbled bacon

Directions:

• In a large soup pot, combine the first 6 ingredients.  Cover the pot and bring it to a boil, then turn down the heat to low and gently simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until the potatoes are just tender.
• Meanwhile in sauce pot, melt the butter over medium heat and then add in the flour and stir.  This is your “roux”, your thickener, let the butter and flour mixture cook for about a minute and then slowly add in the milk.  Stir, stir, stir while you add in the milk, this will help keep the sauce smooth.  Once all of the milk is added in, continue to stir frequently until the sauce is nice and thick, this should take 5-7 minutes.  Turn off the heat, add in the cheese and continue to stir until the cheese in melted.
• By this time the potatoes should be tender.  Ladle out roughly 1/2 of the diced potatoes along with a ladle of soup water into a large bowl.  Mash the potatoes and then add it all back into the soup pot.  This helps to thicken the soup, skip this step if you want a thinner consistency.
• Add in the corn, chicken or ham (if you are doing BACON I just sprinkle some on top of each bowl before serving), and all of the milk/cheese sauce.  Give it a good stir, allow everything to heat back up and then serve.