Three Recipes to Help You Use Your Fresh Garden Cucumber

By Laura Kurella | July 16, 2018 2:21 pm Follow @https://twitter.com/@Laurakurella

I enjoy this time of year so much because it brings with it so many truly fresh fruits and vegetables for the offering. Having spent winter eating stored, oxygen-deprived produce, I’ve come to realize that while these long-term storage techniques do help maintain an appearance of freshness in produce, it does not stop the fading of flavor, texture and often crispness that can only be found in fresh!

Some Amazing Flavor!

I was reminded of that when I sampled the first fresh cucumber of this season. It was not just delicious, it was crazy delicious! Its flavor was so amazing in fact, that I required nothing more than a knife to slice its delicious flesh into sliver-thin slices that I found myself eating right from the edge of the blade – an act my father would certainly admonish me for participating in.

Photo by Igor Miske on Unsplash

As my knife whittled its way down the cool and crisp, watery flesh of this young and tender cuke, I found myself slicing it ever so thinner and thinner in the hopes of prolonging all the pleasure it was bringing.

Nearing the end, I forced myself to put the knife down and rest what remained of this amazing cucumber on a napkin beside me.

Stepping back, I took a moment to savor all of its delicious flavor and aroma that was still slightly lingering sweetly on my tongue. “So amazing!” I had to sigh. “Thank you, Lord, for this most amazing treat. It truly is the best cucumber I ever did eat!”

Delicious And Nutritious

In addition to awesome flavor, fresh cucumbers also possess many nutrients and health bonuses that we can all benefit from like lignans, which according to research may decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease and several types of cancer.

Photo by Jonathan Pielmayer on Unsplash

Linked to a lower risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease, while we think of cucumbers consisting mostly of water, it happens to be fluid that is rich in important electrolytes, which helps prevent dehydration and also keeps our body systems running right.

Known for possessing anti-inflammatory benefits, a peeled cucumber, even when simply placed directly on the skin, will not only decrease swelling, irritation, and inflammation but also alleviate sunburn with a unique cooling and soothing effect, too!

Cucumbers are incredible and they taste amazing. Here are some crisp, quenching and creative ways for you to saunter on down to cucumber cool.