It's All About Nutrition! » Cucumber

Persian Cucumber Recipes

Jeanne — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 18:38:32 +0000

Persian Cucumber Recipes

Garlic Persian Cucumber Salad

8 ozs. Cucumber (1 large hothouse cucumber or 3 small Persian cucumbers)
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sesame oil

Cut the Persian cucumbers into quarters lengthwise and slice off the center to remove the seeds. For large hothouse cucumbers you may want to further cut the quarters into eights lengthwise. Then cut into two-inch long pieces. Add the salt and garlic then mix well. Refrigerate the cucumbers for about 30 minutes.

When ready to serve drain the salt extracted juice from the cucumber pieces and arrange on a plate. Be sure to retain the garlic. Pour the sesame oil over the cucumber and serve chilled.

redcook.net

Persian Cucumber Salad with Mint and Feta Recipe

Ingredients

Persian cucumbers, about 5 inches long

1 lb thin skinned, mild (non bitter) cucumbers, such as Persian, Armenian, or Japanese cucumbers, thinly sliced. You might also try it with English cucumbers.
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced and cut into 1-inch long segments
2 or 3 red radishes, thinly sliced
10 mint leaves, thinly sliced
White vinegar
Olive oil
1/4 pound feta cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method
In a medium sized bowl, gently toss together the sliced cucumbers, red onion, radishes, mint leaves with a little bit of white vinegar and olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Right before serving, sprinkle on crumbled bits of feta cheese. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

simplyrecipes.com

Persian Cucumber Yogurt

Ingredients
1 (32 ounce) container plain yogurt
3 English cucumbers, peeled and cubed
1 clove garlic, minced
1 shallot, finely chopped
5 tablespoons dried dill weed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Directions
1.In a medium bowl, stir together the yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, and shallot. Season with dill, salt and pepper. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to blend flavors.

allrecipes.com

For more information about Persian cucumbers and cucumbers in general
please visit our previous post here

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Vegetable Garden Update

Jeanne — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:40:16 +0000

Vegetable Garden Update

Well…I haven’t discussed our vegetable garden in a while so here is an update. Most of our plants are doing well except the eggplant…we lost most of the eggplant due to unusually wet conditions during June and July but there is hope for a few that are very small and still alive. The tomato plants are doing well and need more time for the tomatoes to ripen. We have an abundance of zucchini squash and cucumbers…we are picking them every day…the challenging part is to think of ways to eat them. We add zucchini to breads, pasta dishes, egg scrambles, salads, oven roasted potatoes, and just cooked in a pan with tomato sauce, onion, garlic, and spices. We actually started vacuum freezing the zucchini so we can enjoy it during the winter months…it will be great to add to soups. There are times when we give our zucchini and cucumbers to family and friends for all to enjoy. We are enjoying some fresh green beans and onions also…and our herb garden is flourishing. There’s nothing like eating fresh vegetables and herbs right from the garden…the flavors and textures are unsurpassed. More on this later….

Picking (harvesting) Cucumbers

Jeanne — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:07:01 +0000

Picking (harvesting) Cucumbers

You can start picking cucumbers several days after the firstfruit mature and then generally for a 3-4 week period depending on the variety. Harvest cucumbers that are 4 to 6 inches long and dark green in color. Larger cucumbers tend to be seedy and can often be bitter. You should pick cucumbers every 2 to 3 days for optimum maturity making sure not to damage the vines when. Hold the vine with one hand while pulling the fruit off with the other, or use pruning shears. Wash cucumbers and refrigerate (at about 50º to 55ºF) to keep fresh.

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Storing Your Vegetables After Harvest

Jeanne — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:09:41 +0000

Storing Your Vegetables After Harvest

As a general rule you should pick all your vegetables in the coolest weather you can using a clean, sharp knife. Cloudy days, early mornings, and evenings are always best. Those vegetables that need to be moist when stored should be covered with plastic with slits or holes. Or, if you have a humidifier in your cooler, set it to 95%.

Cabbage: Keep cold and moist.,,spoils after about five months.

Carrots: Keep cold and moist…spoils after about eight months.

Garlic: Dry at room temperature two to four weeks.,,store under dry and cold conditions…spoils after about four months.

Onions: Store dry at room temperature for two to four weeks…then move to dry and cold storage…spoils after about four months.

Potatoes: Keep cold and moist and away from the light…spoils after about six months.

Basil: Put stems in water…keep at room temperature…spoils after about five days.

Beans: Keep moist and cool…not less than 40 degrees…spoils after about one week.

Cauliflower: Keep cold and moist…spoils after about three weeks.

Corn: Keep cold and moist…spoils after about five days.

Cucumbers: Keep cool but not less than 40 degrees…do not store with apples or tomatoes…spoils after about one week.

Eggplant: Keep cool but not less than 50 degrees…spoils after about one week.

Lettuce: Keep cold and moist…spoils after about one week.

Peas: Keep cold and moist…spoisl after about one week.

Peppers: Keep cool but not less than 45 degrees….spoil after about two weeks.

Radishes: Keep cold and moist…spoils after about one month.

Spinach: Keep cold and moist…spoils after about ten days.

Squash: Keep cool…spoils after about one week.

Tomatoes: Keep cool but do not refrigerate…spoils after about five days.

Planting and Growing Cucumbers Fact Sheet

Jeanne — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 12:27:15 +0000

Planting and Growing Cucumbers

Planting and growing cucumbers is believed to have originated in India and spread through Greece and Italy. They made their way into North America agriculture by the mid-16 century. Cool and moist due to their high water content. Cucumbers belong to the same family as pumpkins, zucchini, watermelon and other squashes.

Growing cucumbers either for pickling or slicing, have become one of the most popular planted crops in today’s home garden. Although growing cucumbers requires substantial space, they can be grown in small gardens by training vines onto trellises, or you set about growing cumbers in containers. The cucumber ranges in size from the small gherkin type to the long, thin slicing variety. There are also yellow and fruited varieties.

Cucumber varieties:

There are several varieties of cucumber; the most popular are English, Persian, and Pickling cucumbers.
Persian cucumbers are also known as regular cucumbers with soft, edible seeds. The skin is often waxed to seal in moisture.

English cucumbers are sometimes known as gourmet cucumbers, “burpless”, or seedless cucumbers. This variety has seeds that are very small but do not need to be removed. Longer and thinner than regular cucumbers this variety is usually shrink-wrapped to seal in moisture because they are not waxed.

Slicing cucumber varieties include:
Sweet Slice Burpless
Straight 8
Poinsett
Dasher II
Salad Bush Hybrid
Marketmore 80
Marketmore 76

Pickling cucumber varieties include:
Boston Pickling
Miss Pickler Hybrid
County Fair Hybrid
Bush Pickle Hybrid
Eureka Hybrid

Selecting cucumbers:
It’s important to look for firm cucumbers with rich green color and no soft spots. Cucumbers that bulge in the middle, usually most likely means its filled with large watery seeds and tasteless flesh.

Because they are a subtropical crop growing cucumbers requires long warm days, plenty of sunshine and balmy nights. Many new cucumber varieties have shorter growing seasons, making them ideal for the shorter summers in the Northeast.

Cucumber vines bear two kinds of flowers, pistillate (female) and staminate (male). The first flowers, which are staminate, drop from the vine and do not bear fruit. Subsequent flowers include both male and female, and pollination can occur. Recently, gynoecious plants (those bearing female flowers only) have been introduced. The seed packet will have specifically marked seeds indicating that the marked seeds must be planted as well for proper pollination.

Climate requirements for cucumbers:
Cucumbers thrive at relatively high temperatures; 65-75 degrees F is the ideal temperature range. The plants do not tolerate frost. As a fast-growing crop, cucumbers require a substantial amount of moisture and plant nutrient elements throughout the growing season.

Preferred soil for cucumbers:
Growing Cucumbers can be done successfully in many types of soils, but they will be most successful in loose, well-drained soil,well supplied with organic matter and plant nutrient elements. Work in organic matter such as well-rotted manure or compost before planting. The soil pH should be between 6.0 and 7.0.

Fertilizing cucumbers:
Lime and fertilizers are best applied using soil test results as a guide. Prior to growing cucumbers, you should add a complete fertilizer such as 5-10-10 or similar analysis according to label recommendations. One week after blossoming begins, and again three weeks later, use a high nitrogen fertilizer to side-dress the hills. Do not over-fertilize, as this encourages vine growth and retards fruiting.

Planting cucumbers:
Growing cucumbers by starting the plants indoors 10 to 14 days before anticipated planting time can gain you valuable time. Use peat pots or pellets and avoid disturbing roots when transplanting. Planting outside should be delayed until the danger of frost has passed. Cucumber seeds can be planted in hills consisting of four or five seeds per hill spaced at 4 to 5 feet apart. They can also be planted in rows 2 to 3 feet apart with rows 5 to 6 feet apart. Certain varieties make excellent container plants.

Growing cucumbers:

Mulches can conserve soil moisture, prevent soil compaction and rotting of the fruit and help suppress weeds. Black plastic mulch can be a valuable aid in keeping the soil moist and minimizing weed problems. Organic mulches such as peat moss, cocoa shells or buckwheat hulls also work well, also providing the added bonus of improving the soil.
Weeds, insects and diseases must be controlled in the planting. Cucumber beetles, aphids, mites, pickle worms, bacterial wilt, anthracnose, powdery and downy mildew, and angular leaf spot are potential problems in the cucumber planting. The early and continuous control of the cucumber beetle is critical to success in growing cucumbers. The cucumber beetle can infect the plant with bacterial wilt as early as the cotyledon stage, when seedlings are just emerging from the ground. Bacterial wilt causes plants to wilt and die. See GreenShare Facsheets on cucumber beetles and bacterial wilt for more information and control recommendations. Avoid using insecticides in the garden when pollinating insects are working the flowers.

Harvesting cucumbers:
Cucumbers are ready for harvest 50 to 70 days from planting. Harvest according to size depending on intended use. Cucumbers become bitter if they are allowed to grow until they begin to turn yellowish. Harvest by cutting the stem 1/4-inch above the fruit.

When growing cucumbers it is essential to pick frequently as they grow and reach optimum quality. Delayed harvest results in reduced quality products and less productive plants–fruiting is an exhaustive process for the plant.

Cucumber Nutrition Facts:

Serving size 1/2 cup, sliced with skin (52g)Amounts Per Serving % Daily Value
Calories 10
Calories from Fat 0 0
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Sodium 0mg 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 2g 1%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Sugars 1g
Protein 0g
Vitamin A 2%
Vitamin C 2%
Calcium 0%
Iron 0%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Sources: FruitsandVeggiesMatter.gov

If you found this post about growing cucumbers interesting or helpfull leaving me a comment would be much appreciated. Thanx Jeanne

You might also want to check out this fabulous cucumber recipe.

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Exotic Vegetables… Bitter Melon

Jeanne — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:28:16 +0000

Exotic Vegetables… Bitter Melon

Bitter melon is actually a member of the squash family and resembles a cucumber with bumpy skin. When first picked, a bitter melon is yellow-green, but as it ripens, it turns to a yellow-orange color.

The inside of the melon is filled with fibrous seeds. Bitter melon is used mostly in Asian and Indian cooking. Other names for bitter melon include: foo qua, balsam pear, or bitter gourd.

Selection
Select firm, unblemished melons that are from 5 to 12 inches in length. Choose melons that are still green for a more bitter flavor and a yellow-orange melon for a milder taste. Bitter melons are available fresh from April to September in most Asian markets and can occasionally be found in larger supermarkets. Some markets are beginning to carry bitter melons year round. They may also be purchased canned or dried.

Storage
Store melon loose in a paper or plastic bag in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days. Slice the melon immediately before use.

Preparation
Cut in half and discard the seeds and fibrous core. To reduce the bitterness, blanch in boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes. The skin is edible and the melon is not typically peeled. The seeds are also edible, unless very hard, and are included in some recipes. Bitter melon is commonly stuffed, curried or pickled. It can also be used in stir-fry’s and soups and may be steamed. Garlic or chili peppers are often added to recipes with bitter melon to offset the bitter taste.

Bitter Melon Nutrition Information

Serving size 1/2 cup raw, sliced (47g)
Amounts Per Serving % Daily Value
Calories 10
Calories from Fat 0
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 0mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 2g 1%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Sugars 0g
Protein 0g
Vitamin A 4%
Vitamin C 70%
Calcium 0%
Iron 2%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Source: FruitsandVeggiesMatter.gov

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Related Posts:

It's All About Nutrition! » Cucumber

Persian Cucumber Recipes

Persian Cucumber Recipes

Related Posts:

Vegetable Garden Update

Vegetable Garden Update

Picking (harvesting) Cucumbers

Picking (harvesting) Cucumbers

Related Posts:

Storing Your Vegetables After Harvest

Storing Your Vegetables After Harvest

Planting and Growing Cucumbers Fact Sheet

Planting and Growing Cucumbers

Cucumber varieties:

Growing cucumbers:

Related Posts:

Exotic Vegetables… Bitter Melon

Exotic Vegetables… Bitter Melon