We got a surprise cucumber in our produce basket last week. Normally I wouldn't worry about it because cucumbers and bell peppers were the Kidlets main school snacks for several years. But she seems to have gone off them lately. So the cucumber was going begging and I needed to find a use for it.

Enter this delightlfully low-effort cucumber salad. Just toss everything in a bowl and let it sit for half an hour. Boom! Done.

Thai Cucumber Salad

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1/3 c. rice vinegar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/2 small red onion (or 1/4 large), thinly sliced
• 1 English cucumber, sliced into 1cm thick discs
• 1 fresh chile¹, thinly sliced
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 c. roasted unsalted peanuts², chopped

Directions

1. Combine vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper in a small pot and bring to a boil.
2. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Add onion to vinegar mixture and allow to cool.
4. Pour vinegar mixture over cucumber slices.
5. Add chile and toss to combine.
6. Set aside for at least 30 minutes.
7. Stir in cilantro and peanuts and serve.

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¹ The recipe calls for a jalapeño, but I thought that a Thai or finger chile would go better and I already had a bunch of those on hand, so that's what I went with. I think either a red or green Thai, cayenne, serrano, or finger chile would work here. (Or a jalapeño in a pinch, I guess.) Use whatever you've got. ^Back
2 The recipe only calls for 2 Tbsp. of peanuts and that's what we used when we made this. That said, I feel that it would have benefitted from more peanuts, so I've upped the quantity here. ^Back

I had intended to make "eggs Blackstone" for breakfast this morning. Except I used up all my bacon and we still don't have any bread. So I had to toss that idea out for now and try to come up with something else.

Most of the remaining recipes in the Breakfast Bible are either things that I'd need to go out and do a special grocery shop for or things that are really more of a dessert than a breakfast (bread pudding, donuts, puff pastry tarts, iced cinnamon rolls, etc.). I'd still like to make them at some point, but they weren't in the cards for breakfast today. So, instead, I started flipping through some of my other digital cookbooks. And settled on this recipe out of "Eggs".

Curried Eggs with Cucumber Raita

Slightly adapted from Eggs by Jodi Liano

Ingredients

Raita

• 1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 c. finely chopped English cucumber
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground

Eggs

• 8 large eggs
• 1/4 c. milk
• 1 tsp. bin bhuna hua garam masala
• 1 tsp. madras curry powder
• 1/2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground

Directions

1. Combine yogurt, cilantro, cucumber, lemon juice, salt, and pepper for raita. Mix well and set aside.
2. Beat eggs with milk.
3. Heat a pan over medium heat.
4. Add the garam masala and curry powder and toast for 30-60 seconds.
5. Transfer to a plate or bowl.
6. Reduce heat to medium-low and melt the butter.
7. Pour in the eggs and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and toasted spices.
8. Cook for 2-3 minutes without stirring, then scrape the pan, breaking up the curds a bit, and let the uncooked eggs flow underneath.
9. Cook, stirring occasionally, until eggs are just set.
10. Serve with raita. Whole wheat roti would also make a good accompaniment.

Another one of symbol's savoury cottage cheese bowls! This one used salmon that they got for me which I then forgot to eat. symbol attests that it was tasty, but not as good as the chicken and olive version.

Smoked Salmon Cottage Cheese Bowl

Ingredients

• ½ C cottage cheese
• ¼ C diced cucumber
• 3 Tbsp diced tomato
• 2 slices smoked salmon, chopped
• 1 Tbsp capers
• 1 Tbsp chopped chives or green onions
• 1 tsp chopped fresh dill (or ½ tsp dried)
• 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
• ½ tsp dried garlic
• ½ tsp dried onion
• ½ tsp poppyseeds (optional)
• ½ tsp furikake (optional)
• ¼ tsp black pepper, ground

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients, in listed order, in a bowl.
2. Eat.

Back when I was first trying to adjust my diet and lose a little weight, I tried a few different cottage cheese bowls. Mostly sweet ones involving fruit and nuts, maple syrup, chocolate, granola, etc. But I did give one savoury recipe a try. I didn't really care for it, so I've stuck to the sweet versions since then. My go-to involves apples, cinnamon, pecans, raisins, and a bit of maple syrup or stevia. And that's honestly been really great. It's tasty, it's filling, it's easy, and it can be made with staples that I basically always have on hand.

Unfortunately, I wasn't really feeling it this morning.

I had a green smoothie bowl for breakfast yesterday and that was really nice. But I'm pretty sure we're all out of mango now and I know that we don't have any pineapple. I think it would also be good with peaches or nectarines, but we won't have any of those until our produce basket arrives later today. And I wasn't feeling super enthusiastic about any of the other possible toppings I could think of. So I wrote off the smoothie bowl for this morning. But that left me drawing a big, ol' blank for breakfast today.

For whatever reason I really wasn't feeling the sweet cottage cheese bowls this morning, but the idea of cottage cheese itself wasn't unappealing. So I decided to see if I could put something together that hit the right notes for me.

We had some ground chicken and leftover zeytoon parvardeh (Persian marinated olives) in the fridge, so I decided to try to do something that would incorporate those. That said, I think this would also work with green olives and walnuts (and maybe a few extra seasonings) in place of the marinated olives. And you could probably get away with substituting chicken lunch meat for the ground chicken in a pinch (although I think the ground chicken is better here).

I may play around with the exact ingredients and proportions a bit if I make this again. But I think this was a good starting point.

Olive and Walnut Cottage Cheese Bowl

Ingredients

• 100g ground chicken (chicken breast for low-fat/diet-friendly option)
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. ras el hanout
• 1/2 c. cottage cheese (fat-free for low-fat/diet-friendly option)
• 1/4 c. diced cucumber
• 4-5 green olives, halved
• 1 Tbsp. chopped walnuts
• 1 Tbsp. fried onions
• 2-3 tsp. pomegranate molasses
• 1/2 tsp. za'atar
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1-2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Directions

1. Season the chicken with the salt and ras el hanout and cook over medium heat until no longer pink.
2. Place the cottage cheese in a bowl and top with chicken, cucumber, olives, walnuts, and fried onion.
3. Drizzle with pomegranate molasses and sprinkle with za'atar and pepper.
4. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired.

I made these ages ago. Way back in April, I think. They went over super well and everyone loved them. But things were pretty hectic and I never did get around to doing the write-up for it. So, finally, here it is!

Cucumber Toasts with Radishes

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 125g cream cheese, softened
• 60g feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 green onion, thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 slices bread (preferably whole wheat), toasted
• 1/2 English cucumber, thinly sliced
• 2 radishes, thinly sliced
• 1/4 c. broccoli sprouts¹

Directions

1. Combine cream cheese, feta cheese, green onion, and garlic and mix well.
2. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Spread the cheese mixture over the toast.
4. Top with cucumber, radishes, and sprouts.
5. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

---

¹ The recipe calls for alfalfa "or other" sprouts. And I had some lovely fresh broccoli sprouts from Noki Farms, so I opted to use those. I think the slight spiciness of the sprouts complemented the radishes nicely! ^Back

Bund Gobhi Kakadi nu Salade (Cabbage-Cucumber Salad)

I had initially been intending to do some baked cod for dinner last night, but, when dinner time rolled around... I just wasn't feeling it. So I flipped through the curry cookbook instead. I started at the back and worked my way forward until I got to this interesting salad recipe.

It's hot here right now, so the idea of a nice, cool salad for dinner was quite appealing. And it meant that I could finally use up the cabbage and cucumber out of the fridge! Granted it was napa cabbage rather than the green cabbage the recipe called for, but I had a hunch that I could get away with making that swap in this instance.

I made the recipe to spec initially and it was good. That said, I felt like it could stand to be a little punchier, so I added a couple tsp. of Maharashtrian garam masala. I think that helped, but I might be inclined to add a minced green chile next time as well. Still... it was a tasty refreshing salad for a hot day.

Bund Gobhi Kakadi nu Salade

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1 small head cabbage, shredded
• 1 English cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
• 1/2 c. shredded fresh coconut¹
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 fresh green Thai, finger, or serrano chile, minced (optional)
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 c. raw peanuts (without skins)
• 1-2 Tbsp. mustard oil
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1/4 tsp. ground asafetida
• juice of 1 lime
• 1-2 tsp. Maharashtrian garam masala (optional)

Directions

1. Combine the cabbage, cucumber, coconut, cilantro, chile (if using), sugar, and sea salt and mix well.
2. Toast the peanuts over medium-high heat until brown and spotty.
3. Transfer to a molcajete or large mortar and pestle and coarsely grind (to the texture of coarse breadcrumbs). If using a food processor, blender, or spice grinder wait until the peanuts have cooled completely before grinding or else they will become cakey.
4. Add the peanuts to the salad.
5. Heat the oil over medium-high heat.
6. Add the mustard seeds, cover, and cook until they've stopped popping (30-60 seconds).
7. Remove from heat and stir in the asafetida.
8. Allow to cook in the residual heat for 5-10 seconds, then pour the oil mixture over the salad and stir to combine.
9. Add the lime juice and garam masala (if using) and mix well.
10. Serve cold or room temperature.

---

¹ Alternatively, use 1/4 c. of dried, unsweetened shredded coconut. Pour over 1/4 c. of boiling water, let stand for 10-15 minutes, then drain and use as directed. ^Back

I wasn't a huge fan of this salad. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't great for me. That said, TF actually really liked it. She said it was nice and light and refreshing. Not necessarily a food she wants to have all the time, but possibly a favourite when she's in that salad-y sort of mood.

I didn't have the recommended flank steak for this recipe, so I cooked up a T-bone and cut that up instead. Not quite the same vibe, I know, but it worked well enough. And used up a steak that had been going begging for a while. So, all-in-all, a good result.

I also adjusted the proportions of vegetables slightly. Mostly because I didn't want to have fractional peppers left over in the fridge. Everything else was left as specified.

Thai Beef Salad

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 3 Tbsp. lime juice
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1-2 fresh green Thai or finger chilies, minced
• 450g flank steak
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 tsp. peanut or coconut oil
• 1 large head butter or leaf lettuce, washed and torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1 c. thinly sliced cucumber
• 1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh mint
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh Thai basil
• 1-2 green onions, thinly sliced (optional)

Directions

1. Combine the fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, and chilies in a large bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside.
2. Season the steak to taste with salt and pepper and brush with oil.
3. Cook the steak to your desired doneness by your preferred method: grill, broiler, or frying pan.
4. Let steak rest for a few minutes, then thinly slice and add to the bowl with the dressing.
5. Add the remaining ingredients: lettuce, cucumber, onion, bell pepper, mint, cilantro, and basil.
6. Garnish with green onions (if using) and serve.

I needed a vegetable side to go with dinner and we had a lot of cilantro and some leftover goat cheese, so this simple salad fit the bill pretty much perfectly!

I appreciate how quick and easy this is to put together. (Especially if you skip peeling and seeding the cucumber as I did.) And it's quite tasty as well!

Photo goes here.

Cucumber, Cilantro, and Goat Cheese Salad

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 English cucumber (or 2 field cucumbers)
• 1 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 c. lime juice
• 1-2 Tbsp. canola oil
• 120-170g soft goat cheese, crumbled

Directions

1. Peel and seed the cucumbers if desired, then cut into 4-6cm slices.
2. Combine the cucumber with the cilantro and jalapeño.
3. Sprinkle with sea salt, lime juice, and canola oil and stir to combine.
4. Cover and let stand for at least 30 minutes.
5. Add the goat cheese and serve.

This is a simple vegetable side. It's somewhere between a salad and a quick pickle. It's very easy to make and requires very little active time. You just need to start it far enough in advance to give it at least an hour for the flavours to develop before you serve it.

This reminds me a lot of how I used to eat cucumbers as a kid: in a little dish with some white vinegar, salt, and pepper. Using cider vinegar instead of white, adding a bit of sugar, and diluting the mixture with a bit of water all help to tone down the acidity a bit. I still like my childhood version, but I do think this mellower take is probably more broadly appealing. And letting it sit for a while before serving gives the vegetables a chance to really absorb the flavours.

I made my salad with Vidalia onions since I had some on hand for another dish anyway, but the write-up says that regular yellow onions worked fine here as well. And I used an English cucumber because that's what I had on hand, but apparently when the folks over at ATK tested this recipe their tasters preferred field cucumbers to English. It's not like it's bad with English cucumbers though, so use what you have and enjoy!

Cucumber and Onion Salad

From Cook's Country June/July 2019

Ingredients

• 1/2 cider vinegar
• 1/4 c. water
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 450g cucumbers
• 1 onion, halved and sliced thin

Directions

1. Mix the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, and pepper until dissolved and set aside.
2. Peel the cucumbers, halve lengthwise, and slice thin.
3. Add the cucumbers and onions to the dressing and mix well.
4. Cover and chill for at least an hour before serving.

This is another Hello Fresh recipe. I haven't been writing most of these up, but we all really liked this one and Alex, in particular, was highly enamored of it. And it's quite easy to make, too!

Garlic Chicken Salad

Hello Fresh

Ingredients

• 600g chicken breasts, cut into strips
• 1 tbsp oil
• 4 tbsp mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• a bunch of fresh dill, chopped
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1.5 tsp garlic salt
• 250g baby spinach
• 250g mini cucumber (or whole cucumber halved lengthwise), cut into 5mm rounds
• 2 gala or fuji apples, cored and cut into 5mm slices

Directions

1. Season chicken all over with garlic salt and black pepper.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Add chicken and cook until cooked through and golden brown.
4. Whisk together mayo, vinegar, dill, and sugar in a large bowl. Season with pepper to taste.
5. Toss spinach, cucumber, and apples with dressing.
6. Serve topped with chicken.

Made this out of Cook's Country a while ago and forgot to write it up. I remember it being pretty tasty though.

Corn and Cucumber Salad

Cook's Country, June/July 2017, by Ashley Moore (p. 20)

Ingredients

• 3+1 tbsp olive oil, divided
• 5 tbsp lime juice (~3 limes)
• ½ tsp pepper
• ¼+⅛ tsp salt, divided
• ¼ C sour cream
• ½ red onion, sliced thin
• 1 jalapeño, halved, seeded, and sliced thin
• 4 ears corn, raw, kernels cut from the cobs
• 1 English cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced thin
• ¾ C crumbled feta cheese
• ¼ C fresh basil, torn

Directions

1. Whisk together 3 tbsp oil, lime juice, pepper, and ¼ tsp salt in a large bowl.
2. Remove 2 tbsp of lime-oil mix and whisk into sour cream; set aside.
3. Add onion and jalapeño to remaining lime-oil mix and set aside to stand, at least 15 minutes.
4. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
5. Add the loose corn kernels and the salt.
6. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and spotty brown, ~7-9 minutes.
7. Remove from heat and let cool while lime-oil mix is standing.
8. Mix corn, feta, and basil into bowl with lime-oil mix, onion, and jalapeño.
9. Serve topped with sour cream mix.

Oi Muchim (Korean Cucumber Salad)

I made kimchi fries for dinner tonight. (They were delicious.) But I wanted to do an additional vegetable side dish. Something that would be nice and light since the fries, bulgogi, and cheese involved in the rest of the meal aren't exactly the most health-conscious options. So, light, but still tasty. And I wanted it to be easy to throw together since I knew I wouldn't have the energy for anything complicated. And this salad fit the bill perfectly!

I enjoy the upfront presence of chilies and sesame in the dressing. And I appreciate that it's not too oily. The dressing is mostly gochugaru and vinegar. And the oil that is there is sesame oil, so it adds more delicious sesame flavour. It's very nice.

Oi Muchim

Slightly adapted from Aaron & Claire

Ingredients

• 1 small onion¹, quartered and sliced
• 1 cucumber
• 1 handfull garlic chives
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. gochugaru
• 1 Tbsp. sugar²
• 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
• 1/2 Tbsp. minced garlic
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground

Directions

1. Place onion in a bowl of cold water and set aside for 5-10 minutes.
2. Cut cucumber into 5mm-thick slices and place in a large bowl.
3. Cut garlic chives into long pieces (4-5cm long) and add to bowl with cucumber.
4. In a small bowl, combine gochugaru, sugar, sesame seeds, garlic, vinegar, sesame oil, and salt and mix well.
5. Drain onion and add it to the bowl with the cucumber.
6. Pour the dressing over the cucumber mixture and toss to combine.

---

¹ The original recipe called for only 1/4 of an onion, so I put half of a very small onion in. This was fine. But, having tasted the salad now, I think it would been better with even more onions. ^Back
2 I've been trying to cut calories, so I swapped out the sugar for monk fruit sweetener in my dressing.

I've been continuing to work my way through the cottage cheese breakfast bowl ideas from Budget Bytes. I've don't some of them with yogurt instead of cottage cheese, but I still want to try all the flavours. This is the only savoury option in the list. And it's pretty good. Especially with some furikake on top. It's still, I think, not a favourite for me; it's not something I see myself coming back to over and over again. But it was pretty good (if not amazing) and it was reasonably filling and didn't cost any Points, so it's got that going for it.

Savoury Cottage Cheese Breakfast Bowl

Slightly adapted from Budget Bytes

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. cottage cheese (fat-free for the WW crowd)
• 6 slices cucumber, quartered
• 6 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 hard-boiled egg, quartered
• 1/2 Tbsp. furikake

Directions

1. Top cottage cheese with cucumber, tomatoes, and egg.
2. Garnish with furikake.

I've had my eye on this salad for a while, but I keep not quite getting around to making it. But I finally had all the ingredients and a bit of momentum, so I managed to get it put together.

I've been trying to do the Weight Watchers thing and count my calories and tally up Points and just generally be a little more mindful of what and how much I'm eating. So, with that in mind, I made a few adjustments and substitutions while making this to try to reduce its Points cost. And while it did help a bit, having now sat down and done the math, it didn't make that much of a difference in the end. The original version would've been around 4 Points per serving and my "lighter" version came out to around 3 Points per serving. So better, but not that much better. I think next time I'd just make it with the full amount of oil and cheese. (Although I'll probably keep the tofu instead of the bacon because I quite like it!)

Napa Cabbage Salad

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country February/March 2020

Ingredients

• 1 tsp. bacon grease
• 1/2 package smoked tofu, sliced
• 1/2-3/4 c. crumbled blue cheese
• 2-4 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 680g napa cabbage, cut into 3-4cm pieces
• 225g cherry (or grape) tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 English cucumber, quartered lengthwise then sliced crosswise
• 1 small red onion, quartered and sliced thin
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh basil

Directions

1. Melt the bacon grease over medium heat and fry the tofu in it until crispy on both sides.
2. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
3. Meanwhile, combine the cheese, oil, lemon juice, pepper, and salt and whisk until mostly smooth.
4. Once tofu is cool, chop it into bite-sized pieces.
5. Add cabbage, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, basil, and tofu to dressing and toss to combine.

This started out as "pan-fry a bit of sourdough discard to use it up and get a tasty flatbread to eat", and gradually evolved into a full-on breakfast. It's reasonably easy to make and we pretty much always have the materials for it, so it's a good way to use up some sourdough and get a filling breakfast out of it.

Sourdough Discard Savoury Pancakes

Original

Ingredients

• oil
• 1 green onion, sliced
• large scoop sourdough discard
• 1 large egg
• laoganma
• mayo
• cucumber and/or carrot, julienned

Directions

1. In a nonstick skillet, heat some oil to medium-high heat.
2. Add green onions and fry briefly, <1 minute.
3. Pour sourdough discard overtop. Cook until golden brown on both sides, flipping once the first side is done.
4. Remove from pan and use the remaining oil to fry an egg.
5. Top with laoganma, mayo, julienned vegetables, and egg.

I picked up some smoked salmon on sale a little while back, tossed it in the freezer, and kind of forgot about it. I recently remembered it existed and figured I'd give this salmon tart a go. I was dubious about using cucumbers in a cooked pie, but it actually worked really well! I love the cream cheese in the custard.

Scottish Smoked Salmon and Cucumber Cream Cheese Tart

Slightly adapted from the Book of Old Tarts by Elizabeth Hoder

Ingredients

• 175g shortcrust pastry
• 1 English cucumber, peeled and chopped
• 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 250g smoked salmon, broken into large pieces
• 250g cream cheese, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 150mL heavy (35%) cream
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill¹
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 tsp. peppercorns, ground

Directions

1. Line a shallow 25cm (10") tart tin² with the pastry and blind bake it³.
2. Toss cucumber with salt, place in colander, and place a plate and a heavy object on top. Set aside to drain for 30 minutes.
3. Pat cucumber dry and toss with salmon.
4. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
5. Blend cream cheese, eggs, egg yolk, cream, chives, dill, lemon zest, lemon juice, and pepper.
6. Place cucumber-salmon mixture in pie crust.
7. Pour the cheese mixutre over the filling.
8. Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 30 minutes.
9. Serve warm or cold with vegetable side of your choice.

---

¹ I didn't have any fresh dill, so I ended up using an extra 2 Tbsp. of chives + 1/2 tsp. of ground dill seeds. ^Back
2 The original recipe called for a 9" tart tin, but I've had issues with having too much filling for pies in this book before, so I decided to go up one tin size. ^Back
3 Line with parchment paper and fill with pie beans and bake at 400°F for 15 minutes, then remove paper and beans, prick with a fork, and brush with egg white, then return to oven and bake for another 5 minutes. ^Back

The author notes that these salads are best made with feggous or "Armenian yard-long cucumbers". They are long and skinny, slightly curved, with thin wrinkled or furrowed skin, and very small seeds. She says that if you can get these cucumberes, they need not be peeled or seeded.

I didn't have any Armenian yard-long cucumbers. I just used one good-sized English cucumber. But I left its skin on and seeds in anyway. I prefer the aestherics of the dark green skin in the salad. And I prefer the lack of labour and waste of leaving the seeds in. Besides, I find that most English cucumbers seem to have fairly small seeds anyway.¹

This is a very simple salad. Quick and easy to make. The hardest part is wringing out the cucumber so that you don't end up with cucumber soup! I tried doing it with paper towels as suggested in the recipe this time. But I think I might want to experiment with using a fine mesh seive next time. Or maybe even my nut milk bag. I'll see what works best.

Grated Cucumber Salad with Orange Flower Water

Slightly adapted from The Food of Morocco by Paula Wolfert

Ingredients

• 450-500g cucumber, grated
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. orange flower water
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Grate the cucumber and then squeeze out the excess moisture. (I'm still experimenting with the best way to do this. Use whatever method you prefer.) Set the cucumber aside.
2. In a serving bowl, combine the sugar, lemon juice, orange flower water, salt. Mix well.
3. Add the cucumber and toss to combine.
4. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
5. Sprinkle with cinnamon just before serving.

---

¹ It seems that through either selective breeding or hormonal treatment, a lot of produce has reduced or no seeds these days. I kind of miss the watermelon seeds... Yes, I know you can still get watermelons with seeds, but you have to look for them. They no longer seem to be the default. The seedless watermelons have taken over. ^Back

Malai Tikka Sarki (Tender Marinated Beef Cubes)

I wanted a beef curry recipe that I hadn't tried yet, so I took a look through the appetizer section of the curry cookbook to see what I could find. I really liked the sound of gosht kebab aur pudhinay ki chutney (beef kebabs and mint chutney), but Iyer describes that dish as "wickedly hot", so I figured it might not fly with the Kidlet. Instead, I went for the recipe on the page before: an interesting combination of hot, crispy fried beef cubes soused with a cold cucumber-pigeon pea sauce. Definitely something a bit different!

Malai Tikka Sarki

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

Beef

• 1/4 c. ginger paste
• 2-3 fresh green Thai or finger chilies, minced
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 450g boneless beef sirloin (or similar), cut into 2-3cm cubes
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 c. dry breadcrumbs

Sauce

• 1/4 c. skinned split yellow pigeon peas (toovar dal)
• 1 c. water
• 1 large English cucumber, grated¹
• 1-4 fresh green Thai or finger chilies, minced
• 2 scallions (green onions/spring onions), minced
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 Tbsp. ghee or unsalted butter
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Beef

1. Combine the ginger paste, chilies, and salt.
2. Add the beef and stir to coat.
3. Cover and chill for at least 24-36 hours.
4. At some point while the beef is marinating, prepare the sauce up to the chilling stage.
5. When ready to cook the meat, pour enough oil into a wok (or other appropriate vessel) for deep frying and heat to 180°C (350°F).
6. Put the eggs in one bowl and the breadcrumbs in another.
7. Toss about half the beef with the eggs.
8. Roll the egg-coated beef cubes in the breadcrumbs until completely breaded.
9. Carefully add the cubes, a few at a time, to the hot oil.
10. Cook, turning occasionally, until brown and crisp all over.
11. Repeat with remaining beef.

Sauce

1. Thoroughly rinse the pigeon peas.
2. Drain the peas, then add to a small pot with the water.
3. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.
4. Transfer peas and cooking water to a blender and purée until smooth.
5. Transfer pigeo pea purée to a bowl.
6. Stir in cucumber, chilies, scallions, and salt.
7. Melt ghee over medium-high heat.
8. Add cumin seeds and sizzle for 10-15 seconds.
9. Pour this ghee-cumin seed mixture into the cucumber sauce and stir to combine.
10. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
11. Just before serving, stir in the lime juice and cilantro.

Assembly

1. Place a few hot, crispy beef cubes in a bowl and top with a generous portion of cold cucumber sauce.²

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Variations

Vegetarian Version

Ingredients

Protein

• 1/4 c. ginger paste
• 2-3 fresh green Thai or finger chilies, minced
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 450g paneer, cut into 2-3cm cubes
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 c. dry breadcrumbs

Sauce

• 1/4 c. skinned split yellow pigeon peas (toovar dal)
• 1 c. water
• 1 large English cucumber, grated
• 1-4 fresh green Thai or finger chilies, minced
• 2 scallions (green onions/spring onions), minced
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 Tbsp. ghee or unsalted butter
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Vegan Version

Ingredients

Protein

• 1/4 c. ginger paste
• 2-3 fresh green Thai or finger chilies, minced
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 450g extra-firm tofu, pressed and cut into 2-3cm cubes
• 1 tsp. dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp. oil (any kind)
• 1/4 c. flour
• 1/2 c. unsweetened almond or oat milk
• 1 c. dry breadcrumbs

Sauce

• 1/4 c. skinned split yellow pigeon peas (toovar dal)
• 1 c. water
• 1 large English cucumber, grated
• 1-4 fresh green Thai or finger chilies, minced
• 2 scallions (green onions/spring onions), minced
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil or vegan butter
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Proceed with recipe as directed for beef version but, when breading the tofu, first toss it with the oil and soy sauce, then dredge it in the flour, then toss it in the milk, and finally roll it in the breadcrumbs before frying as directed above.

Gluten-Free Version

Either the original or vegetarian version can be made gluten-free by using gluten-free breadcrumbs.
The vegan version is a little trickier to make celiac-friendly as it contains flour and soy sauce. I believe coconut aminos and some forms of tamari are both gluten-free. And cornstarch, rice flour, or a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour should work fine for dredging the tofu.

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¹ Iyer says to peel, halve, and seed the cucumber before grating. I opted to leave the skin on and the seeds in. This made the sauce a little greener and a little wetter, but I was still happy with the results. And skipping the peeling and seeding makes both less work and less waste, so I'd be inclined to stick with this approach in the future. ^Back
2 Since I was having this as part of the main course rather than an appetizer, I served it on a bed of rice. The rice wasn't part of the original serving suggestion however. ^Back

For this one we actually had packages of "bibim ramen" on hand, so I skipped the sauce described here and just used the sauce in the packet. I've included the full sauce recipe here, but if making it with bibim ramen packages from the cupboard, skip all the sauce assembly.

Bibim Ramen

Aaron & Claire

Ingredients

• 1 package ramen
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp gochujang
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• ⅓ of the ramen packet
• 1 hard-boiled egg, bisected
• ¼ apple or pear, julienned
• 2-3 slices cucumber, julienned
• a bit of cabbage, julienned
• sesame seeds

Directions

1. Cook ramen in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, then quench in cold water.
2. Whisk together sugar, gochujang, vinegar, sesame oil, and ramen powder to form sauce; toss with noodles.
3. Top with egg, apple, cucumber, cabbage, and sesame seeds.

Bibimbap (Mixed Rice)

I love bibimbap. It's the dish that introduced me to Korean food and it's still one of my favourites. But it's always been one of those things that I only ever get from restaurants. I've never made my own bibimbap at home. As usual though, Aaron makes things easy and approachable and my first foray into homemade bibimbap was a huge success. TF and I both loved it and so did the Kidlet. She said it was a "super favourite" and asked for it in her lunch tomorrow as well.

I played a bit fast-and-loose with the vegetables and toppings, but you can get away with doing that with dishes like this. Aaron recommended carrots, zucchini, shiitake mushrooms, lettuce, salted daikon with gochugaru, soy bean sprouts, cucumbers, saucy ground beef, and a sunny side up egg. We didn't have the zucchini, bean sprouts, or any fresh daikon, so we swapped them out for bell pepper and danmuji (pickled daikon). And we swapped out the ground beef for chopped, thinly sliced beef. Really though, I think as long as you have rice, at least a few different veggies, some protein (meat, tofu, tempeh, seitan, etc.), and an egg... you're good to go! Make it what you want.

Bibimbap

Slightly adapted from Aaron & Claire

Ingredients

Vegetables

All of the veggies should be considered optional, but you should try to make sure you have at least four different things if possible.

• shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• cucumber, julienned
• bell pepper, thinly sliced
• lettuce, cut into bite-sized pieces
• cabbage, shredded
• corn
• fresh daikon or danmuji, julienned
• coarse sea salt
• fine gochugaru
• carrot, julienned
• zucchini, julienned

Beef

• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. minced garlic or garlic paste
• 5 Tbsp. light (regular) soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp. oyster sauce
• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 200g beef, ground or thinly sliced
• pepper, to taste

Sauce

• 3 Tbsp. gochujang
• 1 Tbsp. corn syrup
• 1 Tbsp. water

Assembly

• cooked rice (~3/4 c. per person)
• sesame oil (1 tsp. per person)
• eggs (1 per person)

Directions

Vegetables

1. If you're using dried mushrooms, soak them in hot water for a while before you start cooking. Sometimes they can take a long time to soften up. If you're using fresh, you can just slice them while prepping the rest of the veggies.
2. Chop all your veggies.
3. If using fresh daikon, sprinkle some salt on it and let it sit for at least 15 minutes. Then drain off any liquid and sprinkle with gochugaru.
4. Cook the carrot in a little oil until slightly softened. Sprinkle with a little salt if you wish.
5. Give the zucchini the same treatment. Be careful not to overcook it!
6. Cook the mushrooms in a little oil too. Season with sesame oil, pepper, and either salt or soy sauce. (I like soy sauce.)
7. Set the veggies aside while you get everything else ready.

Beef

1. Combine onion, green onion, sugar, garlic, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sesame oil in a bowl.
2. Cook beef in a little oil and season with some pepper.
3. Pour in the sauce and cook over medium-low until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Sauce

1. Combine gochujang, corn syrup, and water and mix well.

Assembly

1. Put some rice in a bowl and drizzle with a teaspoon of sesame oil.
2. Top with veggies. Try to keep each veggie separate so you get lots of different colours each in their own section.
3. Place a spoonful of beef in the centre.
4. Fry an egg¹ and place it on top.
5. Serve with sauce on the side.
6. Instruct diners to add some sauce to their bowl and then mix everything up before eating.

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¹ Sunny side up is generally preferred. The runny yolk acts as a sauce for the rice and veggies. I like to do "sunny side up in the shade" where you cover the pan so that the egg steams a little bit and sets the thin film of albumen over the yolk. This makes the yolk look a little cloudy, so it's not as aesthetically pleasing, but I don't mind that. If you're not big on runny yolks, you could have your egg scrambled or boiled instead. Or if you don't like fried eggs, soft poached eggs would also work quite well. Much like with the vegetables, there's a lot of flexibility here. ^Back