Julia Child's Cucumber Salad ♥ Recipe

Julia Child's Cucumber Salad, garden cucumbers soaked in a vinegar, sugar and water mixture.
graphic button small size size 10 Today's quick cucumber salad recipe, from no other than Julia Child: How to soak large, seedy cucumbers so they'll be not just edible but tasty! Low carb. Not just vegan, "Vegan Done Real". Weight Watchers 1 point! graphic button small size size 10

~recipe republished 2012~
to honor the 100th anniversary of the birth of Julia Child,
a world-wide celebration happening online, in restaurants and in homes
~more recently updated recipes~

Summer 2009: Seems we can't turn around without stumbling over another story of Julie & Julia, the blog-turned-book-turned-movie that opens nationwide on August 7. Just yesterday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch climbed aboard the Julie & Julia wagon with a story about four St. Louis food bloggers whose blogs are also 'projects', including yes, A Veggie Venture! (Update, sorry, the Post-Dispatch has removed the online story but here's more about the bloggers in the story.)

Summer 2009: Seems I can't turn around without stumbling over a cucumber, the 'small' ones about six inches long, the 'big' ones a foot or more. That's a lot of cucumber to consume! So I've been looking for cucumber recipes where the 'cucumber' is front and center, not just an add-in for wet crunch. Julia Child to the rescue: her The Way to Cook writes about how to make cucumbers less 'burpy' at least a half dozen times. "Soak cucumbers in a little vinegar, sugar and water". Okay, Julia, got it. And soaking the cucumber flesh really did make a difference, especially to preserve them for a few days to make – whatever –
with. I've got a big batch in the refrigerator right now, the first chunks were used in a simple but gorgeous Cucumber Salad.

Summer 2012: Food people across the world are celebrating the birth of Julia Child on this day, August 15, 2012, the 100th anniversary of the birth of Julia Child. We're on vacation this week but I wanted to take a moment to add my voice to the cookery chorus. Besides – aren't the cucumbers just wonderful just now?! For more Julia Child recipes from A Veggie Venture and Kitchen Parade, check out this gorgeous rice dish, Julia Child's Soubise (Onion & Rice Casserole) , at the end of the post, I list all her recipes in one place. Enjoy!

JULIA CHILD'S CUCUMBER SALAD RECIPE

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Time to table: 4 - 6 hours
Serves 4 (easily adjusted)

FOR CUCUMBERS
1 - 2 cucumbers
White vinegar
Sugar
Water

SALAD
Olive oil
Fresh herbs to taste - I use basil & parsley
Salt & pepper to taste

CUCUMBERS Trim and peel the cucumbers (see NOTES). Cut in half lengthwise and then scoop out and discard the seeds. Cut into half rings or chunks. In a large bowl, stir together the vinegar (maybe a quarter cup) and sugar (maybe a tablespoon) and enough water to cover the cucumbers. Let the cucumbers soak for a few hours.

SALAD Drain the cucumbers. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Savor and enjoy!

ALANNA'S TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES
This recipe works best for garden cucumbers or the much-less expensive regular cucumbers at the grocery. Save the hot-house English cucumbers for other recipes.




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MORE ST LOUIS FOOD BLOGS The St. Louis Post-Dispatch story by Diane Toroian Keaggy is great. Thanks, Diane! Since the online version doesn't include links to the bloggers who are featured, I'll share them here (and sorry, the entire story has been taken offline by the Post-Dispatch):

Nupur from One Hot Stove who's just kicked off her BookMark Project, actually cooking all those recipes she's bookmarked
Becky & the Beanstalk, where every single recipe features heirloom beans
Cupcake Project, whose blog originated with a offhand offer to make cupcakes for a wedding!
Diane's own husband is a blogger of Grocery List fame and this month, returns to his annual passion, I Love Sandwiches, 31 days of August, 31 days of sandwiches



Looking for healthy ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Alphabet of Vegetables. Healthy eaters will love the low carb recipes and the Weight Watchers recipes.
© Copyright 2009, 2011, 2012 & 2014
Alanna Kellogg
Alanna Kellogg

A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and the famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.

Comments

  1. Thanks for the shout-out, Alanna!
    As a rule, I try to keep my name out of the papers ;) LOL

    Oh the projects are always so entertaining.

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  2. This comes to my home at a perfect time- I am over loaded with cucumbers and forgot about this= My mom used to make this all the time (a similar recipe) I am excited to try it! Thanks

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  3. What a great summer recipe... I love cucumbers!

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  4. I"m on a salad high. So bookmarked! :)

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  5. My Mom and MIL always made these, so I do too, every summer when I can get the home grown cukes.My husband and I love them fixed this way!

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  6. Alanna - what a feather in your cap!! Such a lovely story weaving you and a few other bloggers in with the movie. I'm a steadfast vegetarian (14 yrs) so always appreciate your veggie dishes as I like to make lots of little sides. I have my iGoogle home page set up with a separate tab just for veggie blogs and of course yours is on it! I also really appreciate the nutritional advice you always provide. Thanks to you!

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  7. Yay! I love that so many food bloggers were highlighted. Kudos to all of you!

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  8. AnonymousJuly 31, 2010

    Ahhhhh! Love this!

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  9. My mom was the typical "convenience" cook of the 50's but this was her recipe ;-)

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Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe, whether a current recipe or a long-ago favorite. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. ~ Alanna