Veggie of the day: Cucumber!

[thistlechaser]

Thumbs down on cucumber, but it doesn't count.

For dinner I had what I'm going to call a salad sandwich -- bread, lettuce, tomato, mustard (would have had ketchup as well, but the sandwich shop didn't have any o.O ), and my new veggie to try: cucumber. Sadly the sandwich really, really sucked. Even the tomatoes (which I had liked a couple days ago!) and lettuce (iceberg, thus mostly harmless) weren't good. The tomato tasted like "off water" -- no good flavor at all.

Inspecting the sandwich closer, I saw the lettuce had brown edges. Blech. So I'm not going to count tonight's trying of them, or count a 'yuck tomato!' towards my final opinion. I think the shop's quality was just low.

I wish it was summertime so more stuff would be in season to try.

Comments

[tersa.livejournal.com]

Iceberg lettuce is tasteless at best, crap at worst. I recommend Romaine if you can get it.

Fresh tomatoes are awesome, but winter tomatoes especially from grocery stores or mass-marketed are pretty tasteless/icky. There's a stand at the Farmer's Market (on one end...Swank's, I think) that sells tomatoes year round, but its their specialty. Those will probably be pretty good.

I would, therefore, not trust this place's cucumbers you describe.

Here's a cucumber suggestion:

A nice white bread
Butter
Thin slices of fresh cucumber. There's also a place at the Market that sells organic English cucumbers.

Butter bread. Put single layer of cucumber on butter. Add second slice of buttered bread. Eat. It's an English tea sandwich.

I also really like this recipe, if you like rice vinegar and sesame oil:

Cucumber Salad

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Huh! I never would have thought about a sandwich like that, but it sounds good!

Thanks for the market info, hopefully I won't be a slug all weekend and will successfully get myself out on Sunday to go!

[lokyst.livejournal.com]

Similar sandwich, but add a layer of plain cream cheese under the cucumber :D~~

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Cream cheese? Huh, I wouldn't have thought of that! I'll try it next time. :) Thanks!

[laurelwood.livejournal.com]

Yeah, wintertime veggie selection is kinda sucky, especially if you're going for stuff you can eat raw. You can still get good cucumbers, though. I highly recommend the "English" foot-long ones they have at Trader Joe's; they're practically seedless. And whoever above commented about romaine lettuce is right. Iceberg is just bred to be crunchy, and it has no nutrients. Romaine is tastier and better for you, and it works well to bulk up a vegetarian sandwich. You can get it at Trader Joe's, too, already trimmed and washed for you.

Good luck with your continued explorations. I'll be interested to know what else you try!

[xvolph.livejournal.com]

God I miss Trader Joe's.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Ah, good idea! I should make another trip to Trader Joe's.

Good luck with your continued explorations. I'll be interested to know what else you try!

Veggies aren't Japanese candies, but I'll keep on posting about them. :)

[xvolph.livejournal.com]

The best tomatoes are the ones you get straight from a garden, or at a farmer's market. Hot house, hydroponic, and other store-bought tomatoes just don't have the same flavor. You're better off getting these mid-summer, when crops are at their peak. If you're getting unpleasant or weak-tasting tomatoes, you're getting the wrong ones.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that makes sense. Hopefully I'll get to the farmer's market this weekend!

<3

[barahir-ffxi.livejournal.com]

California Rolls win best use of Cucumber hands down... adds a nice fresh crisp taste.

As an aside... being the pround papa of 2 kids who, at this very moment, I am trying to get to "eat their vegetables" I have read multiple places that a child must taste a new food item anywhere between 18 and 30 times before they really develop a taste or a dislike. I do not know if this is the same for adults who have not had a vegeatble in years, but I just thoguht I'd trhow it out there. Just cause it's bad the first time, to really be fair to the veggie (which is actually stupid, who the hell cares if you hurt the veggies' feelings) or reather fair to yourself, you may want to give an item multiple tries.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I have read multiple places that a child must taste a new food item anywhere between 18 and 30 times before they really develop a taste or a dislike.

Hmm, that's interesting. I wonder if it's because their brains are forming new pathways or something?

Either way, I'm going to try not to discount something based on one try, not unless I really really hate it to the point of spitting it out or something along those lines.

(which is actually stupid, who the hell cares if you hurt the veggies' feelings)

Be kind to veggies! Heehee. ;)

[iniadelphinae.livejournal.com]

I am not a huge cucumber fan. I like in the above mentioned California rolls and in Greek or Indian yogurt sauces and that's about it. Put it on a salad or a sandwich, and I'll pick it off.

Must also agree that iceberg lettuce is worthless crap even if it's fresh out of the garden. Romaine or field greens have much more flavor and nutrition. There are many, many types of leafy greens (and reddish/purples), so you are bound to find something you like.

Worth it to try most greens both raw and cooked since the texture and flavor are so different. And by cooked, I do not meaned boiled until it is a congealed lump of green goo that looks like it might eat you. I mean a minute or so at most in boiling water, or sauteed in oil and your choice of herbs and spices (I like plain old salt and garlic) until they have just started to wilt.

You can be sneaky about em too. Raw shredded red cabbage doesn't have a lot of flavor IMO, but it adds a nice texture and some extra nutritional goodness to sandwiches and salads.

About the only tomatoes you can get in the average grocery store that aren't mushy and tasteless this time of year are plum tomatoes. Even then, this is a rough unless you find hothouse or hydroponically grown ones.

[iniadelphinae.livejournal.com]

One of these days I'm going to get a paid account just so I can edit comments >.>

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Heehee, no worries. :)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Ah, I didn't even think about California rolls! I could try stuff like that now! (Though I'm not so sure about eating seaweed, isn't that what sushi is wrapped in?)

Must also agree that iceberg lettuce is worthless crap even if it's fresh out of the garden. Romaine or field greens have much more flavor and nutrition. There are many, many types of leafy greens (and reddish/purples), so you are bound to find something you like.

Yeah, I didn't have any choice last night, but in the future I'll pick something better (if I can).

Worth it to try most greens both raw and cooked since the texture and flavor are so different.

Yeah, that's another thing I want to try, especially with carrots (I'm wary of them both raw and cooked, though I'm not sure why.)

You can be sneaky about em too. Raw shredded red cabbage doesn't have a lot of flavor IMO, but it adds a nice texture and some extra nutritional goodness to sandwiches and salads.

I keep meaning to google things like that! 'Ways of sneaking veggies into your kids' or something along those lines. I'd love to "trick" myself into eating more!

About the only tomatoes you can get in the average grocery store that aren't mushy and tasteless this time of year are plum tomatoes. Even then, this is a rough unless you find hothouse or hydroponically grown ones.

I'm going to have to see if I can get myself out of the house on Sunday and go to the farmer's market, I bet they might have good ones there!

[doxxxicle.livejournal.com]

I'm not much of a lettuce person myself. I generally prefer other "greens", as they call them. Also, we use Campari tomatoes.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I didn't have much of a choice last night, but next time, if I do, I'll pick something else. If nothing else, it'll be something more to try!

[kamalloy.livejournal.com]

Also, even if you turn out not to like raw tomatoes, don't discount them entirely. I hate raw tomatoes, but enjoy tomatoes in just about any other form. My fiance makes lovely bruschetta, which is a tomato/basil/garlic/olive oil mix on toasted slices of French or Italian bread. You might have fun trying something like that.

You're inspiring me to think about ways to get more fruits and veggies in my diet, and that's a good thing. ^^

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

My fiance makes lovely bruschetta, which is a tomato/basil/garlic/olive oil mix on toasted slices of French or Italian bread.

Oh mm, that sounds yummy!

And yay for inspiring you! :D

[wanderingscribe.livejournal.com]

Mmm, cukes. The best way I've found to eat cucumbers is in salads (though I realize I'm not being helpful since you're just discovering veggies and this is probably overkill) with apples, chick peas, romaine lettuce, carrots, and thick slices of heirloom tomatoes.

A couple of splashes of red wine vinegar, some pepper and salt, and mmm. The cucumber and apple give it this juicy crunchy sweetness that I've yet to find elsewhere, plus it's very healthy. Otherwise, stick with sushi or, if you're not looking for health benefits, put some slices on white bread, add mayo and salt.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

or, if you're not looking for health benefits, put some slices on white bread, add mayo and salt.

That sounds surprisingly good! I love mayo, even though it's not good for you. Mmm, fat.

And apples and cucumbers together sounds like it would work! Thanks for the ideas. :D

[veloxe.livejournal.com]

I work in produce department at a local store and to give you an idea of how awesome Cucumbers are this time away. We threw out around 300 individually wrapped cucumbers because they had gotten too cold and went all mushy when they reheated. It was horrible because we had a huge display and we didn't realize until someone complained cause they had been in the back room for awhile and when we put em out they were fine...the lights in the department were too hot or something.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Aww, that's too bad! What a waste.

*snugs a PLD!*