Do I Need to Drain Cucumbers?

Because of their high water content, cucumbers are a great low-calorie vegetable to include in side dishes or eat as a healthy snack.  That same water can wreak havoc in a recipe, however.  So should you drain your cucumbers before you use them?  In depends on what you're using them for, and how quickly they will be eaten.

If you're going to just slice and eat your cucumbers as-is without adding anything else to them other than salt and pepper or vinegar, or tossing on top of a green salad that will be eaten quickly, then do just that - slice and eat.  Since they won't be sitting in any other ingredients that will get soggy from the extra water, there's no harm to be done.

If, however, you will be making a cucumber salad or anything where they will be combined with other ingredients in a sauce or dressing of any kind, you might want to drain them first.  If the dish won't be eaten within an hour or so, the water content of the cucumbers will drastically change the consistency of the dressing, making it appear curdled, or at least watered down.  It's not something I would find appealing, and certainly wouldn't want that unwelcome surprise if serving guests.  Cucumber sandwiches will also get soggy quickly, as the bread would soak up the water, so make sure to drain first before making finger sandwiches, or your appetizers won't be very appetizing.

So how do you drain cucumbers?  It's very simple.  Peel (if desired) and slice your cucumbers, then layer the slices in a colander, sprinkle salt over them, and let them sit.  You won't see the water come pouring out from the cucumber like you would when emptying a can of vegetables, but it will drain slowly - 20 to 30 minutes should be sufficient.  When done, you can layer the slices on a sheet of paper towels and pat lightly if you want.

Will adding salt to the cucumber alter the dish you're preparing?  Not significantly.  Most of the salt will drain out with the water, but I always taste-test as I'm cooking, so would know whether my cucumber salad needed less salt than usual.

Draining cucumbers does take a few minutes, but the process itself couldn't be easier.  If you set them up to drain while fixing the rest of your meal, it won't add any prep time at all other than the minute to peel and slice.

~ Marie Anne

MA's Cucumber Salad

Courtesy of Group-Ethnographies

I'm not much of a pickle eater, (except sweet gherkins), but I love cucumbers, especially when made into a cucumber salad.  I fell in love with this concoction a number of years ago when my former mother-in-law made it, and it quickly became a staple in my own home.    I probably don't make it exactly as she did, but her two sons who often ate it at my house swore that my version was better than their own mother's.  I don't know if that's true or not, but they couldn't get enough of it, often fighting over the last slices in the bowl, and I wasn't going to argue with them.

I'm no gourmet cook and don't measure things when I throw them together, so I'll give you the list of ingredients, and you can probably wing it as good as I can from there.

Sour cream
Mayonaise
Miracle Whip (generic is fine)
Cucumbers
Onion
Vinegar
Salt and pepper
Sugar

To make it, simply -

Combine sour cream, mayonnaise, and Miracle Whip in a medium sized bowl in approximately equal amounts.  (Even if you hate Miracle Whip, trust me, mixed with the rest of the ingredients, it makes this dish).  I use the largest spoon in my silverware drawer and start with one heaping spoonful of each, then add more depending on how many/how large a cucumber I'll be adding.

Stir together until smooth (a wire whisk is handy at this point), then pour in just a tablespoon or two of vinegar.  Cut onion into chunks and add that to the bowl, then a pinch or two of sugar, just enough to offset the vinegar, but not make it too sweet.  Top off with salt and pepper to taste, and maybe garlic salt or whatever other seasonings you might like.

Peel a cucumber and cut in half, then into quarters, then into chunks.  (I like to cut mine into slightly thicker chunks rather than slicing thinly so that it doesn't get soggy too quickly).  Add the cucumber to the prepared dressing and toss to cover completely.  Serve immediately, or chill slightly to serve no more than an hour or two later.

If I'm making this for myself, I only use half of a large cucumber at a time, as leaving the cucumber to sit in the dressing for more than a few hours will water it down and make it soggy or appear curdled.  (Cucumbers have a very high water content which will break down the rest of the ingredients the longer it sits.  To combat that, you can drain the cucumbers first).  I'll eat half the cucumber, then cover the dressing and refrigerate to use for the other half the next day.  Leftover dressing will keep for at least 2-3 days in the fridge, so I add another dab of each ingredient if necessary to give me enough to cover the second piece of cucumber.

If you want to make this salad ahead but don't want to drain the cucumbers, make the dressing first and add the cucumber shortly before serving.

This is another of those foods that I think tastes better with onions in it, but I don't actually eat the onion (I don't mind onion flavor, but can't stand biting into one ... ick).  If you don't like onions either, try it anyway; I don't think this cucumber salad is as good without it.  Also, I don't like tomatoes, but my brother-in-law loved chopped tomatoes along with the cucumber in his.  The red 'maters added a nice pop of color to the dish too.

This is a quick throw-together side dish that can round out most any meal.  If you don't mind eating the peel on a cucumber, you can save a few seconds more by not peeling it first.  Play with this and tweak the ingredients to suit your own taste.  I'm sure it'll be a hit at your house too.

~ Marie Anne

Make Ahead Hamburgers Save Prep Time for a Quick Meal

(Courtesy of simplyscratch.com)

Since I live alone, I seldom cook a 'real' meal ... too much trouble for just one person.  Still, I'm trying to eat healthy, so I need to come up with ways to make things that I can throw together easily so that I don't end up eating something I shouldn't, just because it's convenient.

One of the ways I do that is by making individual hamburger patties and seasoning them before putting in the freezer.  Sometimes I'll take regular ground beef and form my own patties, but since coming back to NC, I've been finding pre-made fresh hamburger patties at the commissary in the 'manager's special' bin that are marked down,  so I grab them whenever I see them.

When I get home, I take each individual patty and season it with ground black pepper, onion salt, garlic salt and just a dash of Worcestershire Sauce, and then freeze them individually. By doing it that way, I can easily take out one burger at a time for lunch or dinner, and even if I forget to do it earlier in the day, it doesn't take much time to thaw a single hamburger as it would a whole package of ground beef.  If you're making your own patties, just put the ground beef in a large enough bowl that will allow you to season it all at once and then form the patties.

I was freezing them in small round plastic containers, but as often happens, some of mine seem to have disappeared, so until I buy more, I've been putting each patty in a sandwich bag, then putting all of those bags into a gallon sized freezer bag.  That way they are more protected from freezer burn, but still easy to take out and fix one at a time.  I can also reuse the larger bag since no food actually touches it.  I want to go back to packaging them with less waste, so I'm thinking about buying a hamburger press set which also has the container to freeze them in.

Tonight's dinner consisted of one such patty that I fried in a small skillet, topped with a sliced fresh mushroom, with a side of MA's Cucumber Salad.  It was very satisfying, and the burger took literally no prep time, and the salad only a minute or two to throw together.

I don't like spending a lot of time in the kitchen, so anything I can do to cut down prep time and still eat healthy is a win.

~ Marie Anne

P.S.  Here's another tip on saving time and money by prepping vegetables ahead too!