8 Ways of Making Use of Excess Cucumbers with Bonus Antioxidant Salad Recipe

You planted several cucumber plants in your homestead garden, so you could enjoy them in salads and probably to can into a bunch of pickles. But you have more cucumbers than you think you’ll need. What do you do about it? How do you go about making use of excess cucumbers if you don’t want to pickle them all?

1. Salsa made with cucumbers, tomatoes, hot peppers and corn is really good over Mexican dishes. You can find a variety of recipes for salsas using cucumbers in cookbooks, on the internet and in food magazines. (Check out my Pinterest board “Food Glorious Food” for more cucumber recipes!)
2. Make a sauce using shredded cucumbers. Add the shredded cucumbers to unflavored yogurt and spices. This is a great sauce for wraps and traditional sandwiches.
3. Try cucumber juice. Cucumber juice isn’t your normal, everyday type of beverage, but it could be a great change of pace. You can drink it over ice or add it with other beverages. The next time you prepare smoothies, pour in a little cucumber juice to add extra vitamins.
4. Add diced cucumbers to stir fry. They remain somewhat crispy when warmed but also are smooth within your mouth.
5. How about using cucumbers in soup? Puree the cucumbers to make gazpacho. You can add other vegetables – diced tomatoes, fresh corn or anything else you have on-hand – to change the taste of the soup. Look in cookbooks or on the internet to find other gazpacho recipes using cucumbers.
6. Rediscover cucumber sandwiches. In the past women used to serve cucumber sandwiches for baby showers, bridal showers or afternoon tea. These sandwiches are made with cream cheese, sour cream, chives and cucumber slices on bread. Some women would cut off the crust and slice them in quarters.
7. Create a type of raw pickle. Peel and thinly slice the cucumbers. Do the same with a small onion. Add 1/4 cup vinegar, 1/4 cup water, 2 teaspoons sugar, dash of salt and pepper. Allow this to marinate for at least an hour before eating.
8. If you simply can’t stand to eat another cucumber because you have so many of them becoming ripe at the same time, it is helpful to know that you can use sliced cucumbers to help reduce swelling around your eyes.

Related posts:

• 9 Unique Ways to Use Extra Tomatoes (with Bonus Goat Cheese Stuffed Tomato Recipe)
• 10 “Cool” Summer Snacks for Kids
• Carrot Cake Smoothie with Coconut Whipped Cream
• 3 Light and Healthy Summer Meals to Stay Cool in the Kitchen
• Make Ahead Food Ideas for July Entertaining (with Bonus recipe!)
• How to Plan Homemade Edible Gifts from the Homestead
• Cool Cucumber Recipes You’ll Want to Make All Summer Long~ MarthaStewart.com
• Cucumber Recipes: 58 Ways to Use Your Cukes~ C&Z.to

You can use any of the above ways to make use of excess cucumbers from your garden. You can also share them with your neighbors, friends, family or co-workers!

Here’s a wonderful recipe with cucumber and several other antioxidant foods. Hope you enjoy!

Delicious Antioxidant Salad

Ingredients:
Lettuce leaves
4 tbsp grated Brazil nuts
4 tbsp chopped dates
2 tomatoes, sliced
2 carrots, grated
2 raw beetroots, grated
About 12 oz grated cabbage
1/2 cucumber, sliced
Vinaigrette of your choice

Method:
Place lettuce leaves on plates. Combine the Brazil nuts and the chopped dates and put them in a pile in the middle of the plate. Add the other vegetables in piles around the nuts and create an appetizing and colorful dish.

Just before serving, pour a bit of vinaigrette over the salad to moisten.

This is perfect as a super-healthy vegetarian appetizer or even as a light lunch eaten with some crusty bread.