You can pickle them, slice them, dice them and add them to a salad. I hate cubed carrots but I love them shredded, sliced thin or even left whole. A chef’s knife with a wide blade will make the job easier than trying to use a small knife. Thanks, Karen. Love the video. lol. Buy that little bugger…it is so YOU! They are just gorgeous and so well made! Stylistically speaking. →Follow me on Instagram where I often make a fool of myself←. Said move has – yet again – been postponed and the silly rural supermarkets are devoid of cukes this summer, for some strange reason. In the bottom of a mixing glass, muddle cucumber slices, lemon juice and simple syrup. Kitchen looks great! Home » Tips » Cooking » How to Slice a Cucumber the Fun Way! Try this little trick to put the fun back in cucumbers. This site warps me. I loved the pickles I made with fresh dill and garlic. Oh my gawd, we are all cyber stalkers, getting distracted halfway through reading the post and checkin’ out bench tops, taps and ya boobs. :). The Following Photo May be Disturbing to Some Readers … heh. For smaller, or thinner cucumbers cut the cucumber into 3″ lengths. Just as well we are all so well-adjusted and halfway across the other side of the world. I just posted this blog post about DIY cucumber slicing yesterday! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cEOlAsS0o8, http://makezine.com/craft/spiral-slicing-your-food/. 7. I had that same blasted tool and thought I was Julia Child all clever and making a spiral garnish-thingy. That’s not creepy at all. My smaller 12″ metal pizza peel is from Chris’ Store Fixtures here in town, but you can get them online. You ARE such a tease. Great to start the day out with a smile. I serve and prepare my food all pretty-like. 1. 8. Thanks! Cut it in half lengthwise, then in half again so you have 4 equal sized quarters of cucumbers that are 3″ long. Shauna is right, Karen. Required fields are marked *. Keeping the skin on prevents the knife from slipping and makes the cucumber less mushy when slicing. Life-changing. But it gets boring. http://makezine.com/craft/spiral-slicing-your-food/. Add gin, along with ice, and shake. Not enough face time Karen!! So here is my advice for slicing cucumbers for dipping. They have stems or they’re stiff enough to have a good enough grip that they won’t slide out of your fingers while performing the very important SINGLE dip. I bought a paderno spirilizer thinking it would be SO MARV! But when the cucumbers get to be picking size they’re all going to come in at once and I won’t know what to do with all of them. And I will definitely try to cut cucumbers like this! But the BEST way to thinly slice a cucumber (or anything) is to use a mandolin. Fun!! A spiral spear sounds like a corkscrew to me. So that first dip had better be epic. The thinner, narrow slices should hold a curl better. So don’t buy this mandolin. ;). I’ll take your safer version of a spiral cut cucumber any day, Karen Ü. Don’t peel the cucumbers. This is an issue I have. 2. Stir in chopped parsley and serve chilled. We could really use one – sliding pizzas off a cookie sheet is not the best method! Written by Karen. There is this paring knife with attachments I could never figure out, but waited for enlightenment. Been gone for a month so I have some posts to catch up on! Hi Alin – Carrot curls are usually done by slicing down the length of the carrot, so you have one long, thin slice of carrot. I’m waiting for someone to impress. Starting at the cut end, using your vegetable peeler, peel in circles while rotating the cucumber all the way around continuing until your spiral breaks or you get to the end of the cucumber. Yea, I was gawkin at your painted brick wall…what was the post about? Roll those thin, narrow slices around a chop stick. The cucumber collins is among the most refreshing cocktails you can mix up. I guess one could marinate “pile -o- cukes”. ~ karen. My pickling cucumbers are starting to produce which means my english cucumbers will soon follow. The same way I show you here. I’m not really creative but I like to try different things. As they say, you eat with your eyes first so if all you’re doing is slapping together some lettuce, radishes and cucumbers you may as well fool everyone into thinking it’s more than what it actually is. It’s almost $100 and just doesn’t work well. The longer you can go without breaking the spiral, the more impressive your spiral pile will be. Nice! Cannot believe it has taken me so long to find it (coming from an OLD foodie). My mothers antique mandolin that has zero safety features on the other hand works great. © Yuppiechef Online (Pty) Ltd | Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions, The beloved gin and tonic came about as a medicinal tonic in the 1700s. *kicking myself for not planting cucumbers this year*. Most dipping vegetables come with a built in handle don’t they? Just because one is living alone doesn’t mean one has to slop their food onto a plate like they’re living in an 18th century jailhouse. You are freaking me out. I enjoyed the face time today and a peek more of your kitchen ha ha ha or was that on purpose??? Strain over fresh ice into a Collins glass, then top with soda. Add sugar and vinegar, then put put a weight (eg: a saucer with a mug on it) for an hour. I”m a bit frightened by the prospect of NO pasta so I may do a 4 layer lasagna with 2 mandolined zucchini layers and 2 pasta layers. 6. I just had one tonite as a salad and was bored as to how I cut it… great tip so perfect and you just crack me up… thanks. Another fun way to cut cucumbers is with a Scandanavian cheese slicer – the kind with a wooden handle that gives you very thin pieces of cheese. I also like to eat Hickory Sticks one at a time. (couldn’t help myself Jamieson, I went back and checked). 50ml gin Cucumber (use as desired) 2 freshly cut lemon wedges (or 5-10ml lemon juice) Tonic water (we used the Sodastream and tonic syrup) Mint (for garnishing only) Ice. 3. Slice the end of your cucumber off straight with a knife or vegetable peeler. With a vegetable peeler. I’m looking for that “like” button, too. With a wide knife you’ll make it through the vegetable in one pass while using a small knife with a narrow blade will make it feel like you need to saw through the cucumber. ~ karen! I always say that…”we eat with our eyes”….so I LOVE this post! It also does that with cucumbers and it works really quickly. One girl only has so many uses for a cucumber. Head this way for more sensational sipping. In my defense… we were supposed to be moving. I may have to bring the sugar and flour out of the pantry and put them front and center in my kitchen! Seriously. Use a sharp knife. Now that I have you intensely interested in new and exciting ways to use your vegetables I feel compelled to delve further into the world of cucumbers. Well … as antique as a pizza peel can be, lol. Gotta love that cheese slicer, also known as a cheese plane! Love your site! I am sure I will be making many return trips for the food, fun tips and your “interesting” comments. :) My wood pizza peel is actually an antique. I’m just wondering if we should begin to worry about you. ~ karen! Strictly to be enjoyed in jovial company, preferably with heaps of sunshine. The very best! That sounds like way too much work. Who are we trying to impress with these carrot curls??! It’s kind of awful. It was supposed to be the absolute greatest mandolin in the world! The blades are embedded into plastic that isn’t level with the steel blade so the cuts aren’t smooth and the thing is huge. Maybe she’ll eat her veggies. and where will I put it? Then they’re rolled up and secured with a toothpick. This is the best reviewed mandolin on Amazon, so if you’re looking for one it’s probably a good choice and half the price of the one I bought. I have no children to nurse me through my elderly years but consequently I do have great boobs. There’s something about the botanicals in Hendrick’s gin, which include rose petals and cucumber, that is just perfect for summer. Fill your glass with ice cubes. 50ml gin WHY have I never thought of that myself? I don’t do this all the time for just myself but most of the time I do. The kind of slice they’d serve in that 18th century prison. That will make an ugly, uneven slice. Stir with the cucumber. I tried that overnight and the next day, when I removed the toothpick, the curls straightened. Besides the human body is a thing of beauty in itself. Pure quinine, drunk to fend off the malaria-ridden mozquitos in tropical climates, tasted bitter, hence the lime, gin and sugar water accompaniments. When they’re cubed (especially small) it’s like running into little surprise rocks in my salad which I find both jarring and unpleasant. At least this is where I am. Love this idea.. Can’t wait to show it to my 5 year old! Interesting comments today. The best gin & tonic for cooling off on a hot summer day, in our opinion, is this refreshing Hendrick’s cucumber gin & tonic. When I was jogging tonight, I kept thinking, when will I build it? This is the best reviewed mandolin on Amazon, TAKE THIS TEST TO SEE IF YOUR EGGS ARE FRESH (WITH COMMENTARY FROM BETTY.). Mint (for garnishing only) The best! Where did you find your pizza peel? I’ll trick my kids into thinking they’re eating something new with this tomorrow. Totally off topic…I just received in the mail today three of the wooden cracker jar lids that I ordered from Brenda at Cattails Woodwork! Never. 2 freshly cut lemon wedges (or 5-10ml lemon juice) Kim Severson, "Thursday Afternoon Cooking Club". ~ karen! Add 50ml of gin to your glass. Release the soda water bottle from the machine and add the indicated amount of tonic water to the soda water. I saw the topic was cucumbers and I thought you were going to work porn in again the way you did with yesterday’s post. You can also try this … do the same thing but when you roll up your carrot slice, slice it into 8 or 9 thinner slices. Yeah. Where ya been? Squeeze in 2 lemon wedges (about 5-10ml of lemon juice) into the glass. When I was a kid I used to grate cheddar cheese & snack on it slowly. Karen, I’m a Pampered Chef consultant and what you need is the Spiral & Slice – get the same job done without having to first use your apple corer and it’s a lot more fun, and I think faster too – here’s a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cEOlAsS0o8. The house on the farm we bought in Michigan 42 years ago also came with full kitchen drawers, so I have quite a collection of kitchen equipment and tools. Slice four 1/4-inch-thick slices from 1 cucumber. So far from the garden I’ve been picking zucchini, broccoli, lettuces and a few beans. Add 50ml of gin to your glass. So … there’s always the threat of getting sick of cucumbers. Then roll another regular carrot slice around it all to hold it in place and secure with a toothpick. This is where we are in life. Again, leave the cucumber skin on if you want thin slices but you aren’t completely confident in your knife skills. Thank you for the great video! Ah well… your curly cukes look nice. What a great idea! I miss your longer tutorials. Even if it’s just for yourself. I know you know how to cut a cucumber – if you can read a blog you for sure can cut a cucumber – but here’s a fun way to spiral cut it to make your salad, cucumber and life a little more interesting. Clever! LOL! I do like zucchini made into strings of pasta-ish looking stuff though! I use them diced in salads frequently, and they need to be seeded first. I’ve pickled them like that and they’re good, but aren’t quite as firm obviously so they slump a little, lol. Recently one was shaped like New Brunswick. But many years ago at the Ex, we bought some kind of knife which came with a bonus tool designed to make those spirals. 1. But they are rustic & interesting. I wonder how many other of your readers are, like me, having visions of pizza ovens in their heads.