"cucumbers" news and stories

This isn't a vegetable you see every day, and, depending on how well it does in England, you may never get a chance to see it in person. Named the C-thru-cumber, it's a new variety of cucumber that has a very thin skin that doesn't need to be peeled before using it in a salad or sandwich. It's quite pricey compared to the regular cucumbers at grocery stores in the UK.

I am in no way, shape or form a fan of cucumbers, so the question of whether to peel or not to peel is a non-issue for me. I know that they peel the cucumbers for finger sandwiches where I work, but not for salads. Also, as I understand it the nutrients are mostly in the skin, so are these veggies less nutritious?

Judging from some of the comments in the Daily Mail Online article, the C-thru-cumber isn't going to go over well. What do you think?

Is that a cucumber in your market totebag or are you just happy to see me?

I would say that more so than any of the other phallic foods, the straighter, thicker cucumber is probably the most, in my humble opinion of course, accurate. However, shape and size aren't the only things that matter when it comes to turning on a woman with a cucumber. Aside from its phallic shape, the scent of cucumbers is believed to stimulate women by increasing blood flow to the vagina.

That must be why so many of us love those cucumber melon scented bath products!

I just realized, I hardly ever eat pickles. I'll sometimes have them with sandwiches when I'm in a sandwich mood, but beyond that I don't give them much thought. I do like all kinds though: dill, bread & butter crisps, gherkins of all kinds.

Today is National Pickle Day. RecipeSource has a bunch of pickle recipes, from 14 Day Sweet Pickles to Zucchini Pickles (333 recipes in total!). Here's one for Nukazuke, which are Japanese pickles (made with rice bran and cabbage) You can even buy a T-shirt to tell everyone how much you appreciate the pickle.

This is a little too Invasion of the Body Snatchers for my liking, but it's certainly interesting: vegetables shaped like Mickey Mouse.

It's part of what you'll find at the greenhouse exhibit The Land at EPCOT. There are Mickey pumpkins and Mickey cucumbers, all created through special ear-shaped molds that hang throughout the greenhouses. As you know, EPCOT stands for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, and this is part of the interesting experiments going on there. They're not really doing all of the things promised years ago (a real community, no cars, creating a modern world, etc), but some of the agriculture experiments continue.

[via Boing Boing]

A few weeks ago, my friends and I got together after work to play board games (yes yes I know - how very, um, exciting), and a friend and I were charged with providing food. We were meeting rather late, so there was no need to go with full dinner fare. I decided on a few Mediterranean dips and a salad because really now, is there anything better than ripping a pita loaf into shreds when you're caught up in the excitement of Jenga?!?! Tzatziki is one of my favorites, and though I do believe it's used more as a sauce or condiment in Greek cuisine, I love scooping it up with pita bread. My Sarah-ized version is written out after the jump: