What can I make with all of my Cucumbers? Here are 11 Delicious Ways to Eat It!

I made "Better Than A Greek Salad" with some of the cucumbers from my garden.

I am writing this post with a bit of sadness. This summer, cucumber is really the only thing in my garden that has done well. I was really looking forward to having tons of tomatoes, yellow squash, and zucchini. On Sunday, I found that all of our zucchini plants and yellow squash plants had died. We got one yellow squash all season, and we did not get any zucchini at all. Our tomato plants are still alive, but we have only gotten a handful of cherry tomatoes so far, and no big juicy beefeater tomatoes yet. I am still hoping for the best with the tomatoes, so I can make some of my favorite summer-time recipes, like bacon and tomato sandwiches and a cherry tomato tart. Unfortunately I am not going to be able to make some of the amazing recipes with zucchini that I put together in this zucchini recipe roundup last summer, or my famous healthy zucchini brownies that Greg raves about. I started crying when I found out my zucchini plants had died, and I think that is a totally normal response, don't you? The good news is that the cucumbers are plentiful, and I am finding pretty creative ways to eat them. I have used them to make an amazing cucumber-mango salsa, I have stuffed them full of Boursin cheese, and I have dipped them in a tasty honey-sriracha sauce. Cucumbers are also really healthy, and my 15-month old daughter, Wendy, loves them. I decided to compile this list of these cucumber recipes so I can get the most out of what my garden is producing this summer! If you are also getting tons of cucumber this summer, I hope you will try some of these recipes out. Enjoy!

What can I make with all of my Cucumbers?

Appetizers

Cucumber Bites with Garlic-Herb Filling (Annie's Eats)*

Cucumber Mango Salsa (Two Peas & Their Pod)*

Cucumber Mint Sandwiches (Epicurious)

Spicy Cantaloupe Cucumber Salad (Oh My Veggies)

Authentic Tzatziki (A Couple Cooks)

Chilled Soups

Gazpacho Andaluz (Saveur)

Cold Cucumber Soup with Yogurt and Dill (Food and Wine)
 
Miscellaneous

Quick and Easy Dill Pickles (Once Upon a Chef)

Main Courses

Grilled Chicken Panzanella with Cucumber and Feta (Annie's Eats)

Grilled Salmon with Smashed Cucumber Date Salad (Food Network)

Thai Grilled Steak Salad (Pink Parsley)

*These recipes are ones I have tried and loved! For the cucumber melon salsa, I omitted the onion, cilantro, and  jalapeno and mixed mine with a little bit of cumin powder and cayenne pepper. It was very tasty and refreshing.

Mediterranean Orzo Salad - w/cucumbers!

I also really love dipping cucumber slices into a honey-sriracha dipping sauce. Mix together 3 tablespoons of sriracha sauce, 3 tablespoons of honey, and 2 teaspoons of rice wine vinegar and dip away. You can also add cucumber slices to water for a very refreshing taste!

Grilled Shrimp Fajitas (cooked in a foil packet)

Recipe for Grilled Shrimp Fajitas (cooked in a foil packet)

Please visit my new website, Make It and Bake It with Beth, for the grilled shrimp fajitas recipe. 

Green Tea Ice Cream (made with Honey)

June 19th was my last day of work for the school year. I have the summer off to relax, hang out with Wendy, catch up on all the stuff that I have put on the back burner for so long, and be experimental in the kitchen. I have tried plenty of new recipes in just the last several days. One recipe I thought up and tried was this green tea ice cream. I love matcha green tea. I made a green tea ice cream a couple summers ago and the recipe used eggs. It was good, but I didn't want to turn on the stove top the other day when it was 98 degrees outside. I threw some green tea powder, milk, and honey into a blender and then mixed it with heavy whipping cream. After it chilled for a couple hours n the fridge, I put it into my ice cream maker and it turned into this lovely green tea ice cream. Since I have been trying to cut down on the carbs, I used honey over sugar, but then I realized that honey actually has more carbs in it per tablespoon than sugar! No big deal, I am sure that honey is still a much better option than sugar. I have been having less than a 1/4 cup of the green tea ice cream a day, hoping that it will last me several days, but I wasn't counting on Greg wanting to try the ice cream and enjoying it, too. Last time I made it he wasn't interested in it at all. Tonight he tried it and wanted a huge bowl, and he said he loved it. I might have to bury it in the freezer, or just might have to make another batch! If you like green tea lattes from Starbucks, you will probably love this ice cream. I was thinking to myself that if you don't really like matcha green tea that you probably wouldn't like this ice cream, but Greg proved that idea wrong tonight. This green tea ice cream is super refreshing and it is the perfect treat on a hot summer day. I think using honey over sugar really brings out the flavor of the green tea. If you want to use sugar, that is fine. Just use the same amount of sugar in the recipe as honey. Enjoy!

Update: I actually made it another time since I started this post. Another person who isn't a huge matcha green tea fan really enjoyed this ice cream!

Recipe for Green Tea Ice Cream (made with Honey)

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 cups of whole milk
1 1/2 Tbsp. of matcha green tea powder
1/2 cup of honey
1 1/4 cups of heavy whipping cream

DIRECTIONS:
Put the milk, green tea powder, and honey into a blender. Mix on high speed for 45 seconds, or until there are no chunks of green powder in the mixture. Pour the mixture into a large bowl. Add in the heavy whipping cream and stir. Cover the bowl with a lid and place in the refrigerator for 1 - 2 hours. Then pour the mixture into the bowl of an automatic ice cream maker and make ice cream according to manufacturers directions. When ice cream is ready, spoon into a container, cover with a lid, and place in freezer until ready to serve.

Optional: Top your serving of green tea ice cream with shredded coconut or grated white chocolate.

Original Recipe

Simple White Fish Tacos

I am not sure why, but I have always thought that making fish tacos wouldn't be easy. Boy, have I been so wrong! This is one of the simplest meals to throw together, and it takes only 30 minutes from start to finish. I love the combination of the lime and cilantro in this recipe. We topped our fish tacos with mango, avocado, cabbage, mild cheddar cheese, and Panko bread crumbs I think these tacos would also be really good with some jicama. You can add whatever you want to your fish tacos, as long as you promise to top them with the creamy cilantro sauce. Oh, and the Panko bread crumbs really do add a nice crunch to the tacos, so you might want to consider those too. This is a great recipe for summer because it is so light, healthy, refreshing, and easy. Enjoy!

Recipe for Simple White Fish Tacos

INGREDIENTS:
For the fish
8 ounces of white fish (I used tilapia)
1 Tbsp. of fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 1/2 Tbsp. of cilantro leaves, torn
1/8 tsp. of cumin powder

1 clove of garlic, pressed
Salt and pepper

For the creamy cilantro sauce
Juice from 1/2 lime
1 Tbsp. of cilantro leaves, minced
1/4 cup of Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
1 clove of garlic, pressed
A pinch or two of ground cayenne pepper (optional)
Freshly ground black pepper

For serving
6-inch flour tortillas
Chopped mango (from 1 medium mango)
Chopped avocado (from 1 medium Hass avocado)
Shredded green cabbage
Finely grated mild cheddar cheese
Cilantro leaves
Panko bread crumbs (gives it a nice crunch)!
Or, whatever you want

DIRECTIONS:
In a shallow dish, stir together the fresh lime juice, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, cilantro, cumin, and garlic. Put the fish in the dish and coat. Cover and put in the fridge to marinate for 20 minutes.

While the fish is marinating, make the creamy cilantro sauce. Stir together the lime juice, cilantro, Greek yogurt, garlic, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Mix well, cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Heat the other tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Once it is simmering, put the fish into the skillet and cook, without touching, for 3 minutes. Then carefully flip the fish over and cook on the other side for 2 -3 more minutes, or until cooked through. Remove the fish and season with salt and pepper as desired. Let it sit for a couple minutes, then use two forks to shred the fish into bite-sized chunks.

Assemble the tacos on the tortillas with the fish, cilantro crema, and favorite toppings.

Recipe makes approximately 4 - 6 tacos.

Recipe Adapted from: Annie's Eats, originally from The Way the Cookie Crumbles