Linda Lou's Sweet Pickle Chunks, Hot Pepper Relish. Tomato & Cucumber relish, Oscar or Rummage relish, a big bowl of marinated cukes and onions salad, Cuke Coleslaw, Slippery Jack pickles, Lime Pickles, Half Sour pickles, etc. Do you do any fermenting?

After all that you rip out the vines and plant something else. :)

Dave

Cucumber bread. Tastes like zucchini bread. The recipe says to peel and de-seed the cucumber. I didn't bother and it was really good, plus the deep green looks pretty!

Here is a link that might be useful: Quick Cucumber Bread

I made a cucumber sorbet that turned out really well last year. I'm not sure if the linked recipe is the exact one I used, but I believe that it's close to what I made. (I used regular cukes, not Persians, but I never let my cucumbers go jumbo.) There are many other variations of cucumber sorbet, so if the ingredients listed don't interest you, a search may well pull up a recipe that does.

I'm also a huge fan of fermented cukes, and I recommend those if you have the interest and means.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cucumber Sorbet

Thanks for the ideas! I think I'll whip up a batch of cuke bread this evening... never ever considered that! Sorbet too...yum! Never tried fermenting... how would I begin? Dave, thanks for all the suggestions: I'm working on Linda Lou's Sweet Pickle Chunks right now, as a matter of fact. Never heard of half sours or slippery jacks? Ripping out the vines... my frugal gardening heart shudders at the thought, but it may come down to that...

Slippery Jack Pickles

Lots of Half-Sour Pickles recipes around. They are a fermented refrigerator pickle, not canned. I prefer Alton Brown's recipe called "Kinda Sorta Sours" but there are many others available.

You know you can shred and freeze cukes just like you do zucchini for baking later. Just drain it more before freezing.

Dave

PS: there is always cuke and sliced tomato sandwiches with Miracle Whip :-)

Peel, cut into quarters, remove seeds, slice and add to stir fry. We eat a lot of stir fried veggies this time of year. The cukes stay crisp and pick up the soy sauce (or whatever sauce you're using).

I tried zapping them in the blender, peeled and seeded, and freezing. Used them in gin and tonics. Decided not to repeat that experiment - maybe I used too much cuke slush, but I prefer my G&T without it.

Ever try Tzatziki? - a Greek sauce made basically with plain yogurt, shredded cukes and a little garlic. Yummy on sandwiches! I like it on my burgers.
My husband's aunt slices and fries them like squash.

Don't forget cold soups....gazpacho or creamy cold cucumber soup. Lots of recipes on the web for these, and delightful for lunch on a hot day.

X2 on the cold cucumber soups. Lots of good recipes on the net.

All summer, we keep a pitcher of drinking water in the frig. During cuke season, we put a couple of peeled spears in the water. It gives the water a very refreshing taste. You can just keep replacing the water in the pitcher Change out the cuke slices every 2 days.

Tzatziki...great suggestion. I recommend sour cream instead of yogurt. I have it on good authority (my Greece born and raised husband) that the Greek yogurt used in Greece is nothing like the Greek yogurt here in the States. Our sour cream is closer in taste and texture and makes decent Tzatziki.

1 medium sized cucumber - peeled and seeded - cut into large chunks. Chop in food processor, maintaining some very small chunks for texture. Place into mesh strainer and press out water.

Place cucumber into bowl and add:
1 clove minced/crushed garlic
1 Tablespoon white vinegar
2 Tablespoons olive oil
16 oz. container of sour cream (I use lite).
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Stir until combined. Refrigerate at least 2 hours to meld flavors.

I usually make it in the morning for dinner time. Eat it as a side condiment.

Missemerald, sorry for the delay in responding. For fermenting, I'd recommend The Joy of Pickling by Linda Ziedrich, which not only has fantastic recipes but also provides some great information on the fermenting process and provides some nifty tools (salt in brine percentages, for example). TJoP also includes many non-fermented Pickling recipes, so if you discover it's not your thing, there's plenty of other great recipes.

Cukes are great for dark circles under the eyes...have worked wonders for me. Want to preserve my harvest for this use and don't have enough room to freeze them. Surely don't want vinegar in them. Anyone have any ideas for canning these as juice or pulp? They are wonderful for the skin and for drinking. Thanks...

Cukes are great for dark circles under the eyes...have worked wonders for me. Want to preserve my harvest for this use and don't have enough room to freeze them. Surely don't want vinegar in them. Anyone have any ideas for canning these as juice or pulp? They are wonderful for the skin and for drinking. Thanks...