On any given week during these hot summer days, you will find cucumbers and onions chilling in my refrigerator. I believe the original recipe was from my Grandma Nita, but it could have just as easily come from Granny Margaret, my maternal grandmother, who was also a great cook.
Cucumber and Onions
Three just plucked from the garden cukes
One or two Vidalia or other sweet onions
One cup of seasoned rice vinegar (I use Nakano.)
¾ cup of water
1 t. pepper
½ t. salt (if desired)
Wash and dry cucumbers.Slice cucumbers into ¼ inch slices.Slice onions into ¼ inch slices.Sprinkle salt and pepper on top.Add vinegar and water.Stir.Cover and place in refrigerator. Also, if you need more vinegar and water to cover, just add them. It will be fine.
Not much of a recipe really, but one my family holds dear. Other versions on the Internet add a little oil to the mix. We always figured we were getting enough fat from the fried okra and squash, so we didn’t need more. I changed this recipe in two ways from our heritage one. I used rice vinegar instead of plain white, and I used Vidalia onions because I like their sweet taste. My family sometimes put a little sugar in this recipe, but with these two changes, you don’t need it.
Grandma Nita’s Fried Squash
Several small to medium squash. I like to mix and match with zucchini and yellow straight neck.I especially like the flavor of yellow crookneck if it is really small. Otherwise, it gets pithy, and the seeds are too large.
Enough oil (vegetable or peanut; whatever won’t burn.) to have an inch and a half in the pan.
Salt
Pepper
Flour (if you aren’t gluten intolerant, you can use regular white, wheat flour. I use Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Baking Flour, 22-Ounce Packages (Pack of 4)
Slice the squash lengthwise (yes, lengthwise) and salt and pepper it. Dredge the squash with flour and shake off the excess. Meanwhile, warm up the oil until it is hot. Place the squash in the pan and cook on one side until it is golden brown around the edge.Turn.The second side won’t need as long to cook. Drain on a paper towel.
Because of the calories, we only eat fried squash a couple of times in the summer. My children love it, so I cook seven or eight squash at a time. The result is heaped high upon a large platter.I always try to invite my father-in-law over because he is so fond of it.
Now he’ll have the recipe too.
Each week on Thursdays during the summer months, bloggers are featuring recipes based on a particular vegetable now in season. See Margaret at A Way to Garden or the Dinner Tonight blog, for more recipes and details. You can also peruse their comments for other bloggers who are joining the garden food fest.
Both recipes sound yummy. I am going to try both! The fried squash is making my mouth water!!
Thank you, thank you! I have rice vinegar and lots of cucumbers. I will give this a try. My family in Oklahoma just add regular vinegar, and that just before serving. I’ll bet my dad would have loved this.
Sandys last blog post..wildflowers – lace front and back
We always start out with our cukes and onions like yours…and then as summer progresses, they end up with sliced banana peppers, cubed tomatoes, sprigs of fresh dill, sliced garlic…an ever-evolving mix. My daughter has dubbed this “vegetable voodoo” It stays in the fridge all summer until the garden is finished.
I have cucumbers coming out of my ears this time of year. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I tremendously enjoy your blog! Thank you for sharing your thoughts from the garden.
Brens last blog post..Harvest of my flowers used for drying
Bren, thank you so much.~~Dee
The cucumber onion salad sounds refreshingly delicious! Now if I can just get someone to slice the onions for me – I’m way to sensitive to them.
Mr. McGregor’s Daughters last blog post..August
MMD, that’s terrible. I’m sorry.~~Dee
I am still awaiting my first summer squash. I may well try your grandma’s recipe once one arrives. They do sound delicious. x
Louises last blog post..
Louise, thanks for coming by and commenting. I really appreciate it.~~Dee
Please visit my blog for a nice little surprise. 🙂
(Yummy sounds recipes by the way!)
Thanks, Cindy, for the nice surprise.~~Dee
Yum, it’s makin’ me hungry! Our family does the same dish (w/ white vinegar), but we also add sliced tomatoes. If it doesn’t all disappear at the first meal, it is even better by the second meal, because it’s had time to marinate and all the flavors have melded together.
The bowl is beautiful, too!
nolas last blog post..Something restful for Saturday
Hi Nola, thank you so much for stopping by and for commenting.~~Dee
YUM! I’m hungry for cucumber/onion salad now, I haven’t had it in years =) We have deep fried zucchini every so often..I’d eat it every day if it wasn’t for the fat!
Amys last blog post..How to get your vinyl floor to shine with potatoes
Amy, I hope you made some for yourself.~~Dee
Dee, that looks so refreshingly good and cool-tasting! Wish I was there to have some with you!
Brenda
Brenda Kulas last blog post..Creating A Certified Wildlife Habitat
Brenda, I wish you were too. Come on up.~~Dee
Hi –
I wish all of you lived in Muskogee OK so I could give you buckets of cucumbers to make into Dee’s recipe.
We picked another 40 pounds this week from our 8 vines.
Can you imagine? Some people do not like cucumbers. Seems un-American.
This morning’s harvest was apples so this afternoon’s fun is apple pie filling and applesauce canning.
Martha/All the Dirt on Gardenings last blog post..The Edamame is Ready to Harvest
Martha, you have been having a wonderful harvest this year. I need to come visit, my friend. Maybe I will.~~Dee
When I was a kid this is how we ate our squash.
Brings back memories! We always sliced our cukes,
put them in some sour cream with a little juice
from the pickle jar and salt. I could eat an entire
bowl like that when I was younger:)
Brendas last blog post..August Garden Bloggers’ Muse Day
Brenda, your cuke recipe sounds some kind of good.~~Dee
If you throw in a tomato or two with your cucumber recipe you would have what we call around here “thunder and lightening”.
It is always a summer delight. I hardly ever fry anything either. However when the summer squash comes along I have to fry mine in butter with a few onions. Yummmmmmm
Lisa, most of the time, I chop it into small pieces and saute with onion in olive oil. Yummm, too.~~Dee
I guess we Okies have more in common than I thought. My Grandmother always had these in her fridge. And now, I make them for my family, too. It’s one of our favorite things!
I enjoyed your Quote Rotater, and it reminded me of a couple books I read last summer about a woman who loved to garden – “Elizabeth and Her German Garden” and “The Solitary Summer” – by Elizabeth Von Arnim. Both are wonderful books for people who appreciate quiet time and gardens.
Michelles last blog post..Up And Running
Hi Michelle, when it comes to food, I think we are influenced by two things: the overwhelming German and Irish background and that certain foods grow well here. All the summer crops are very popular.~~Dee
My German grandma ALWAYS makes that cuke salad… but with fairly “hot” (as opposed to sweet) onions, and maybe a little bit of mustard seed mixed in. I haven’t been home around cuke time for a while so I had totally forgotten about that–and about her delicious bread and butter pickles. Thank you so much for reminding me. 🙂
Blackswampgirl Kims last blog post..Procrastination, Garden-Style
Maybe it did come from my German ancestors. I have plenty of them. I like the mustard seed idea too, Kim.~~Dee
mmmmm… every year we make a bowl full of cucumbers and onions. Now I want some right now… dang it… why is it I always read these food posts when I can’t get to the stuff to make it?? LOL And don’t even get me started on fried squash… YUMM!!
It is so good.~~Dee
I love cucumber & onions. My grandmother and her sisters use to make these for us when we were kids. And fried squash is my favorite. I did a post on fried squash last month. 🙂
perennial gardeners last blog post..How sweet is this?
As soon as I get a chance, I’m coming over and reading your squash post. Can’t get enough summer squash.~~Dee
Oh my! Those cucumbers and onions look so incredibly good. I want some right now. I’m going to the store!!!!
Jen, I hope you like them. We need something cool and crisp right now. I am wilting in this heat.~~Dee
My husband has made a similar type of salad for years too but we recently had sushi and theirs had the rice vinegar like yours. I loved it and tried a recipe that also had sesame oil in it..I didn’t like the flavor as much. Thanks for what looks like exactly what I was looking for! And fried squash is a favorite here too.
Leslies last blog post..Arboretum Beats Out Gym
Thanks Leslie.~~Dee
Finally, this year I went back to eating cold, crisp cucumbers in vinegar. And I have sooo enjoyed them! Your salad looks divine in that beautiful bowl.
I might try the squash for a treat. Thanks.
Hugs,
CurtissAnn
Oh you should. I had it and eggplant last night. The best.~~Dee
I remember the cucumber-onion salad… my mom always made it. I need to try it because I don’t know that I liked it as a kid, but tastes changes. I’ll try to follow your recipe.
And fried squash? Yes, everyone should have that at least once a summer!
Carol, May Dreams Gardenss last blog post..Pruners I Dated Before I Found the One I Love
I hope you like it, Carol. Another wonderful way to eat cukes.~~Dee