C is for CUCUMBERS

Did you know the cucumber is a fruit?  Say what?!  It's true, y'all.  I did my research.  It's all in the same family as squashes and muskmelons (cantaloups).  I sorta knew that already, but it was nice to reminded of this fruit's roots.  (FYI...a banana is a berry.  One of my roommates took a botany class in college and taught us that.  I already knew a tomato is a fruit because that is our state's fruit!)  Sorry for the delay in posts, but we have been out of town eating good food that is not good for you (BBQ, homemade chocolate cake, sugar cookies).  Here's something we had last week before we left:

Anyway, cucumbers are high in Vitamins A, C, and K, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, and potassium.  I really should start checking to see what these things do, so....Vitamin A is very important for vision, immune function, skin and cellular health, bone metabolism, and antioxidant activity.  And Vitamin C is also essential to immune function and antioxidant activity, and it is an antihistamine.  Okay, that is all the science-y stuff I feel like covering.  Let's get to the good stuff!

I grew up eating cucumber soaked in vinegar and sprinkled with salt (and later pepper).  Once my freshman year in college, I made this delicious cucumber salad, but unfortunately, the recipe was in one of my mama's magazines that was lost.  After going on a cruise in 2007, I got into Greek salads because the fancy dining room served one three nights in a row, and it was soooooooo good.  I've made Greek salads at home, typically following a recipe as a guide.  And I really wanted to make a Greek salad this night, but it didn't quite turn out because I was out of feta, and the lettuce we bought from the Farmers Market had a few worms in it.  Now, they were dead worms, but that sorta turned me off from the lettuce.  (Thankfully, we didn't waste all of it.  We had already eaten some--hopefully, sans worms--right after we got it.)

So I used what I had.  I cut up my cucumber, sliced some onions, and chopped some black Kalamata olives, removing the pits.  Then I dashed a little Italian dressing over it and dug in!  It was soooo good!!  I hope I have inspired you to eat a cuke today.  :)