[cheshirecheese]

I wish I could find a way of preserving cue's as I have collected seven off just two plants this week. I have three in the fridge and the rest are being given away. I just wish my toms could keep up with them.

Know what you mean - I think we've had about half a dozen toms but the cues are going great guns!  No doubt our lovely neighbour who'll be looking after the greenhouse while we're away for a fortnight as from Thursday will reap the benefit  - or at least, I hope so - it would be awful to think all that nurturing care had been for nothing ... of the tomatoes that is, not the neighbour!!! 

[shokkyy]

Yes, mine are going completely berserk now as well, and I'm giving most of them away because I can't keep up with them. I wonder if they'd work as a courgette substitute in pasta sauces and stuff if I dehydrated them?

[tosca100]

Yes, mine are going completely berserk now as well, and I'm giving most of them away because I can't keep up with them. I wonder if they'd work as a courgette substitute in pasta sauces and stuff if I dehydrated them?

If you google cooked cucumber recipes it's quite interesting. Last year I cooked radishes as they grew to a huge size, all different colours. They were like mini turnips.

Slightly off topic, but relevent.

[cheshirecheese]

If you google cooked cucumber recipes it's quite interesting. Last year I cooked radishes as they grew to a huge size, all different colours. They were like mini turnips.

Slightly off topic, but relevent.

I think we've become very set in our ways in terms of how we believe certain foods/ingredients should be cooked or prepared.  I'm quite sure our ancestors who didn't have the benefit of freezers and dehydrators etc. were much more inventive and adventurous!!  

As for the radishes, that sounds a great idea - and yes, I can just imagine they'd taste very 'turnippy'!

[New shoot]

OK Heston Blumenshoot reporting back    

Well the dried cucumber slices were chewy, but tasty and I rehydrated a few to see how they fared.  They could be a courgette sub in pasta sauce I think as they still retain their shape pretty well and don't go back to being as watery as fresh cuke. I did take the very centre of the wet seeds out before drying.

I processed them just to see what a veg powder of them would be like.  Only tried it so far rehydrated in cider vinegar and them made into salad dressing with olive oil and just salt and pepper.  Did add a nice cucumber flavour to the dressing, so could be a way of getting that fresh homegrown cuke taste in the dark depths of winter.

I'll play around some more before deciding whether its a worthwhile crop to dry.  It doesn't have the multiple uses I can think of for the other stuff, so I'm not sure its worth doing loads