Mother used to make sweet and sour cucumber salad all the time. I don’t recall that she needed a recipe, she would just add sugar, vinegar and salt and pepper to a bowl of sliced cucumbers and onions.
The premiere issue of Modern Comfort magazine from the publishers of Taste of Home, featured a recipe similar to what Mother made so I knew I wanted to make it. The magazine has beautiful photography and so many terrific ideas for brunch, cocktail time, grilling, farmer’s market finds, and tasteful tips for elegant gatherings. I couldn’t find the exact cucumber recipe in the magazine on the Taste of Home website, but I did find this link for 25 cucumber recipes to make this summer.
Sweet-Tart Cucumber Salad (recipe by Dian Jorgensen)
10 pickling cucumbers or 3 medium cucumbers, thinly sliced
1 TBL plus 1 tsp salt, divided
2 cups of white vinegar
1 cup sugar (you could probably go with less)
1/2 cup lemon juice
3 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. pepper
2 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced
Place cucumbers in a colander over a plate; sprinkle with 1 TBL salt and toss. Let stand 30 minutes. Drain.
In a small bowl, whisk vinegar, sugar, lemon juice, celery seed, pepper and remaining salt until blended. In a large bowl, combine cucumbers and onions. Pour dressing over cucumber mixture; toss to coat. Refrigerate, covered, at least 2 hours before serving.
Hospitality is in my DNA. I founded Home with a Twist, a daughter’s twist on her mother’s traditions, in memory of my mother to celebrate her life and the gifts she shared with me. Mother loved to celebrate life’s occasions – big and small.
Yum! I’m loving these refreshing summer salads. Still enjoying the watermelon salsa!
After living in Corpus for so many years with the influence of the Mexico border, the South Texas version of this cucumber salad would be:
lime juice INSTEAD of vinegar,
several sprigs of cilantro, handful of frozen corn, and lots of Cumin.
Maybe a dash of cayenne pepper for extra kick.
This makes a nice appetizer before Summer Tacos.
What is the salad on the cover with the baby back ribs ?
Steven, I looked through the magazine and found the cover page, but the only recipe was for the ribs and didn’t mention the salad. That’s interesting. Sorry I couldn’t help. Thanks for reading my story.