Summer vacations are over, kids are at school and I am back to my work. I haven’t done much during past 3 months except being a full time mom running around town with kids and eating on the go meals, some home cooked but mostly thankful for McDonalds. In short, I wasn’t inspired by anything edible to have written my monthly newsletter. Now when I have time to concentrate, nothing comes to my mind. So to gain my momentum, for this month’s newsletter I take my cue from one of the many forwarded messages sent by my friend last month. The subject was “Cucumbers...They r ur life line....read this”. Read it, it’s useful.
We all know what a cucumber is. The green vegetable full of nutrients, which contains lots of water hence consumed usually as a salad and is so cool that it has become an adjective for confidence. So when I received this forwarded message, I couldn’t help thinking about the motive behind such an obvious produce, unless the only purpose was to create another junk email. Giving credit to the author, I decided to test the authenticity of not so obvious uses mentioned in the mail.
Almost all the points are true and work great except few. For starters, after consuming enough alcohol to get tipsy, I surely did not remember to look into my vegetable basket for a cucumber to remedy my future hangover. Even if I had, in my condition I could not have trusted myself to use a knife to cut it and then eat it. I would have thrown up if not injured myself. So the best remedy for a hangover to me is a fresh glass of water with an Aspirin in the morning followed by the strongest cup of coffee. Of course, stay away from all the loud sounds around you for better half of the day. Don’t forget to have a healthy breakfast. Yes, here you can have as much cucumber as you want to tackle the heat of the day.
Please do not rub cucumber on your shoes to get that extra shine on them before an important meeting. There is nothing better than shoe polish for this job. But if you do go the cucumber route, then throughout the meeting your eyes will keep straying to your streaked shoes possibly with a cucumber seed attached to some very visible part. You are better off without the shine. Trust me, I have tested this. Thankfully I was only meeting my husband for a lunch date so we could afford to laugh it off.
About the squeaky hinge, well, yes the squeak is gone when you rub a cucumber slice on it, but it returns the moment all the dried juices on the hinges are used up, sometime in next 24 to 48 hours of application. Maybe this is the time you can go out and buy that WD 40.
I wonder where I will get a slice of cucumber in the middle of the day just after a business lunch. I stand a better chance at buying a mint or a gum to freshen my breath while at office or driving back from the lunch meeting. I tried to experiment this fact, but I failed to take out a true test purely based on logistical error.
I haven’t yet tested the cellulite reducing benefit. Trying not to sound pompous I do not have cellulites, hence not a good candidate to do the testing. I am on the lookout for an ideal candidate who would volunteer for this test.
Rest all the pointers in that email are true and work great. Here I do want to add few of my own points.
- Cucumbers contain so much of water, that actual cooking is not possible with this vegetable. So please do not try it. But if you do come across any recipe that includes heat and cucumber and also tastes good, please feel free to share with me. Till then eat it raw.
- The English cucumber is the best variety to consume. Of course it costs a little more than the regular ones but its worth it if you consider no wax, pre washed, no peeling necessary, no rubbing off the sap from its ends and no seeds. The best is that it comes individually wrapped which can be taken along to pool, on the drive, to the picnic and anywhere else during those hot summer days. But not to the movie theater. I tried and regretted it. Every time we chewed on the crunchy watery delights, we received ugly stares from our neighbors. The cucumbers are not sound proof.
- Lastly, if you do have to wash the cucumbers, do it just before consumption. Washed and stored cucumbers in the refrigerators have a very short shelf life. Also, cucumbers do not freeze well. So use it within a week’s time of buying it.
I hope you have benefited by my experiences and experiments of the cucumber. I believe now I have gained my momentum back and will restart my cooking classes soon. Hope to see you here in my kitchen cooking something real cool.
Forwarded Message: Cucumbers...They r ur life line....read this
- Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.
- Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.
- Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.
- Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.
- Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!
- Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!
Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explorers for quick meals to thwart off starvation. - Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don't have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.
- Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!
- Stressed out and don't have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber with react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.
- Just finish a business lunch and realize you don't have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.
- Looking for a 'green' way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but is won't leave streaks and won't harm you fingers or fingernails while you clean.
- Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!
Pass this along to everybody you know who is looking for better and safer ways to solve life's everyday problems..
