Cool down and refresh with a nice slice of cucumber
Eating cucumber is so refreshing and healthy in this summer heat. With 96 per cent of this fruit (often called a vegetable) being made of water, cucumber hydrates the body and replenishes electrolytes. Cucumber also has a plethora of health benefits like relieving bad breath, fighting cancer, reducing bad cholesterol, helping to reduce blood pressure, and helping to reduce inflammation.
Cucumber can also be a featured base ingredient for summer cocktails. Many years ago at Fiesta Buckhorn, then run by my friend Deb Crossen, I tasted a delicious virgin cucumber margarita created by then-Chef Julio of La Hacienda. He rimmed the glass in lime juice and then twisted the glass in a bowl filled with the Mexican spice blend called Tajin. The drink quenched our thirst, and we moaned in delight. It won best beverage that year at the festival. I've been stocking up on Tajin every since. This drink need not be made in a virgin style.
Cucumber margarita with a twist combines 1.5 ounces of tequila, half an ounce of Triple Sec, two ounces of freshly squeezed lime juice, two ounces of simple syrup, two cucumber slices and chipotle salt rimmed around the edges of the glass. Mix together the booze, Triple Sec, lime juice, and simple syrup. Muddle 1 cucumber slice in a shaker. Add the tequila mix. Shake and strain. Serve this refreshing margarita over ice. Rim the glass with chipotle salt and garnish with remaining cucumber slice.
How about a cucumber and mint margarita? Combine two tablespoons of your favourite sugar substitute, two ounces of fresh lime juice, 2 ounces of chopped fresh mint, 2.5 ounces of tequila, two tablespoons of orange liqueur, a splash of Tabasco, and ice. Rim the glass with salt.
Fresh cucumber Mojito is made in a tall, sturdy glass with a muddled two-inch piece of cucumber (halved and cut into rounds). Add about 10 fresh mint leaves, and two teaspoons of favourite sugar substitute. Fill the glass with ice, then pour in the juice from one fresh lime, and about 1.5 ounces of clear rum. Top off with club soda and stir.
Cucumber also works nicely in vodkabased cocktails, such as in a Cucumber Martini. In a martini shaker, add one ounce of dry vermouth, two ounces of vodka, a few slices of cucumber mashed, and ice. Shake and strain.
I'm a big fan of both cucumber and sake. Try a cucumber and sake cooler. To a martini shaker add three ounces of sake, two tablespoons of simple syrup, juice from a fresh lime, one tablespoon of cucumber puree, ice cubes and club soda. Shake and place in a glass. Or make a glass from fresh cucumber. I don't strain the cucumber from the drink. It's additional fibre!
Other cucumber cocktails include cucumber melon sangria, minted cucumber and gin gimlet, cucumber and watermelon martini, cucumber with basil and lime gimlet, blueberry and cucumber gimlet, cucumber melon white sangria, and so many others.
All of these cucumber cocktails can be turned into pop cycles and enjoyed by the poolside or lake.
If you are a regular reader of this column, then I'm sure you've suffered one time or another from a hangover. Well, cucumber contains enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish your body's essential nutrients, thus reducing the intensity of both the hangover and its related headache.