Braised Cucumbers

So the braised cucumbers were a hit with 3/5ths of the family.

3 thumbs up – 2 thumbs down

The results are not unsurprising.

The hubs is no fan of squash in any form and the texture is very much like squash, or zucchini, a bit firmer. He said they tasted like pickles. *GASP!* A harsh generalization in my opinion. I admit, they did have a “pickle-esque” hint to them, but they are wonderfully delicious and delicate tasting. I’ve made them 3 times since Saturday and will definitely add them to our rotation…at least for lunches when Daddy isn’t eating with us. For now, I shall try to lay off for a while for fear of cucumber overload…I don’t want the kids gagging at the thought of them. Flashback to the sunny days of my youth and The Summer of 100 days of Okra. My mom had a garden and the okra took off like crazy! Once a lover of okra, it took me a good 15 years to regain my appreciation of it after what seemed like weeks and weeks and weeks and weeks of okra. Ugh, I’m still a little queasy at the thought of boiled okra. I shall have to investigate immediately to find any Julia recipes that involve okra *raises left eyebrow*. For now I am going to take a stab at a vegan version her Boeuf Bourguignon. Brace yourself for a complete bastardization of the original. Obviously, I’m not trying to replicate the taste of her DEEElicious dishes (come on, there is absolutely no vegan substitute for bacon fat)…I’m just trying to result in something tasty and new for our kitchen.

Here’s the recipe I used for Braised Cucumbers…it’s easy peasy!

Note: You’ll notice I’m not big on measuring…I’m a mom, I have a lot going on….for example, right now I have to go get the baby out of the dog food bag!


1 large cucumber

Smart Balance Lite

Lemon juice

Dried mint

Cut the cucumber into quarters, scrape out seeds (or use a seedless one) and cut into 1 inch chunks.
Heat Smart Balance Lite then add cucumbers, cook for about 5 minutes
Add a little bit of lemon juice (not too much) and sprinkle with dried mint leaves.
Continue cooking for about 2 minutes.
Mmmm mmmm mmmmm.


Song of the day:

Do You Realize? - The Flaming Lips

Here we go!

So, I know this sounds weird and lame, but I am obsessed with the movie Julie and Julia. Oh my god, how I love food. And, it may sound even stranger, but I've also been Vegan since August 2009 - you wouldn't think the 2 would go together, would you? My husband has been Vegan for years...he started for health reasons and his cholestrol dropped over 100 points and he's lost over 40 lbs. After a crazy year in which I had our 3rd child (and last), my mother passed away unexpectedly and I turned 40 - I decided that I needed to do something to turn things around, i.e. lose the weight I'd gained during our 3 pregnancies, get healthy and make me feel good. It seemed like an obvious choice, easy to implement if I could just give up cheese, GLORIOUS cheese. I resolved to dive in, but would allow myself one decent sized portion of cheese each night before bed. As it turns out, I am completely shocked and surprised at how great I feel and how much more energy I have (and that's saying a lot when you have a 1 yr old who still will not sleep though the night). So much so, that I didn't even feel that I needed my nightly ration of cheese. I've lost 16 lbs and have 6 to go for my goal...have had that 6 lbs for a while now and I think I may actually have to breakdown and start to exercise to get rid of it. Regardless, I'm not at all sure that I will go off of this Vegan diet once my goal has been reached. We'll see. I'm not making any promises.

In the meantime, here is my idea..and where Julie and Julia enters the picture...What if I can convert delicious Julia Childs butter laden yummies into tasty Vegan dishes? Well, my husband will be happy if I can. I'm going to give it a shot and I will keep this blog posted on my progress. It all started with this line in the movie "Braised cucumbers are a revelation."

So, here we go....