Mastering the Mandoline

I've had a mandoline sitting in my kitchen cabinet for well over ten years.

I don't remember buying it, but I know it was from Kmart because it is Martha Stewart brand. Probably purchased in my newly married, childless phase when I thought old Marth was the last word in all things domestic.

It's been packed and moved, but never thrown away or sold at a tag sale.

I think I tried to use it once. I'm not entirely sure.

Last week…I dug into the back of the pots and pans cabinet and pulled out the old Martha mandoline. I was finally going to make that thing work, or throw it away.

Fortunately, I was successful! It was surprisingly easy and I am still in possession of all ten fingers.

So, can you guess what I made with these?

Yep, you got it! Cucumber salad!

As a kid, I hated cucumber salad. Actually…I probably would have liked it if I had tried it but I was such a fussy pain in the ass that I turned my nose up at it and had never eaten it until I was 41. Yes, you  read that right. I just tried it this year, thanks to my new diet and my German friends.

The (mostly) clean eating has changed my palate for the better and certain vegetables that I had no interest in before have now become my best friends. The idea of cucumber salad was totally appealing at this point, so I was excited to try it out at a fabulous dinner that my friends had made. It was authentically German and consisted of Sauerbraten, spaetzle, red cabbage and cucumber salad. Every bit of it was delicious, but I found myself craving the cabbage and cucumber salad long after the dinner.

Unfortunately the cucumber salad was one of those a little of this and a little of that type of recipes and was not written down. There were only a handful of ingredients, so I just made do and tinkered around.

I texted my friend again and asked about peeling the cucumbers. No quick reply, so I just left the skin on. Of course after I sliced them all I got the response….PEEL THEM! Oh, well!

After slicing the 7 cucumbers, I put them in a colander and sprinkled with kosher salt. I let them sit for about 30 minutes and then squeezed out the excess liquid. I added 1/4 cup white vinegar, 2 tablespoons of canola oil and pepper. The salt I added was enough and I didn't need to add more.

Mixed it all up and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours.

I am assuming my guesswork was on target. I know this because my 11 year old son…who loves hamburgers and ice cream more than anything else…ate THREE helpings of cucumber salad. Then asked for it again the next day. When the container was empty…he asked me to make more!

So there you have it. Healthy, kid-friendly, perfect for hot weather.