Season of salads and this season's salad

enjoying the (almost) endless summer sun will require some solid hydration habits

as I continue to appreciate the clear summer skies until almost 11 in the evening, I also realize that my body has been requiring me to consume more fluids.

Aside from straight up drinking anything cool, I also find myself wanting to eat more moisture-rich foods. The watery kind in fact. Moreover, I tend to to lean more on the juicy, cold stuff from the fridge.

But since making a salad every time sounds too burdensome even to me, I then tried to make a bigger batch of a salad-pickle of some sort.

something that keeps well in the fridge (hopefully at least 5 days), and at the same time versatile enough that I could eat it with some other stuff like grilled meats, which happens to be the perfect categorical pairing anyway.

and so it happens to be the height of the Finnish cucumbers.

about 10-12cm in length and 3-4cm in diameter, these cucumbers looks a little gnarly compared to the ultra-smooth mono-farmed variety that’s normally found on the markets. Which is a great thing. I like the somewhat thicker and firmer resistance it gives when you bite into it raw. Also, the inside cavity is denser almost that of zucchini and far less watery which is what makes common cucumbers soooo bland all the time.

with this moisture-rich produce that can take up some other flavors (without diluting it too much), it feels like a slightly acidic and salty brine will benefit this greatly.

found a bottle of capers in the cupboard and sliced up some red onions (a staple) and voila, got myself a salad for the week.

here’s the recipe:

Finnish Cucumber Pick-lad

400gms Finnish Cucumber, sliced however you want

120ml white vinegar (wine, rice, cane- you can explore :))

100gms red onions, sliced

20gms brined capers, drained, kept whole or chopped

25gms white sugar

5gms fine salt

freshly cracked pepper to taste (i used up about 1/4tsp)

pinch of Korean chili flakes, totally optional, but highly recommended

• as my preferred procedure of doing marinades and the like, I usually mix all the flavor builders in a bowl before adding in the main ingredient. In this case, mix everything except for the cucumbers. taste test. and if you feel like you want it acidic, sweet or salty, simply adjust your ratio.

• leave to marinade for at least 4 hours in the fridge, both to make sure the flavors combine well and the whole thing gets as cold as possible, which is the best way to consume them.

I particularly enjoyed this with some pan-grilled sausages deglazed with a little bit of soy sauce for that deep caramel notes. But anything meaty would benefit from this refreshing side salad-pickle.

hope you give this a try soon. :)