Cucumbers and Trout. (Bit of Salamanders, too.)
Sandra Neily here.
Before we get to cucumbers and trout …. For the past few years, I’ve weighed in on garden issues. Here’s a blog from the past: “Weird Gardening. Ticks. Slugs, Beetles.”
Here’s this year’s veggie drama. What’s eating the green beans this year? The leaves look like lacy skeletons. It’s not Japanese Beetles this time. (These bean leaf beetles are moving north.) I am using the bug repellant tip below, and I also made up a dish soap spray. (And I replanted some that were eaten to the ground.)
OK! Onward to fish and cucumbers.
Fish and cucumbers. It’s not such a stretch. Well, yes it might be. We just returned from a week camped on the Penobscot River. (That’s the pictures. Note: a tent without a fly on top makes a great place to sit away from bugs. When they got really bad (and they did), I worked inside the camper writing and researching salamanders. It might be weird but they are essential in my next Mystery in Maine novel, “Deadly Attack.”)
While our small camper has a great fridge, lettuce cannot last. Long, wrapped cucumbers do. Here’s a list of how I use cucumbers while camping … or anytime.
Sliced extra thin for chicken or ham sandwiches (good crunch). Chopped fine and added at the last minute to Ramen soup (with a bit of soy sauce). Sliced long for veggie dips. Chopped a bit coarser and added to cooked packaged rice dishes (along with celery). Chopped (again with celery and bit of Parmesan cheese) and added to omelets just before they are done. Sliced thick and salted for happy hour. Chopped large and added to bit of packaged (undressed) coleslaw and handful of raisins, adding a quick dressing made of bit of mayo and balsamic dressing. Dipped into warm peanut butter for a snack. Thick slices tossed to Raven our dog, when the biscuits run out. (She’s not sure about that but recognizes desperate treat times.)
And while we are on this vegetable: this woman seems to have the ultimate magic cucumber list. I don’t think much of the cellulite tip, but I am open to all the rest.
Cucumbers… I didn’t know this... and to think all these years I’ve only been making salads with the cucumbers…
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.


We were all packed. Raven ” No way I’m going. Everything I need is here: sticks, wading anytime, big water bowl, squirrels, lots of spilled picnic food. Bye. See ya.”
Sandy’s novel “Deadly Trespass, A Mystery in Maine,” was a finalist in the Maine Literary Awards, a recipient of a Mystery Writers of America national award and a national finalist in the Women’s Fiction Writers Association “Rising Star” contest. Her second Mystery in Maine novel, “Deadly Turn” is in Sherman’s Books and on Amazon in Kindle and paperback. She lives in the Maine woods and says she’d rather be “fly fishing, skiing remote trails, paddling near loons, or just generally out there.” Find more info on her website .
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