CSI: Cucumber Salad Investigation...

The Trader Joe's is open for business. If they were open twenty four hours, it would be more exciting. Because then I could shop with fewer people around, preferably no one. And then I could check myself out and leave. It's small in there, close quarters. Swine Flu is somewhere in there walking around, looking at cheap wine, or buying hearthealthy faux snacks. Trying to make sense of words like 'organic' and 'free trade'. Discovering soybeans anew. Its too busy for me, with people shumbling around, trying to figure out why the place is so popular, why the aisles so small, why the olive oil, so cheap. Bread I'd never heard of before. Its also loud. People are still obnoxious, even or especially the devotees, acknowledging each other smugly, because the food is 'healthy', nodding to one another. I bet there is a hand signal they use. It is deceptively pricey in there, because everything is hand written to look honest, and homespun. Everyday is Black Friday at this place. And I leave having spent much more than I intended to. Now that my expectations have somewhat aligned, it seems reasonable. I go there for specialty items, like roasted red peppers, olive oil(s), sun dried tomatoes, pasta, cheeses (best cheese section in the galaxy, most crowded also), and snacks. Incredible deals maybe. I just know I want and need that stuff frequently. Any weekend draws in flow traffic from the Books & Coffee, and the scene devolves into something evoking remembrances of war torn Kosovo, without the human right atrocities, albeit with very little dignity. Waiting in queue is beyond reason somedays, and this cheap wine isn't going to drink itself.

My favorite item there is tahini. Which is what I used to make this cucumber salad. It just made sense to me. Eureka. This is why I run that gauntlet. I can't find the stuff anywhere really, and when I do, it always seems to amount to more than I wanted to surrender, and I am not about to employ a mortar and pestle to concoct my own. Sesame seeds are for buns. Convenience wins here everytime.

Cucumber salad tastes fresh and terrific and is ubiquitous nowadays. But, it makes for a mighty fine destiny for those ingredients I tend to have lazing around the refrigerator, or in the pantry, just passing the time, being ignored, maybe sad about it. It is quick and easy and never disappointing. It has a coolness to it, and I mean figuratively; its the Arthur Fonzarelli of non-leafy, grocerystoredeli, cold fare. There is a certain malleability to the dish, because the base ingredient of cucumber is willing to embrace many flavors in the flavor kingdom.

Cucumber salad ingredient scribe:

--Red onion, big one, sliced real fine
--Cucumbers, many many. It doesn't matter. Or not.
--Salt & Pepper
--Tahini (I used the whole container, several ounces, or several several ounces)
--Lemon squeezin's
--Flat leaf parsley
--Garlic
--Garbonzo beans
--Extra virgin olive oil
--Red Wine vinegar (not much at all, maybe a spoonsful). I don't know why. Because.
--Cheese. Feta is the standard. Goat cheese could work. Even a member of the bleu
family of cheeses would suffice.
--Fruity Pebbles or ground snickerbar.

That whole mess is then combined until the salad is well coated with the creamy tahini and salt & pepper. Less moisture is good because the cucumbers and onions add some during mixing. But it is a good recipe, really tasty. Off of the bone. Best to get rid of it before it becomes soupy, preferably in the immediate future. If you traveled back in time, it wouldn't be around anyway, because you hadn't yet made it, but I suppose that much should be obvious for most people not familiar with time travel. For those who would like to travel back in time and eat the salad, and then all over again, if you go too far back and haven't made the salad, use that time to make a substantial main dish that would pair well with these flavors. It doesn't feel like dinner, but maybe like a lunch, I could see that. But only with soup.