Recipes with cucumbers

Sweet pickles brine cucumber chunks overnight, then bring them to a boil in apple cider vinegar with sugar, turmeric, mustard seed, allspice, and celery seed. Eight pints of golden, crunchy pickles by tomorrow.

A delicious and refreshing salad can be a side dish with any main courses.

Sour cream cucumbers with fresh dill, chives, celery seeds, and apple cider vinegar. A cool, creamy side salad that chills in an hour. No cooking required.

Gurkensuppe, a German cucumber and potato soup with heavy cream, dill, and white pepper. Potatoes are boiled soft and sieved into a silky base with tender cucumber pieces.

India relish with cucumbers, green tomatoes, peppers, and onions in a spiced vinegar brine with turmeric, cinnamon, and mustard seeds. A classic canning recipe.

Cold stuffed tomatoes filled with crunchy diced cucumber, cabbage, peppers, and celery, topped with curry-spiked mayo. A retro summer salad-stuffed appetizer that pre-makes for parties.

A chilled, crunchy gazpacho-style soup packed with black beans, corn, jicama, peppers, cucumber, and zucchini in tangy tomato juice. Low-fat, vegetarian, and loaded with fresh vegetables.

Cold bow-tie pasta salad with cherry tomatoes, black olives, cucumbers, radishes, and roasted sunflower seeds in a tangy lemon dressing. A crunchy, make-ahead side dish that's best chilled overnight.

Salsa Bandera is a fresh Mexican salsa with chopped tomatoes, cucumber, radishes, cilantro, and a vinegar-lemon dressing. No cooking required, just chop, mix, and serve with chips.

Quick refrigerator pickles with cucumber slices, garlic, vinegar, and red pepper flakes. A no-canning cold-brine recipe ready in an hour. Spicy, garlicky, and addictively crunchy.

Swedish-style pickled herring platter with sour cream, arranged with alternating mounds of chopped egg white, egg yolk, cucumber, pickled beets, and parsley. A no-cook Scandinavian appetizer ready in 10 minutes.

Crispy golden phyllo cups filled with a creamy smoked trout, horseradish and scallion mixture, topped with cool shredded cucumber. An elegant make-ahead appetizer that yields 48 bite-sized pieces.

"Chinese" chicken salad by David Cassidy, adapts to serve any number of people.

Peanut-packed Thai pork meatballs simmered in a spicy peanut butter sauce, served over shattering crispy cellophane noodles. Ready in 40 minutes with bold, crave-worthy flavor.

Sweet refrigerator pickles ready in 24 hours, with crisp cucumbers, sliced onions, garlic, celery seed, and mustard seed in a sweet vinegar brine. No canning required, keeps two months chilled.

Garden Special is a big-batch vegetable relish with green tomatoes, lima beans, cabbage, corn, cucumbers, and peppers in a sweet brown sugar and vinegar brine.