Cucumber Sandwiches

I know, you're not a cucumber fan. But I'm going to just throw this out there for anyone else who might be. These are a tasty, light and relatively healthy summertime snack food. Muriel taught me to make them (I feel the need to always cite my source, lest anyone think I have an original idea in my head).


CUCUMBER SANDWICHES

1 large cucumber
Red wine vinegar
Dried dill weed
6 slices bread
2-3 tbs whipped cream cheese spread (or regular cream cheese, softened)
Lemon juice

This takes some prep work, but it's worth it. Either peel the cucumber, or score it all over with a fork (pierce the skin and drag the fork all the way down, and repeat until the whole cucumber is scratched and stripey - I believe this is to vent the skin so the marinade can get in).

Slice the cucumber very thin, and stick it in a Ziploc bag. Pour in a little red wine vinegar, to taste - I add just enough to give the cucumber something to sit in, I don't like to drown them - and sprinkle in some dill - again, to taste. I like to slather on the dill.

Shake the bag around to coat the cucumbers, then put the bag in the fridge for a couple of hours. I leave mine overnight. Every time I open the fridge, I flip the bag around, so the marinade has a chance to get all over the place.

When you're ready to eat them, take the slices out of the bag and lay them on a paper-towel lined plate. Pat them all over with more paper towels to completely dry them.

Grab some bread - the thinner, the better, but I just use regular sandwich bread and gently smash it down a little bit thinner. I'm still getting all the carbs (or all the whole grain nutrition, depending on how you look at it) but I feel daintier if the bread looks thinner. I also always use wheat bread, but whatever floats your boat.

Definitely cut off the crusts. Cucumber sandwiches should feel light and fancy. There. Doesn't that feel fancier?

In a little bowl, mix together some cream cheese, lemon juice, and a good sprinkling of more dill weed. Spread this mixture thinly on each slice of bread. The purpose of it is to provide a delicious barrier between the cucumbers and the bread, so the bread doesn't get all soggy. Now layer some cucumber slices on one piece of bread, and slap another piece of bread on top. In the spirit of fanciness, I cut mine in half, or even into 3 delicate little strips. MMM. Pinkies out!

These go very well with cherry tomatoes on the side, for some reason.