Grandpa Willie would smile and say, “If you don’t like cuke’s ‘n onions, they’s somethin’ wrong with you boy!” Ever since he made that speech, I’ve been a fan of cukes ‘n onions.
In the old days, Mom would have me slice up a bowl full of cucumbers and onions just before I went to bed. I was to put a saucer on top of the vegetables and on top of that a couple of cans of corn or whatever to weigh ‘em down. Then I was to leave the bowl on the counter all night for the cukes ‘n onions to wilt. The next morning they’d look good and wilted to me, so I’d transfer them to a casserole dish. Then I’d commence to make a sweet vinegar juice for the dish as mom instructed. I’d pour a couple of big shots of apple cider vinegar in a bowl and mix in about a third cup of sugar. Then I’d pour in about 2 cups o’ cold water and stir it up good. I’d taste the mix and adjust it with more sugar, vinegar, or water as I thought necessary until the juice tasted darn good. Then I’d pour the sweet vinegar juice over the cukes ‘n onions and mix them well. We kept the bowl in the “ice box” (and in the 1940’s it was literally a box with a block of ice). We put them out at lunch and dinner until they were gone.
Nowadays, folks don’t like to leave food out all night and they want exact instructons. Whatever!
Ingredients
- 2-3 cucumbers sliced thin
- 1 sweet Viadlia onion, sliced thin
- ⅓ cup of apple cider vinegar
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 cups of cold water
- Salt and pepper for the table
Instructions
Cut off the tip ends of the cucumbers. Score the green skin from top to bottom … so that when you slice the cucumbers they’re going to look prettier. Slice and combine the vegetables in a bowl and mix them well. Mix together the vinegar and sugar in a separate bowl. Add cups of cold water and mix well. Taste the sweet vinegar juice. If it doesn’t taste good, add more vinegar, sugar, or water, as is necessary. Pour the sweet vinegar juice over the cukes and onions. There should be enough juice to cover the vegetables. If there isn’t enough, mix up a little more. Put a lid on the dish and refrigerate the dish until you serve the delicious cukes ‘n onions. Keep serving them for lunch and dinner until they’re gone. This will not take long because they taste good! Put a salt and paper shaker on the table to provide extra seasonings.
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