Each summer as domestic fresh produce starts to roll back into the supermarkets, my appetite gets fired up for more fruits and veggies. In my own garden, I can hardly keep up with the demand. Last year, I only stocked up a few pints of pickles from my garden cucumbers because I’d gotten into this new habit of making marinated cukes in a quart jar and eating them almost every day from April through October.

My old go-to recipe was the NYT Cucumber Salad With Soy, Ginger and Garlic (shown below). I took some liberties with it and changed the ratios of oil to vinegar around a little bit (too oil laden to fit in well with my Intermittent Fasting). If I’m going to pat myself on the back for upping my fresh, raw veggie intake, I shouldn’t be loading it up with fat calories.

Cucumber Salad With Soy, Ginger and Garlic (NYT)

2 English cucumbers (about 1½ pounds), thinly sliced

Salt, to taste

3 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar

1Tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tsp minced fresh ginger

⅛ teaspoon ground cayenne, plus more to taste

Freshly ground pepper

2 Tbsp dark sesame oil

3 Tbsp neutral oil

1 bunch scallions, white and light green parts, very thinly sliced

2 Tbsp chopped cilantro

Sprinkle the cucumbers with a generous amount of salt and let sit in a colander in the sink for 15 minutes. Rinse and dry on a kitchen towel. Transfer to a salad bowl.

Whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, ginger, cayenne, and pepper. Whisk in the sesame oil and the sunflower or grapeseed oil. Toss with the cucumbers, scallions, and cilantro. Chill until ready to serve.

New spin on an old sauce

As with any food that I binge on, it got a little boring after a while. I was prowling the aisles over at New Asia Market in Groton, and I spotted a packet of Mama Sita brand tamarind soup/sauce mix. I flashed on the idea of using it as the seasoning mix for a new marinade for my cukes. Tamarind is a great base for soup — tangy with a nice sour and a fruity finish. But would it make a tasty dressing for vegetables?

Turns out, the answer is oh, my, yes. I ended up hitting the racks at a couple more grocery stores to look for a few more packets of sauces, soups and marinades that might prove to be interesting. I’ve tested them over the last couple of weeks, and here are my findings, in order of success. All test batches were assembled in a quart jar and filled to almost the rim with veggies.

Mama Sita’s Sinigang Sa Samplok (tamarind soup base): cukes, cherry tomatoes, celery, fresh green peas, scallions. Marinade was 3 tsp of soup base, 2 Tbsp rice vinegar and 2 Tbsp neutral oil. Result: DEE-licioso. So good that I went back and grabbed a couple more packets to have it on hand at all times. They make a spicier version of the same mix so you can make it tangier and twangier. I made a second batch and replaced the tomatoes with diced plums. Scary good. 9/10

Sushi Chef Red Miso Soup: cukes, cherry tomatoes, celery, fresh green peas, scallions. Marinade was 3 tsp of soup base, 1 tsp soy sauce, 2 Tbsp rice vinegar and 2 Tbsp neutral oil. Result: Another winner, but this soup mix held a surprise: tiny diced bits of freeze dried tofu. Which was such a great idea that I went out and bought a block of extra firm tofu to dice up and add to the next batch. 8.5/10

McCormick’s Grill Mates Marinades - Mojito Lime: cukes, celery, diced fresh pineapple, chopped red onion, chopped cilantro. Marinade was 2 tsp of soup base, 2 Tbsp rice vinegar and 2 Tbsp neutral oil. Result: Very good, but it didn’t taste Cuban or Caribbean; it was more of a southwestern vibe. Plenty of chili powder along with the mint and orange peel. In particular, this marinade is super good with fruit or tomatoes added to the veggies. 8/10

McCormick’s Grill Mates Marinades - Honey Sriracha: cukes, celery, diced fresh pineapple, scallions, chopped cilantro. Marinade was 2 tsp of soup base, 1 tsp soy sauce, 2 Tbsp rice vinegar and 2 Tbsp neutral oil. Result: This one was also good, but I think I was getting a little Pan-Asian burnout by this point. Yes, it was kickier than the previous two, but I could have duplicated the taste easily with a gloop of honey and bloop of sriracha in the marinating jar. No packet necessary. 7/10

McCormick’s Grill Mates Marinades - Smoky Applewood: I hoped the smoke would be subtle and not overpower the veggies. But it did. It was also too sweet. 3/10

Grace Pumpkin Flavored Soup: I didn’t look carefully enough at the list of ingredients; this one had bits of pasta in it. Can’t have bits of uncooked pasta floating around in the marinade. I took the opened packet and mixed it with some rice and water in my rice steamer and made a sorta pumpkin soup risotto. The rice was good enough to give it a 8/10.

McCormick’s Garlic Butter and Shrimp Scampi: I had high hopes for this one. But alas, voracious readers, the marination process is done at room temp, and the dehydrated butter in the powder turns into gooey butter globs. Nightmare fuel for your mouth. 0/10

To duplicate my tests, place 1.5 tsp of sea salt and 1 tsp of sugar into a one quart jar. Fill about 3/4 full with sliced cucumbers, celery, scallions. Put the lid on the jar, and shake it vigorously until the juices from the veggies dissolve the salt. Let it sit out for an hour on the counter. Shake it again a couple times during that hour; really beat up those veggies to tenderize them and get some juices out. At the end of the hour, remove lid and drain the juices. Fill most of the remaining space in the jar with halved cherry tomatoes, diced apple, pineapple, pear or plums; leave about an inch of head space in the jar. Add 2 tsp of seasoning mix and 2 Tbsp of rice vinegar. Replace lid and shake the jar till seasoning mix is dissolved and evenly distributed. Open jar and add 2 Tbsp oil. Replace lid and shake the oil till fully mixed. All that shaking has given you a very brief arm toning exercise AND a delicious, healthy, urbane, hipster salad. Store in the refrigerator until serving. Enjoy!

Rich Swanson is a local cook who has had numerous wins in nationally sponsored recipe contests. He is also the layout specialist here at The Day.

Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Rich Swanson can be reached at TheSurlyTable@gmail.com.