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Hear Me Out: The Best Thing to Buy at Costco This Month Is a Bag of Cucumbers

published about 1 hour ago

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As Kitchn’s resident Costco expert, I can’t explain the thrill I get simply by flashing that membership card. Roaming the wide aisles of the warehouse is one of the highlights of my job. And I’ve found that it’s pretty much impossible to leave the store without a full cart, because I’m always trying something new.

This month, while making a few pre-planned purchases of grass seed and shade plants for my garden, I stumbled upon an ingeniously packaged everyday ingredient and bought it on a whim. With warm spring days ahead, I’m already craving cool and crunchy summer produce. I decided that the best way to satisfy that craving is with Costco’s 1.5-pound bag of greenhouse-grown cocktail cucumbers .

Credit: Patty Catalano

Find it : Mucci Farms Cute Cucumbers, $4.29 for 1.5 pounds (Note: The in-store sale price is $4.29; the regular price is $5.79.)

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Consider these crisp and crunchy cucumbers your springtime welcome committee. I find that these crunchy delights do just the trick when I simply can’t eat another mouthful of kale. Mucci Farms has dubbed these cocktail cucumbers as “Cute Cucumbers,” and I have to say that they are pretty cute. They have thin skin and delicate seeds and are easy to prepare, with no peeling required. If you worry about finishing off 1.5 pounds of cucumbers before they spoil, have no fear: There are tons of ways to enjoy them.

Salads are the obvious place to start. Toss sliced cucumbers with slivers of red onion, dill, and sour cream or shave the crunchy cukes and fennel and serve with Castelvetrano olives and cubed feta cheese . Another great way to enjoy them? This salad of sliced cucumbers and tomatoes in a tangy red wine and mayonnaise dressing . (I’ll be forever grateful to Food Editor Kelli Foster ‘s mom for inspiring that salad recipe).

Cucumbers also have a perfect partner in yogurt. Cucumber raita is the perfect cooling sauce to spoon into warmed naan with spiced lamb . Greek tzatziki sauce is another perfect cucumber-and-yogurt iteration. Serve tzatziki over seared salmon, as a dip for crudité, or slathered on a bun for burgers. If you work up a thirst with all of that slicing, mix up a sparkling sangria featuring springtime’s finest: cucumbers and strawberries.

Just like that, this bag of mini cucumbers will be gone in an instant. So, um, maybe get two?

What are you stocking up on this month from Costco?

Patty Catalano

Contributor

Patty is a freelance recipe developer who worked as Alton Brown’s Research Coordinator & Podcast Producer and in the Oxmoor House test kitchen. She loves maple syrup, coffee and board games. Patty lives in Atlanta with her husband and two children.

Source : food