Funny thing.

I was reading back over my posts recently, and I realized that I have never, ever written a post about my absolute favorite food of all time: cucumbers.

Sometimes people are surprised when I tell them that cucumbers are my favorite food - I think they expect me to cite something more exotic, like duck confit, or frisee aux lardons, or maybe pho. But, no - when nothing else appeals, when nothing else will do, cucumbers are where it's at for me.

And lest you think that I'm some sort of johnny-come-lately where cucumbers are concerned, let me tell you a little story. When I was in elementary school, my parents had to visit the school each year for the obligatory Parents' Night. One year (maybe my mom will chime in on the comments and tell us which), the teacher had each of the parents guess which desk belonged to their child my reading the children's answers to a set of questions. One of the questions was, "What's your favorite food?" The other kids mainly answered "pizza," or "spaghetti" or "steak" - but my answer was "cucumbers."

To this day, I go through about two pounds of cucumbers each week - I slice them into sticks and snack on them on weekend afternoons, I chop them into salads almost every night with dinner, and sometimes I even cook with them. They're great in stir-fries, where they add a bit of freshness and crunch; seeded and finely chopped, they add texture and contrast to chicken and tuna salad; and, thinly sliced and lightly sauteed in a bit of butter, salt and pepper, they become a luscious side dish all their own.

I love cucumbers in all their incarnations - Kirby, Persian, English, standard - no matter which, the savory melon-like flavor keeps me coming back again and again. I suspect I'll never tire of cucumbers - I'll probably still be picking them out of salad bowls right up until the end of time.