Banana Cucumber Salad

Another slice of childhood, this Banana Cucumber Salad is one of my favorites on a hot summer day. The crunch of the cucumber, the sweet of the banana, the tang and spice of the dressing all conspire to make a lovely refreshing side-dish. (It works great as a side for a brunch – it is the perfect foil for a cheese omelette, or a BLT.)

Even the picture makes my mouth water.

In a conversation with my mother, she’s not at all sure where the recipe came from.  She is sure, however, that one of earliest ‘chores’ was to make the dressing. (This is a catch-all dressing. Not just for this salad.) As such, none of the measurements are accurate, and everything is by eye. So – mom’s is a way more balanced version of this. Mine always has too much of something. Usually mustard – that stuff is tough to measure!

Lastly, this recipe lends itself nicely to healthing it up. Replace vinegar with cider vinegar. Sugar with honey. (Just a bit tougher mix to start.)

Please enjoy this unusual salad:

Banana Cucumber Salad

Dressing:

In a small cup, combine:
-          2 tbsp sugar
-          ¼ tsp dry mustard
-          Salt
-          Pepper
-          2 tbsp vinegar

Add slightly more canned evaporated milk. (Don’t use evaporated skim milk or even 2%, as it won’t thicken as much, if at all.)

You should end up with a dressing that is about the same consistency of ketchup.

In salad bowl, add cucumbers and bananas sliced into bite size pieces. (Again – open to interpretation. My salad has bigger chunks. Mom’s is more refined with smaller pieces.) I use 1 of each. A more for more people, or less .... well... if it’s just me, I still use 1 of each. :-)

Add dressing and combine.

Serve immediately.

Enjoy!