Healing Foods: Cool As A Cucumber…Unless You Sear the Salmon or Tuna!

This week, I think I have finally come to understand the term “the salad days of summer”. It’s just way too hot to cook. So, while researching foods for my friend Gabrielle that were cool and refreshing, the cucumber came to mind. I love cucumber salads year round—but now that there is such an abundant crop of fresh and local cucumbers at the farmer’s markets, it is a great time to be eating them.

Cucumbers are primarily composed of water but also contain ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and caffeic acid, both of which help soothe skin irritations and reduce swelling. Cucumbers' hard skin is rich in fiber and contains a variety of beneficial minerals including silica, potassium and magnesium.

When paired with seaweed in a salad, you get a great vitamin and mineral infusion as well. Seaweed is an excellent source of iodine and vitamin K, a very good source of the B-vitamin folate, and magnesium, and a good source of iron and calcium, and the B-vitamins riboflavin and pantothenic acid. In addition, sea vegetables contain good amounts of lignans, plant compounds with cancer-protective properties. (Please see more about sea vegetables at www.whfoods.org).

This cucumber hijiki salad is refreshing, delicious, and soothing. The added crunch of chopped celery also brings a calming touch, since celery contains phthalides, which aid in relaxation (and help lower cholesterol!). The seasoned rice vinegar dressing is a perfect sweet/tart complement. So if you are looking for something cool on a day like this one, this is the recipe for you. Serve with baked tofu, seared salmon or sesame crusted tuna (recipes for salmon and tuna below--if your kitchen is air-conditioned!)

Cucumber Hijiki Seaweed Salad

Two cucumbers, peeled, sliced lengthwise, seeded and sliced into half moon slices

Two stalks celery, trimmed and sliced.

1 cup hijiki seaweed, soaked in water for 20 minutes, drained and press to remove water

4 tablespoons seasoned rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon sake

1 tablespoon mirin (rice wine)

8 tablespoons grapeseed oil or other neutral oil

sea salt

Place sliced cucumbers, sliced celery and hijiki in a salad bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together rice wine vinegar, sugar, sake, mirin and oil. Add to salad. Adjust to taste with sea salt, vinegar and oil.

Seared Salmon Steaks

2 salmon steaks

1 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

Rinse salmon steaks and pat dry with paper towels. On a shallow plate, mix cumin, salt and pepper. Dip steaks, one side at a time, into spice mixture to coat each side. Heat skillet over medium high heat, add olive oil and let heat. Add steaks to skillet, searing about 2-3 minutes on each side (a little less if you like your salmon rare in the middle). Remove from heat and serve.

Sesame Crusted Tuna

Two tuna steaks, about 1 ½ inches thick

½ cup sesame seeds (I use a combination of black and white sesame seeds)

1 teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon cracked black pepper

¼ teaspoon shichimi (Japanese 7 flavor chili pepper, available at Japanese markets)

Rinse tuna steaks and pat dry with paper towels. On a shallow plate, mix sesame seeds, salt, pepper and shichimi. Dip steaks, one side at a time, into sesame/spice mixture to coat each side. Heat skillet over medium high heat, add olive oil and let heat. Add tuna steaks to skillet, searing about 2-3 minutes on each side (a little less if you like your salmon rare in the middle--which is how I prefer it). Remove from heat and slice. Serve with cucumber seaweed salad.