All images were taken by the author, a home cook extraordinaire. All images were also eaten.
My mom made this amazingly refreshing cucumber salad. It was wonderful in the summertime when we came in from swimming or playing outside. It was so good, it was a staple all year long.
I make it often now. I never forgot her recipe. It’s so simple you can memorize it faster than your own name, and it has only 4 ingredients. So, if you forgot to make some side dish and your goose is cooked (okay, not your goose), this is fast and light.
However you make it, for one, two, or many, the recipe is the same and easy to remember.
Here we go. Let’s Cook!
Yes, I know we aren’t cooking. Senility hasn’t hit me yet.
Ingredients
(Recipe serves 2–3 easily)
1 Cucumber — Sliced very thin (any kind, though English ones are nicer and have fewer seeds)
Use a mandolin if you have one
1/2 tsp Dried Dill (if you used fresh, double it or even triple it)
1 TBSP of Mayonnaise (if you don’t have mayonnaise, use sour cream or plain yogurt)
1 Pinch to 1/2 tsp of salt
Putting it together
Slice the cucumber thinly and put in a glass bowl or container.
Sprinkle the salt on the cucumbers (this will begin to sweat the cucumbers- think of it as the vinegar without the tartness)
Sprinkle the dill on the cucumbers and toss
Add the mayonnaise, sour cream or yogurt, and mix it all together.
Give the ingredients a couple minutes to get to know one another so they don’t feel awkward marrying with an introduction first.
Done
** As it sits, the liquid turns into a light dill dressing. It will not be thick but very thin and loose, and it tastes incredible.
Whew!
Take a breather. That was hard work.
Sidenote:
My mom (not my biological mom) has been gone for a decade now. I make a lot of her recipes throughout the year. The smells, flavors, and taste of those recipes make me remember her and so many days and nights at home with her. That is comforting.
Every time I prepare her dishes, I feel like I am home again in the kitchen with her watching her cook. I see myself, a six-year-old memorizing her foods, so I never forget what home felt like.
I did this for my son too, as he grew up. He knows the smell of my cooking and remembers home. I see him a couple of times a year now, if I am fortunate enough to visit or have him come home for a visit.
He always has a menu-length list of what he wants me to make for him to eat. So I do, and I always make extra in containers and freeze them so he can pull out one of Mom’s meals whenever he misses my cooking.
I first bought him a small freezer just for those meals I make for him. He now has three to store as many home-cooked meals as I have the energy to make for him.
I fill them all to the top every time.
(Published in Kitchen Passport on Medium, July 2026)
Craving something heartier? Try Farro Salad next.
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