Friday, May 16, 2008

Cucumber Bento (and a question)

Another simple bento for me today.

I was showing it to a student and asking if I get points for having lots of vegetables (this is the same student that consistently asks me if my lunch is decorated - she also checks in to make sure I have veggies and fruit).


I told her I had carrots, cucumber, and even more cucumber in my sandwich.


This comment got a reaction from one of my co-workers.

"What kind of sandwich do you put cucumbers on?"
"It's a ham sandwich."
"Ham and cucumbers, huh?" (Now that she said it out loud, it did seem like an odd pairing.)
"Uh... yeah. I put cucumbers on most any type of deli sandwich."

I started doing this after realizing how much I enjoy them in my Subway sandwiches. The nice people at Subway wouldn't steer me wrong, now would they? But then again, I don't go around adding jalapeños (another Subway option) to my ham sandwich.

So I'd like your input. Do you put cucumbers on your sandwich? Does cucumber go better with a certain type of sandwich?

For myself, I will continue adding cucumber to just about whatever I like. It is so summer-y and delicious. But I am still curious if that is an oddity.

Happy Bento!

9 comments:

Unknown said...

I'll admit that I've done it before when wanting an extra special type sandwich. Then again, my favorite way to enjoy cucumbers is just plain sliced.

Anonymous said...

My name is Jenn, and I'm a cucumber adder too. ;) Seriously though, I add cucumbers to my sandwiches as well. Mostly to chicken sandwiches. I like to purchase the Hillshire Farm deli-sliced rotisserie chicken. I make a sandwich with that and add cucumber too it! YUM! I vote for adding cucumbers to whatever sandwich you like. Except for maybe peanut butter or marmite. That's not appealing to me. LOL!

Lunch Buckets said...

Well yeah. One of my favorite sandwiches is cucumber, cream cheese, and sprouts.

Anonymous said...

Hi, I've been lurking forever...

In Taiwan, where I am from, it's too tropical and hot for lettuce, so most of the sandwiches I had as a kid came with cucumber instead of lettuce: ham and egg, egg salad, potato salad... The trick is to blot the veggies off with a paper towel.

This Argentinean place that just opened up the street from me also makes a crustless tea sandwich out of tomato, potato salad, ham, cucumber, and egg omlettes.

And Jenn, don't knock Marmite. It's great mixed in with a bit of cream cheese (or tofu cheese), sliced veggies like tomatoes, cucumbers or sprouts in a pita or on toast...

--Cyndi

Mer said...

Glad to know I'm not alone. :0)

Cyndi - thanks for the comment. Always nice to hear from a lurker. ;0)

Yvo Sin said...

I love cucumbers in any sort of sandwich. Funny about the lettuce thing in Taiwan, I had no idea, but that makes sense since it's so hot there (I'm not Taiwanese and never been, but friends are/have). I started putting cucumbers in sandwiches as a kid because I read ummm some British lit and they always had cucumber sammies with tea, so it was refined and ladylike... think they'd have had a heart attack to see mine, covered in mayo with thick slices of cucumbers =X Hahaha... it was good! In later years, I boycotted lettuce in sandwiches, finding it too "dry" (it doesn't give a nice crunch with juice!) for my tastes, and only put tomatoes... but cucumbers add such a nice CRUNCH! so yeah, cucumber totally. (I now grudgingly put Romaine in sandwiches that won't be eaten right away, because they act as moisture barriers, but it has to be the stem/crunchy part)
http://feistyfoodie.blogspot.com/2006/11/amazing-sandwich-homemade-pickles.html

MacKenzie Drake said...

Cucumber? Absolutely! Anything with meat -- it lightens up the intensity of cold cuts, and is wonderful layered with thin-sliced salami for round bento sandwiches.

Anonymous said...

hi there.
cucumbers in sandwhiches when ig et them out but at hoem i actually enjoy my cucumber best jsut peeled and then with salt. sounds odd but its how i used to eat it as a kid. i could eat cucumber like that everyday. in fact it hink i may have to buy some so i can do that :) love your bentos. they look so yummy.

Cora Hardin said...

I don't consider a sandwich a sandwich unless it includes mayo and cucumber :).