Did I find it? Is this Nana's cucumber salad?

When Annalena was very young (yes, that long ago), one of her favorite dishes was her grandmother's cucumber salad. We did not have it often, and we never knew when we were going to have it. Nana was a very big believer in cucumbers. You could tell her, all you wanted, about how they really had no nutrition, and she'd smile and put a plate of them, sliced like cucumber spears in front of you, with salt and pepper. And we ate them.
I smile when I think of Nana and cucumbers, because she used to do something that none of us could ever figure out. She would slice the ends off of the cukes, and then take the smaller, cut end and rub the place where she had just cut, until she got a milky liquid (STOP IT YOU PIGS). We did ask, and she'd smile, and not explain. I just thought it was a silly gesture, until, years later, I read an article about how bitter juices accumulate at the ends of members of the cucumber family, and if you skin them, the juices do move up with the peeling blade to the whole fruit. The way to get rid of it... was to rub the end with something liquid, to draw out the bitterness.

God, that lady was smart. And I tell ya, if it were that easy to draw out bitterness solely by rubbing an end with something wet...

But I digress. Back to that salad. I have tried, for years, to replicate it. No luck. Not that long ago, the redoubtable Penzey's spice catalog had a recipe for "simple cucumber salad." Yes, indeed, it is simple. It is also WAY too sweet. But when I made adaptions, this is IT. This is indeed, the salad that we grew up with. And I want to share it with you. If you think that cucumbers are boring, try this. Try it alongside of a piece of grilled fish, or something like that. You really will like it. I promise.

You need the regular cucumbers, not the pickling kirbys. The big ones that they wax to preserve at the supermarket. Peel them, and do as Nana did, and rub the edges with the cut knobs until you get the milky liquid (you will get it too). Then slice them into coins. Let's use two medium sized cukes for this. Put those into a bowl, together with a big onion that you peel and slice thinly. Please don't leave the onion out.
Now, add either a couple of teaspoons of your favorite dried herb, or a couple of tablespoons of your favorite FRESH herb. Nana always used dill. I use a mixture of dill and thyme. Play with this as you like.

In a separate container, mix together 1 part of white or cider vinegar, and a scant part, or even half a part, of sugar (the original recipe called for TWO parts. You can see why I thought it was too sweet, can't ya?). And add three parts of dairy. The recipe I had called for heavy cream. Nana would never have used this. I used sour cream. The full fat kind. Use yogurt or buttermilk if you like. So, if you use a quarter cup of vinegar, use a quarter cup or less of sugar, and 3/4 cup of dairy. Mix that all together and taste it. If you think it's too sweet, add more vinegar. I don't think you'll find it not sweet enough. Then mix this together with the cucumbers, and refrigerate it, for about half an hour.

I missed this salad so much that I will be making it often. I waited over 40 years to be able to do it. Make it yourself. See if Nana had a good idea. I think she did.