Andy, here's how I make that 2nd Avenue Deli cucumber salad that I
mentioned when we ate lunch at the Reading Terminal farmers market last
Sunday.

Unfortunately, I can't find my copy of the 2nd Avenue Deli cookbook.
Fortunately, the recipe's very easy and I am pretty sure I remember it.
If you want the official recipe, you can buy the 2nd Ave. Deli cookbook
on amazon.com. I just checked and it is in stock.

Anyway, slice four large kirby cucumbers (I prefer regular cukes
though). Slice them as thin as you can. Slice a small or medium size
onion and shred one carrot (or finely dice it). I use a $20 vegetable
slicer; its a poor man's mandolin, but it works fine.

Then I put the cucumber, carrot, and onion in a large zip lock bag and
mix them up so the onion and sliced cucumbers are evenly distributed.
The original recipe says to add in half a teaspoon of white pepper, but
I don't like that stuff (it has no flavor), so I use a bit of regular
ground pepper instead. Then I add in one cup of Splenda (the recipe
calls for regular sugar). Next, goes in four cups of Heinz white
vinegar. Close the bag tightly and mix up the ingredients thoroughly by
shaking the bag vigorously.

Note that I am not sure about the amounts of sweetener and vinegar. The
idea with the vinegar is to have enough to cover the sliced vegies, but
not drench them. I would start with half a cup of sweetener and just see
how it looks after you add in everything else.

Let this sit in your refrigerator over night so the flavors have time to
blend and the cucumbers get slightly pickled. I also give the bag a
rigorous shaking two or three times at least an hour apart, in order to
make sure all the sweetener and vinegar get evenly distributed.

I made a big batch of this salad for my sister's engagement party a few
years ago. It turned out fantastic and every bit of it was eaten. I also
received lots of compliments on it.

There's also a health salad recipe in the same cookbook, which is really
the same as the cucumber salad recipe, except you substitute one head of
shredded cabbage. It is very good and I also made a big bowl of that for
my sister's engagement party and it was a big hit. The 2nd Avenue Deli
serves this health salad free at their deli, which is located in
Manhattan on 33rd Street just west of 3rd Avenue.