Project Foodie - Cooling Cucumbers

Cooling Cucumbers

Save Recipe: Fruit Salsa

Lemon Cucumber

As the days heat up here on our farm in Alabama we tend to grow and eat more cooling vegetables. One of our favorites is cucumbers because of the many ways we can use them and the several different types we grow. Most everyone will easily recognize a standard slicing cucumber and more often now our Japanese Cucumbers are met with recognition at the farmer's market. These are long and slender, up to 18". Pickling cucumbers both small and large for gherkins and dill slices are wonderful additions to our market table. One heirloom variety is round and yellow! The thing with cucumbers is, once they start producing you will have a whole lot of them. If you grow cucumbers in your home garden remember this and you may choose to only grow a few plants.

Japanese Cucumber

Cucumbers are actually in the gourd family, cousins to squash and melon. They are a fruit, not a vegetable. We grow one type that is a cross with a melon: it is sweet like a melon but crunchy like a cucumber. Cucumbers are an ancient plant, grown in India, Egypt and Greece by those cultures. The flavor of cucumbers depends very much on the soil and water the plant gets. A good rich soil with lots of organic matter will make a big difference in the quality of the fruit. Too little water and they tend to be bitter: be sure your home garden gets plenty of regular water in the cucumber section!

Pickling Cucumber

Preparation: If you buy your cucumbers in the grocery store they have probably been coated with an anti-fungal wax. These should always be peeled before eating. A better option is to grow them yourself or buy from a local farmer's market where you can ask the farmer if they have been coated (probably not). The peels are perfectly edible and a good source of fiber. Try these favorite recipes from our farm!

Cucumber Salad

1. Wash and chop Cucumbers into ½" cubes. Chop a white or red onion into ½" pieces.

2. Prepare dressing with ¼ cup white wine vinegar; 1t sugar or 1T honey; salt and pepper.
3. Mix together and chill before serving. We usually add chopped fresh herbs, whatever we have available.

Fruit Salsa

The crunch of the Cucumbers adds a lot to this tasty salsa.

1. Wash and chop 2 cups Cucumbers, 1 cup red or yellow pepper into very small diced pieces (¼").
2. Wash 2 cups seasonal fruit such as strawberries, blueberries or peaches. Chop larger fruits into same size pieces as the cucumbers.
3. Chop ¼ cup green onions.
4. Mix all together with ½ cup lemon or plain yogurt, 2T sugar or 4T honey, salt and pepper. Serve immediately with corn chips.

Refrigerator Pickles

These will keep in the refrigerator all summer!
1. Heat together: 1 cup vinegar, 2 cups sugar, 1T salt, 1T celery seed or dill seed (depending on the flavor you want).
2. Pour hot liquid over 6 cups sliced Cucumbers*. Allow to cool and keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
*Add sliced onions, peppers and carrots if you like!

About the Gardener

Moore Farms, with a lot of help from our Friends, offers a new way to order fresh local and organic foods for your family’s table. We distribute locally in the Southeast with pickup locations in Metro Atlanta. Features of our program include custom ordering options, a wide array of products, nutrition information and plenty of our own delicious recipes for your culinary delight. Based on farmer availability we offer items such as fresh fruits, vegetables, honey, eggs, cheese, flowers, herbs, and pantry foods. All produce is either grown naturally on our farm, on one of our Friend’s farms or Certified USDA Organic grown here in the Southeast. Other items are carefully selected for their artisinal character. For more details go to: www.moorefarms.locallygrown.net.