Pictured above are Pickling Cucumbers & Standard Cucumbers. I could say a lot about cucumbers but I will share with you a poem written by Sarah, my good friend and former farm worker.
Picking Cucumbers For Erica
In the noonday sun the cucumbers lie
In the shade cast by broad, low leaves
Which cup pockets of heat to dry
The black plastic beneath, & render
All stretched tight as a drum, hard
And merciless to a body used to tender
Air & yielding soil. Saw-teeth line
Stem & leaf & fruit, as if to warn
Casual passersby away with the sign
"Touch me not."
This is a gift too pure
For lightness, or a tossed thanks before
Turning to other affairs. It's sure
The fruit's worth is well-known by the fingers
Who must beat aside the brooding plant.
Yet, above such sternness, a scent lingers
In the dusty, burning air: the soft peal
Of cool water, the thick tongue slaked
Of thirst, & snow melting on this field
Here lies the goodness of a seed,
Raised in tenderness & laid after labor
In the early spring ground, a deed
Of trust - that no blight would ripple
Along the rough new leaves, to touch
Them with brown & gray, & stipple
Their green freshness with a hundred
Marks to show the balance thrown.
There is the product of a wise head
That hoarded cold in early days
Snatched from the retreating frost, & conjured
Memory of an after like this: rays
Of sun like a woven web, & sweat
Panting at the pres, eyelids weighted
Heavy, & every move languor
And yet
Although the lulling heat urges me
To drowse in dreams & cloud like, rock
Between what was & what may be,
One needle touch brings me to earth,
To the tough skin dusky s falling night,
And the green beneath, swelled round in girth
With a dripping fertility which subdues the blazing light.
Sarah Vogelsong
Sarah was always the first and only to volunteer to pick the cucumbers. That is truly amazing.
Cucumber Salad
This replaces our greens salads for much of the summer. Serves one. Double or triple it for your family.
2 pickling cucumbers (standards, or lemon may be used), sliced thin
1 tablespoon raw red onion, sliced thin
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
pinch of salt
3 grinds of pepper.
4 basil leaves, rolled and sliced (remoulade)
Mix and serve. This is a refreshing treat after picking cucumbers.
Cucumber Juice
I learned this from a raw foods demonstration given by the Kind Cafe.
Simply juice cucumbers and apple mint. Any mint will do but apple mint is the mildest. I have also tried the Anise Hyssop and found that to be a nice addition. Cucumber Juice is extremely mild, refreshing, and nutritious.
Look next week for Lemon Cucumbers. They have the same flavor as a regular cucumbers but have a thinner skin and therefore are milder for digestion. Appropriately named because they are round and yellow. Perfect size for snacking.
I hope you enjoyed your box this week. The garden seems to be exploding. Ahhh. Hooray for all the yummy goodness. Fruit next week. Hooray for peaches.
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