Is there anything more refreshing than a crisp, cool cucumber in the sweltering heat of summer? Cucumbers are one of my favorite summertime vegetables—and so easy to grow. While this year’s above-average rainfall has left water standing in my garden, the cucumber crop is excelling.
Two of my favorites this year are Perseus and Tasty Green. I’ve been enjoying my Perseus Cucumbers for several weeks now, and they are absolutely unparalleled for fresh eating. I like to grab 2 or 3 and throw them in lunchboxes for my daughter and me. They’re perfect portable snacks. Sliced into chips they also make the perfect dipper for chicken salad, hummus or ranch. With thin, tender skin, wonderful crisp, juicy texture and a mild almost melon-like flavor, Perseus is sure to please kids and adults alike.
While also delicious for eating fresh, Tasty Green has become my favorite for tzatziki-inspired cucumber salad. A quick and easy lunch when it’s too hot to cook, I just take some plain yogurt, lemon juice, garlic and dill, roughly chop my Tasty Green cucumbers and toss it all together. As soon as my tomatoes are ripe I will enjoy my Tasty Greens chopped with tomato and onion, tossed with olive oil, cracked pepper and sea salt. Yum!
Soon my pickling cucumbers will be ready, and I can jump back into the world of fermentation. Gurney’s Perfect Pickle Cucumber really does make a perfect pickle, and I am amazed at how well it retains its crunch when pickled. I have found that putting a few grape leaves in the jars helps the pickles to retain a crisp texture as well. I prefer a pickle fermented with whey, sea salt, dill, garlic and hot pepper flakes, but refrigerator pickles are just as delicious (and so easy). I love that you can preserve some of the summer’s bounty and enjoy it when the memory of fresh-picked cucumbers is long gone.
