Cool As A Cucumber

The idiom "cool as a cucumber" came from a poem that was written in 1732!  Wow, some things have staying power.  But what does that saying mean?  Well, since cucumbers are largely made up of water, they stay cool to the touch.  We need things cool to the touch.  It's the first day of June.  It's been 80 degrees at 7:30 am in the morning and already getting into the 90's in the afternoon.  It is warming up quickly!

Our garden, fortunately, has been producing nice fruit.  We are picking at least 3 cucumbers everyday.  We planted three varieties: Mademore, Boston Pickling (my favorite), Organic pickling, and Suyo long.

I came back from the cucumber trellis yesterday with all varieties except for Suyo Long.  I planted them 3 weeks later, so we don't have any of those yet.  But I did get a surprise.  What is that thing in the center of the cucumber colander?

I am almost 100% certain it is a Lemon Cucumber!  A seed or two of that variety of seed must have gotten mixed into the seed package!

It is named appropriately.  It looks like a lemon, but it tastes like a cucumber.

On these hot summer days (and it is only June1!), what one needs to cool off is a nice, cool salad.  Lettuce is out of the question.  We finished that up in the garden months ago.  But a nice cucumber salad hits the spot.  We cut up cucumbers, fresh tomatoes, Creole onions we just harvested, fresh picked blackberries, salt and pepper, Balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.  Then we grate a little Parmesan cheese on top.  It's better if you put it in the fridge and let it marinate for a few hours.

Holy Moly!  What a delicious, cooling salad.

We have been eating cucumber salad every single day!