I always love when I go over to the vegetable beds and I find my first ripe vegetable of the summer. It means that so much more goodness is on the way. I got a bit of a late start in the vegetable garden this year because of very poorly timed travel and a cold spring. Then this post got pushed back just a little bit because my computer broke and needed to go away for repairs 🙁 So I am definitely late with my first to harvest this year.
In any case, the first of the harvest winner this year was my Sweet Burpless Cucumber from Burpee.
I’m growing 2 kinds of cucumbers this year, the sweet Burpless and Telegraph Improved (Botanical Interests), an English style cucumber. I meant to only grow the telegraph cucumber since I’ve really come to enjoy the thinner, soft-seeded variety, but decided at the last minute to plant my old stand-by as well. This has been a great year for cucumbers based on the vigor of the plants on the cucumber trellis. There are an abundance of flowers so there will be a good harvest.
One of my favorite cucumber recipes is a Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad. This is an easy recipe that can be made with thinly sliced or chopped cucumbers and makes a great side-dish for almost any summer dinner. It can easily be jazzed up with tomatoes, green peppers, kohlrabi- whatever is available in your garden that day.
Start with your favorite cucumber and either slice it thinly, spiralize it or dice it. All make for a tasty salad. For making wafer thin slices, I love my Kyocera ceramic slicer. But be careful where you store it, it is REALLY sharp.
Earlier in the day I made my dressing:
| Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad | Print |
- ½ c Rice Wine Vinegar (unsalted)
- ⅔ c water
- 2½ T sugar
- 3 cucumbers, sliced, diced or spiralized
- optional: ½ medium thinly sliced medium red onion
- Bring vinegar and water to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in sugar to dissolve and simmer 15 min, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
- Pour over prepared cucumbers in a bowl, toss to coat, chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.
- Extra dressing can be refrigerated and used within a week.
Then at dinner I have a wonderful side dish to go with whatever my husband has grilled that night!
How is your garden growing this year?