Blueberry muffins

We still have a few blueberries on the bushes. I made blueberry muffins for breakfast, using the recipe from Horn of the Moon.  I really like that recipe because it uses whole wheat flour and 2 eggs so it makes a substantial meal.  And of course the eggs are local because they come from our chickens.

Here's the recipe:

Blueberry Muffins

2 C whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 C unbleached flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 C milk (or your favorite substitute)
1/2 C sunflower oil
1/2 C honey
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 C blueberries

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl
• In a separate bowl, beat eggs, then add milk, oil, honey, and vanilla. Beat well.
• Add dry ingredients to egg mixture and stir.
• Add blueberries.
• Stir enough to moisten. Do not overmix.
• Spray muffin tins with cooking spray. 
• Fill tins 2/3 full
• Bake 20 minutes.

This recipe is also delicious with ground cherries instead of blueberries. Use 1 C ground cherries and add 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. 

Zucchini Parmesan

The last of the zucchini is in.  We've been eating zucchini for months, and amazingly, it still tastes good.  But it's a challenge to find something easy and different to do with it.  The zucchini in this recipe is firm, not mushy. It's beautiful, and smells delicious.

Zucchini Parmesan

1 large zucchini
1 egg, beaten
1 Tbs olive oil
1/2 C bread crumbs
1/2 C grated parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp dried basil or 1/2 tsp fresh, chopped
1/8 tsp dried oregano or 1/4 tsp fresh, chopped
1/8 tsp sea salt
1 C spaghetti sauce (homemade or jarred)
1 C grated mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 425. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

Slice the zucchini on the diagonal into 3/8 inch slices.

Mix the egg and the olive oil.

 Mix the bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, basil, oregano, and salt.

Dip each slice of zucchini into the egg mixture then the bread crumb mixture.  Place on the baking sheet.  Bake the zucchini for 20 minutes, turning half way.  Spoon spaghetti sauce over the zucchini slices, and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.  Bake for 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is melted.


That's the recipe format.  Here's the reality. I do not actually measure anything. I have never yet made bread crumb / parmesan amounts come out right when I measure.  I use equal amounts of parmesan and bread crumbs and add the herbs, and hope for the best.

Cheese Souffle

My mother grew up in the mid-west, and mostly cooked normal mid-western foods like ham, roast beef, hamburgers, hotdogs, and casseroles. Lots and lots of casseroles. But she also had a lot of recipes that were more exotic. One of those was cheese souffle. On souffle night, it was all hands on deck. One person to make the white sauce, one person to grate the cheese, one person to beat the egg whites.

Here's a variation of her recipe that allows you to put in some vegetables.

White Sauce Ingredients 

4 T butter

4 T flour 

1 C milk

1/4 t ground mustard 

dash of cayenne pepper 

salt and pepper 

 

Souffle Ingredients

 

2 C shredded cheddar cheese

3 eggs, separated

1/4 t cream of tartar

 

Optional Vegetables (select one of the following)

2 C spinach, chopped, cooked, and drained, OR

2 C broccoli, chopped, cooked, and drained, OR

1 1/2 C corn cooked, with 1/2 C chopped onions and green peppers  

 

Directions

 

Preheat the oven to 350. Heat some water in the kettle.

 

Make a thick white sauce by melting the butter in a small saucepan. Add the flour, ground mustard, salt and pepper and cook for a few minutes. Stir the milk in slowly so there are no lumps. Cook until thickened. Add the cheese and stir until it is melted. Remove from the heat and let cool for a few minutes.

 

Add the egg yolks, and beat thoroughly. Stir in the vegetables.

 

Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until stiff peaks form.  Fold the cheese mixture into the egg whites.

 

Pout the mixture into an ungreased 1 1/2 quart straight-sided souffle dish. Put the souffle dish into a 9x13 pan (or some other pan that the souffle dish will fit into. Put the pan into the oven, and pour 1" of water from the kettle into the pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes until the souffle is brown and puffy. Do not open the door until at least 35 minutes in.

 

Serve while HOT. 

 

  

 

 

Greek Salad - Use those summer vegetables!

Greek Salad is delicious, colorful, and easy.  It makes a light summer lunch when all the cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes are overflowing from the garden.

Greek Salad

Salad:
1 small head lettuce (I used romaine), chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 pepper of whatever color you like, chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and seeded if necessary, and chopped
1/4 cup feta cheese
10 black olives, sliced

Dressing
1/4 C olive oil
3 Tbs red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp parsley
1/4 tsp basil
dash of salt and pepper

Toss all the vegetables gently in a bowl.  Sprinkle with the cheese and olives.

Mix the dressing ingredients, and pour over the salad. You can let it marinade for a couple of hours if you want.

Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping - Pie that counts as a vegetable.

When I asked my son whether he wanted roasted sweet potatoes or sweet potato casserole for Thanksgiving, he said he preferred casserole.  When I asked why, he said, "Because it's pie that counts as a vegetable." Okay, so it's very sweet and creamy like pumpkin pie, with a crunch topping that's nearly identical to the crumb crust I put on pie.  All that is lacking is the bottom crust.

So here's my version of Pie that Counts as a Vegetable, or otherwise known as:

Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping

3 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes (somewhere between 3 smallish sweets or 1 very large one)
2 eggs
2 Tbs melted coconut oil (or butter)
3 Tbs honey (or maple syrup)
1 tsp vanilla

Mix all this together, and put into a shallow casserole dish.

Topping:
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup quick oats or rolled oats
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Cut in the butter with brown sugar, cinnamon, and oats. Stir in the pecans.

Sprinkle topping evenly over the sweet potato mixture.

Bake 30 minutes at 350.

In case you wonder what happens if you use purple sweet potatoes....

Butternut Casserole

We've had a hard time growing winter squash in the greenhouse.  Between the heat, the squash bugs, the cucumber beetles, and the diseases associated with all of the above, we've never had a good crop until this year. The guineas killed the bugs. But most importantly, we got some extra special seeds from the fantastic folks at the local seed company, Commonwealth.

Butternut Casserole

1 medium butternut squash (2 pounds, more or less)

2 eggs

3 Tbs maple syrup

1/4 c cream (or milk or the milk substitute of your choice)

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp powdered ginger

1/4 tsp salt
nutmeg

Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds.  Put the squash, cut side down, on a baking sheet with sides. Bake for 40 minutes (more or less, depending on the size and shape of your squash) at 375 degrees (more or less, depending on if you have something else in the oven at a slightly different temperature) until it feels cooked  when you poke it with a fork. Let cool at room temperature until you can handle it. (I sometimes do this the night before.)

Preheat oven to 350.

Scoop out the squash pulp and mash it with your favorite mashing method. Potato masher, electric mixer, stick blender, food processor.  Any of them work.

Add the rest of the ingredients except the nutmeg, and mix well. 

Pour into a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish and sprinkle with nutmeg. Bake for 45 minutes or until it seems cooked when you wiggle the dish.

It's mildly sweet, and a perfect fall side dish.

Quick Caprese Salad

I've given you the Traditional Caprese Salad Recipe. This is the quick version, and honestly, it's the one I usually use. 

 Quick Caprese Salad

• 2 # of a variety of excellent homegrown tomatoes
• 12 oz. fresh mozzarella balls
• fresh basil
• really good olive oil
• balsamic glaze
• fresh ground salt and pepper.

Slice or chunk the tomatoes (if you have grape or cherry tomatoes, you don't even have to do that). Put the tomatoes in your serving dish, and sprinkle some salt on them. Chop the basil (which is really easy with herb scissors). Add the basil and mozzarella balls to the tomatoes. Toss lightly. Drizzle with lots of olive oil and balsamic glaze. Add pepper and salt to taste.

Rebaked Potatoes

 I used to have a copy of Mollie Katzen's The Enchanted Broccoli Forest book. It was one of my favorite cookbooks.  I've been looking for her recipe for Rebaked Potatoes. I have found a recipe that's similar, but not exactly what I remember. So I'm writing down what I did, so I'll at least have a starting point next time I try to make it. And with any luck, The Enchanted Broccoli Forest will magically reappear on my shelves, so I don't have to guess again.

Rebaked Potatoes

4 fist-sized baking potatoes (Russet or Kenebec)

1/3 C mayonnaise

1 C cottage cheese

4 hard cooked eggs, finely chopped

1 1/2 T dijon mustard

1 t salt

2 t fresh dill weed or 1 t dried 

1 C grated cheddar

1/4 t cayenne pepper

1/2 t ground pepper

Topping:

extra grated cheddar

paprika

sliced tomatoes (optional)

Bake the potatoes for 45 minutes in a 375 degree oven until done. When cool enough to handle, cut each potato in half lengthwise. Scoop out the potato innards, leaving 1/4 of the potato near the skin.

Place the potato innards in a bowl. Mash them with the mayonnaise and cottage cheese. Add the remaining ingredients (except for the topping). Mix well.

Put the potato skins in a 9x13" baking dish. Fill each of the potato skins. Put a tomato slice on each potato and sprinkle extra cheese and paprika over the top.  Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

 Overrun with broccoli? Craving something cheesy?  Try this Broccoli Cheddar Soup.         

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Ingredients

4 cups chopped broccoli

4 cups stock (chicken or vegetable)

2 bay leaves

1 cup grated carrots

1/2 cup chopped onion

4 large gloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup flour

1 cup grated sharp cheddar

1/2 cup grated mozzarella or gouda  

1 cup 1/2-n-1/2

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions

1. Put the stock, broccoli, carrots and bay leaves in a pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 7-10 minutes until the broccoli is tender.

2. In a large soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic. Stir until the onions are translucent.

3. Add flour to the butter and onions. Stir until there are no flour lumps. Let the flour cook for a minute to reduce the raw flour taste.

4. Slowly add the stock and vegetables to the butter and flour, stirring as you go.

5. Turn the heat to the lowest setting. Add the nutmeg, cayenne, basil, salt, and pepper.  Stir well

6. Add the 1/2-n-1/2 and stir.

7. Sprinkle the cheddar and mozzarella in very slowly, stirring as you go. (If you dump the cheese in too quickly, you run the risk of having a big lump of cheese at the bottom of the soup.)

Red Simmered Chicken Wings

This is my oldest son's favorite recipes when he was growing up.  It is the easiest meal in the world to make. Just start some rice, start the chicken wings, and stir-fry whatever vegetables are handy as a side dish. A three course meal in under an hour.

Red Simmered Chicken Wings

Ingredients

• 4 # chicken wings cut into sections (save the tips for making chicken stock, if you are cutting the wings yourself)
• 4 scallions, cut in 1" slices on the diagonal
• 1/2 C soy sauce
• 1/2 C sherry
• 1 C water

Method

• Put wings, soy sauce, sherry, and water in a pot
• Bring to a boil
• Reduce the heat. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes
• Uncover and add the scallions
  
• Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes more, stirring frequently to make sure each of the wings is uniformly cooked in the yummy sauce.

Many versions of this recipe call for brown sugar, but I have never made it with the sugar, and I'm pretty sure it isn't necessary.

 

 

Chocolate Chip Cookes with Honey!

I grew up eating chocolate chip cookies made with honey.  They were sweet, soft, and oh so delicious fresh out of the oven. I was surprised to find out that other people thought that Toll House cookies were good. 

Now, I like both kinds.

This is a recipe that my grandmother found during WWII rationing. They could get honey, but sugar was definitely harder to get. 

We always doubled the recipe.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/3 C butter

1 egg

1/2 C honey

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 C flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 C chocolate chips

 

• Cream butter
• Add honey and egg. Beat
• Sift dry ingredients together and add to mixture
• Stir in chips and vanilla
• Blend well
• Chill
• Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet
• Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes
   

Asian Slaw with Pac Choi

We can't seem to grow a decent cabbage in the greenhouses.  It's an embarrassment. However, we can grow pac choi. Pac choi has a few advantages over cabbage - crunchy texture, bright green leaves, no hard core in the middle. 

However,  if you have a cabbage on hand and find yourself without pac choi,  you can substitute one for the other and have a perfectly delicious slaw.

Most recipes for Asian Slaw use ramen noodles with the flavor packets.  The list of ingredients on the flavor packet is pretty terrifying, so I make the slaw without it.

Fresh Asian Slaw with Pac Choi

Salad:
1 # pac choi (the full sized stuff, not the baby), sliced thin (food processors make this so easy)
1 carrot, sliced thin
5 scallions, sliced
1 C microgreens, pea shoots, or bean sprouts

Dressing:
2/3 C oil (whatever type you like)
1/3 C cane sugar 
1/3 C rice vinegar
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
2 tsp tamari

Crunchies:
1 packet ramen (any flavor because you are throwing it out)
1/2 C slivered almonds
1/2 C sunflower kernels (optional)

1. Toss the salad ingredients
2. Mix all the dressing ingredients in a pint mason jar and shake well.
3. Preheat the oven to 450. Break up the ramen. Toast the ramen, almonds, and sunflower seeds in the oven for 5 minutes or so, stirring half way, until fragrant and lightly browned. Let cool.

Now all your ingredients are ready.  Just before serving, toss everything together.

Texas Hash

Okay, this isn't exactly a meal loaded with fresh produce. But my husband has been craving his mother's cooking since she passed away last year.

Here's her Texas Hash recipe.

Texas Hash

Sauté until yellow:

3 large onions, sliced

3 Tbs fat

Fry

1 lb ground beef

until brown.

Stir in and mix

2 C cooked tomatoes

1/2 C washed uncooked rice

       OR

2 C uncooked noodles

1 tsp chili powder

2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

Pour into greased 2 qt baking dish. Cover and bake, removing cover last 15 minutes.

Temp 350.

Bake 1 hour.

Curry with Butternut, Sweet Potato, and Carrot

We had a lot of butternut squash in 2019. And they lasted a long time. This is what one of them looked like in July of 2020.

With only 4 plants, we got nearly 40 squash, not counting the ones I gave away.  I was trying to think of something interesting to make with butternut, and my husband suggested curry.

I love curry.  It's food you can play with! I am a huge fan of condiments. When I was growing up, my midwestern, farm-raised mother would make curry sometimes. I think she got the recipe out of a magazine. The recipe suggested all sorts of condiments, and we pretty much had them all: chopped cashews, sliced bananas, chopped apples, raisins, chutney, pickles, coconut. Such a variety of flavors and textures.

When my husband and I took a class on Indian cooking, the instructor said that in India, a balanced meal is one that contains all the flavors: salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami.  You can see that the condiments balanced the meal.

I didn't have a recipe for butternut curry, but that very day, on PBS, one of the cooking shows showed how to make curry with butternut squash, sweet potato (which we also grew too much of), and carrots.

They made the curry much like I have been making curries for the last 20+ years. I tried to write the recipe down as they made it, but of course they cooked faster than I could write, and I couldn't record the show, so I couldn't blame the show if it didn't turn out. (Also, I failed to write down the name of the show, so I couldn't blame them if I wanted to.)

Fortunately, the recipe turned out just fine. I've made it several times since then. In this picture, you can see that I used white sweet potatoes, which I liked for this recipe because they aren't quite as sweet as the orange ones, and there was plenty of sweetness coming from the butternut.

Curry with Butternut, Sweet Potato, and Carrot

1 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed

1 large or 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 large or 2 medium carrots, peeled and cubed

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 C coconut oil

2 Tbs curry powder

2 Tbs flour

2 C vegetable broth

1 C coconut milk

Instructions:

1. Parboil the butternut, sweet potato and carrot for 10 minutes.

2. Saute the onion, and garlic in the coconut oil, for 5 - 7 minutes until the onions sweat

3. Add curry powder and flour to the onion. Blend over medium heat for 1 minute.

4. Add the vegetable broth. Stir into the curry powder and flour to make a sauce.  Stir over medium heat until it thickens.

5. Drain the butternut, sweet potato and carrots, and add to the sauce. Simmer 10 minutes to let the flavors combine.

6. Add the coconut milk.

Serve over rice, with lots of condiments!

Grammy's Potato Salad

 My mother-in-law, Gertrude (who her 20 grandchildren called Grammy), was famous for her potato salad. Everyone loved it at summer parties. And everyone else was afraid to make it. As my sister-in-law, Mary, said, "Some people have a knack for potato salad. Some people don't." 

Gertrude was not big on writing recipes down.  When I wanted to learn how she made something, I followed her around the kitchen with a pen and paper.

Put since my mother-in-law passed away last year, I've been trying to replicate this simple recipe. This is the recipe, written by Gertrude, and expanded slightly by me for clarity, although it still takes a little creativity to understand. (And she didn't mention the eggs, which were apparently obvious.)

Grammy's Potato Salad

5 pounds new potatoes

1/2 - 3/4 C onion, chopped

3-4 stalks celery, chopped

1/2 jar mayonnaise

salt and pepper

hard-cooked eggs, sliced

1. Boil the potatoes with skins on.

2. Cool to handle, peel and cut up

3. Place in a bowl and mix in onions, celery, mayonnaise, salt and pepper.

4. Decorate with sliced hard-cooked eggs

Spiced Tomato Preserves

My mother used to make spiced tomato preserves in the summer, when the garden was overflowing with ripe, red tomatoes. The preserves were tangy and sweet, with hints of cinnamon and cloves. My mother no longer has the recipe, and I can't find it on the internet. I've looked everywhere. (You'd be surprised what falls between the internet's couch cushions....)

So I am making up a recipe based on my memories and the several recipes I've found that seem close, but not quite.

This tastes just like I remember.

Spiced Tomato Preserves

3 cups granulated cane sugar

3 pounds tomatoes, peeled, cored, and chopped

1 lemon, sliced fine, then chopped coarsely

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1.75 ounces powdered pectin

Prepare 1/2 pint canning jars and lids according to directions.

Measure out your granulated sugar and set aside.

Put the chopped tomatoes in saucepan and heat slowly to a simmer, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Cover and simmer 10 minutes.

Add the lemon, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and pectin. Stir well.

Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly.

Add sugar all at once. Stir constantly. When the mixture comes to a boil that can't be stirred down, boil hard for one minute. (Yes, still stirring constantly. Black, burnt flakes from the bottom of the pot will ruin your beautiful preserves.)

Remove from heat. 

Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4" head space. Put the lids on and place in water bath. Process for 10 minutes (15 for altitude adjustment).

This made 4 1/2 pint jars.

My favorite way to eat tomato preserves is on top of a cracker with some goat cheese or brie.

Laurie's Grandma's Tsimmes

Laurie's Grandmother's Tsimmes

Ingredients:

2-3 medium to large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2-3 decent sized carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
½ cup of pitted prunes
½ of a can of pineapple chunks
1/3 of a cup (approximately) of frozen orange juice concentrate
honey
1 tablespoon of butter
cooking oil (expeller-pressed is better for you)
½ teaspoon of cinnamon

Cook carrots and sweet potatoes in boiling salted water, covered, until tender but still firm. (You can also steam them in the microwave – I used the same casserole dish that I cooked the whole recipe in. Add a little bit of water and check for doneness at three-minute intervals, stirring so they cook evenly.)

Put carrots and sweet potatoes into a baking or casserole dish. Add prunes, orange juice concentrate, pineapple chunks and cinnamon. Stir very gently. Dot the top of the dish with butter, then drizzle over some honey (the amount you use is to your preference) and some canola oil (ditto.)

Bake, covered, in a preheated oven at 350° for about 30 minutes. Bake uncovered for another 15-20 minutes. Or as Grandma used to say, cook until done.

Vegetarian Chili with Home Grown Vegetables

I usually think of chili as something that pretty much comes from the pantry. My recipe used to be 1 onion, 1 garlic, 1 pepper, 1 pound ground meat or protein of some sort, 1 can beans, one can chopped tomatoes, 1 Tbs. chili powder. Everything (with the possible exception of the "meat") came out of the pantry. It was very quick and easy, but of course, nothing was home grown.

Here's how I make chili now:

Vegetarian Chili with Home Grown Vegetables

• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 garlic or 1 elephant garlic, chopped
• 1 sweet bell pepper, any color, chopped
• 3 cups dried beans, cooked (I use a mix of whatever is handy. Black beans, chick peas, kidney beans, pinto beans, cow peas, navy beans all work, and it's nice to have a different colors. I cook the beans in the pressure cooker.) If you don't have dried beans on hand, you can use 3 cans of beans instead.
• 1 cup barley (or rice), cooked (again, I use the pressure cooker to speed things up)
• a couple of jalapeno peppers, minced
• 1 1/2 cups corn
• 1 pound red tomatoes, blended, or 1 15 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 tsp. cumin powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven. Add the onion, garlic, bell peppers, and cumin and cook until the vegetables are soft. If you are very brave, you can add the jalapeno peppers at this point. Otherwise wait until the end, and add them a little bit at a time and taste frequently until you have the chili as spicy as you like.

Add the rest of the ingredients.  Heat to a simmer. Taste, and add salt, pepper, and more jalapenos, if you would like. Let the flavors blend for 20 minutes or throw into the crock pot for a couple of hours on low.

Serve over brown rice, or baked potatoes, if that sounds delicious to you. Garnish with salsa, sour cream, chopped chives, cilantro, grated cheese, or whatever suits your fancy.

Cucumber Lemonade

True confessions time.  We have too many cucumbers. I meant to plant a 50 foot row, and I had more seedlings than I intended, so I ended up with a 100' row of cucumbers. I know.  I should have just stuck with the plan, but I couldn't just murder the poor little dears.  Cucumbers are sort of a problem.  They need to be harvested at LEAST every other day. And the plants are prickly, so you have to wear long sleeves, no matter how hot it is. We grow cucumbers, but they are less fun than other crops. And one member of the family doesn't even like them.  But the first thing he said when the first uber-crop came in was, "Are we going to make cucumber lemonade?"

Oh, heck, yeah! Working in the greenhouse in the heat of the summer requires us to have cold beverages available at all times. And yes, we have to have something other than water available. I may write a blog on why, at some point.

Cucumber lemonade is delicious, refreshing, and a little unusual. The original recipe called for juicing fresh lemons, which is even more delicious than the way I make it with bottled juice.  But I make this EVERY DAY during cucumber season, so you will have to excuse me if I take a few short cuts. (Also, I doubled the original recipe, because of the quantities that we drink.)

One nice thing about this recipe is that you don't need to peel or seed the cucumber. Let the blender to all the work.

Cucumber Lemonade

2 Cups boiling water

1 Cup cane sugar

1 large or 2 medium cucumbers

1/2 C lemon juice (to taste)

1. Dissolve the sugar in the hot water, and let this cool in a half gallon pitcher or mason jar.
2. Chop the cucumbers and liquefy them in the blender. You can add water to the blender if you need to.
3. Strain the cucumbers into the pitcher with the sugar water. This will leave you with a pile of cucumber pulp (or foam, depending on how enthusiastic your blender is). You can toss the cucumber foam into the compost, but I usually just eat it with a spoon, since it seems a shame to throw all that goodness away. Or you could just keep the pulp in the lemonade.
4. Add the lemon juice and stir. 
5. Fill the pitcher with water. (The original recipe didn't do this, but it assumed that you were pouring the lemonade over ice, which would dilute it. We mostly drink it straight.)
6. Refrigerate.
   

Pickled Cucumbers

My mother's grandfather immigrated to the United States from Sweden.  When I was in junior high school, my mother decided to connect with her Swedish roots, and one of the ways she chose to do this was through food.  One of her favorite recipes was Pickled Cucumbers, or Inglada Gukor, as it says in the Swedish cookbooks.

Pickled Cucumbers

1 Cup cane sugar
1 1/2 Cups cider vinegar
1 large or 2 medium cucumber
salt
pepper
fresh minced parsley

1. Dissolve sugar in cider vinegar. Add a little salt, pepper, and some parsley for color. 
2. Peel cucumbers. Score the cucumbers lengthwise with a table fork, all the way around. Cut the cucumbers in thin slices. The marks from the fork will make a pretty scalloped shape. 
3. Put the sliced cucumbers in a 1 quart mason jar (or you can use a casserole dish, but my mother always used a mason jar). At this point I added some thinly sliced red onion to add a little color, but that is not original to the recipe.
4. Pour the vinegar mixture over the cucumbers. Put the lid on, and refrigerate for 2 or more hours before serving. (Some of the cucumbers will float out of the liquid, so I shake the jar every so often to make sure all the cucumber slices get in the brine.

Usually, we just had pickled cucumbers as a refreshing summer side dish. But they are also fun on a sandwich. Here is my new favorite lunch. This is toasted french bread, topped with hummus and sliced tomatoes, sprinkled with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Add sliced pickled cucumbers, and garnish with microgreens.