First Cucumber

The timing seems right, the day before a string of 90-100 F days, to taste the first cucumber of the year. My farmer friend Renee tucked a fresh, just picked cucumber in my daypack when I was at New Roots Farm this morning. She planted a few cuke plants in her greenhouse so her son (and friends) could enjoy early cucumbers.

We've been enjoying much fresh food recently, harvests from our own garden and from New Roots. Renee has a special garden for her family and friends who help out, in which she is growing gorgeous lettuce, kale, and chard. Such good fortune that I am in that later group. Here is the bounty that I brought home on my bicycle at mid-day from New Roots. Just look at this harvest--the first cucumber, a pile of sugar snap peas, a bigger pile of garlic scapes, kale and Swiss chard, and a giant head of red lettuce.

Each has a place on the menu. The kale is to become kale chips for snacking. The garlic scapes will become garlic scape pesto, as a spread for sandwiches. The chard will substitute for spinach in an Indian dish called molagootal, the sugar snap peas can be eaten straight up, in salad, or in a pasta (with bok choi and buckwheat noodles), and the lettuce provides the base for my lunch salads. Yum.