Good, Clean, and Fair Food

Good, Clean, and Fair Food

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Many Many LEMON CUCUMBERS!


Hello everyone! August is slowly coming to a close and so is the garden. Cate, Charlotte and I all met up at the garden last week to pick some produce and chat. There were SO MANY lemon cucumbers! We couldn't even pick them all! I went home with a huge bag full... not sure what to do with 20 pounds of cucumbers. Then Charlotte suggested making pickles. If you have ever cut into a lemon cucumber, you would see that it has more seeds than cucumber. So I decided to make and can cucumber salsa instead. This way all of our slow food members would be able to enjoy the vegetables from our garden in September. At the first meeting I plan to crack open a jar of salsa and serve them with chips. :) See recipe and canning instructions below.
Picture of Lemon Cucumbers

Recipe for Cucumber Salsa

Ingredients:
7 quarts cored, chopped tomatoes (you can peel them if you want)
4 seeded, chopped green peppers
5 cups chopped onion
4 cups peeled, seeded, chopped lemon cucumbers (or use regular cucumbers)
1/2 cup finely chopped, seeded, jalapeƱos (optional)
3 tablespoons oregano leaves*
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro*
2 cups bottled lemon juice
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon black pepper


Directions:
Combine all ingredients (oregano, and cilantro) in a large pot and bring to a boil, stirring frequently, then reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.
Add spices and simmer for another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Ladle hot salsa into pint jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
Adjust lids and process in a boiling water canner: 15 minutes



See you in September!
-Maria

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