our garden grows

wildflowers budding

I never doubted they would grow. They were just going through a slow phase, I suppose. I was a bit of a worried parent as I tended to my cucumber garden last weekend. The flowers and vines were particularly sparse, and there was just the faintest splattering of mini-gerkin sized cucumbers.

When I went out last night, it was as if life had just exploded overnight. Dense leafy greens, thick and robust stems covered in its protective layer of fuzz, bright yellow flowers, and more cucumbers than I could count. Granted they were only the size of cocktail weiners, but I know what's coming next week- the first big harvest.

I cut down 4 medium to large cukes for dinner. We made a Chinese cucumber salad with fermented black bean sauce. The other dish was a stir-fry of diced cucumber and scrambled eggs. Beyond these uses of cucumbers (in additional to pickling), I'm plain out of ideas. And I anticipate bushels of cukes this summer, most of at which I'll be scratching my head, trying to figure out how to eat them. Any ideas?