Help! Cucumbers are losing their cute factor!

To paraphrase an old Johnny Cash song;  I sowed some seeds of cucumbers, just to watch them live.  Believe me, those cucumbers are living large.  I cannot believe I lamented the death of a few cucumber plants left in a closed cold frame on the one day that was hot and sunny late spring.  I cannot believe I tried hand pollinating the cucumber flowers with a small paint brush, worried that the bees were not buzzing and the flowers were not setting.  I cannot believe that I worried that the four foot trellis I made for the cucumbers was a little on the ugly side, since it was completely covered by the vines in two weeks flat.

Every year Bean and I grow a couple of different  vegetable plants just to learn a little bit about the plant.  We want to feel a connection to the plants.  We want to know about the growth patterns, the shape and smell of the leaves, how the blossoms develop into the vegetables. We want to know how long the vegetables need to grow before we can pick them. We grew corn a couple of summers, not because we are naive enough to think a couple of corn plants would fill our corn needs, but because I had never had an up close personal encounter with a corn plant.

So this summer, I planted cucumber seeds.  Not just any cucumber, but an heirloom lemon cucumber.  Triple bonus.  A plant I have never grown and a vegetable I have never seen or eaten.  "Oh look, they are so cute"! soon turned into " Oh God, not more"!! The plants mocked me.  I would pick every cucumber I could see, only to glimpse the bright yellow orbs from my kitchen window five minutes later.

This summer has been very hot and humid.  Whereas I have not been such a big fan of this summer's weather; the cucumbers seemed ecstatic.
                                              

                 Every day baskets and bowls full of cukes.     

             

I have made a couple of discoveries this summer.  Firstly; it is possible for our little city garden to produce all the cucumbers we could possibly need or want.  Yeah!! Woohoo!! Good job!  Secondly; I don't really like cucumbers that much.  A cucumber thrown into a gazpacho - nice.  Tzatziki - Yum.  Thai pickled cucumbers - adore.  

But, what to do with all the rest?

        I have made numerous cold soups.
        Some I have liked.  Some were just so so.

         I have pickled them. No major prairie woman pickling 
         productions, but a couple of jars at a time for the refrigerator.
           Okay, I'll admit it - I am not brave enough yet for full scale  
         canning.                                     

                                 The gentleman fixing our porch left with a check and bag of cukes.                                           

               I have added slices of cucumbers in water with herbs to
            take the edge off of a hot humid day.

 I have treated myself to some at home spa treatments.







 I have even pretended that cucumbers are not cucumbers and

         made cucumber crisp for dessert.  I don't know-
Scott Conant, do you think that's  irresponsible?


Bye for now!  I think I am going to learn how to juggle.
(I must remember to clean the spines off the cukes first.)