CSA Week Seven. Scattered with a New Addition.

Leave it to life to taunt me with the greatest delivery from the farm imaginable while I am away, only to see me return home on the first "scattered" week of harvest -- the term from Karl's Farm itself. To be honest, to have the first "scattered" occur as far into the season as week seven is a testimony to the hard work of Karl's Farmers. And, to be clear, what Karl's Farm calls "scattered" is still a delicious basket of vegetables, even if not full to overflowing this time.

Week Seven included:

• cucumbers (I CANNOT KEEP UP WITH THE CUCUMBERS)
• spring onions
• scallions
• a green pepper
• a yellow squash
• a zucchini
• cherry tomatoes

Still, I came home to the Week Seven delivery a bit late, and a bit distracted, as this week I had this little nugget to contend with:

Note: she did not come from Karl's Farm. She came from my VERY convincing vet friend, whom I love dearly, who cared for Coltrane until the very end (and, subsequently, me) and who is responsible for our bringing Boomer home from the Dobe "rescue" in North Carolina. Turns out this little furball was rescued from North Carolina too.

Which might explain the love fest going on in my house between the 78-pound Doberman and this tiny one-ounce (feels like) kitten.

Inseparable, those two. How can one cook when such a show is taking place in one's house?

I did, however, make a delightful cucumber salad for a BBQ at a bestie's house -- only instead of using four POUNDS of cucumbers, I used FOUR CUCUMBERS, which, turned out, is not quite the same.

Care of Emeril, with my comments interspersed ....

3 large seedless cucumbers (about 1 pound each or 4 pounds regular cucumbers)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped

1.  Peel the cucumbers and cut them in half lengthwise. Using a small spoon or a melon baller, scoop out the seeds and watery center from each half, forming a shallow groove down the center. 

This is extraordinarily easy to do. And you will discover that cucumbers hold a TON of water.

2.  Using a mandolin -- or, if you are not Emeril but Michelle, a very sharp knife -- slice the cucumbers crosswise as thin as possible, ideally about 1/8 inch thick. 

I probably ended up slicing the half moons of cucumber slightly thicker.

3.  Place the cucumbers in a colander and sprinkle with the salt. Using clean hands, toss to combine the cucumbers with the salt. Set the colander over a bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours. 

Note: I did not expect this step to be necessary. But guess what. IT IS. And if you think nothing is draining, then wait a bit longer. And the next step illustrates why this is crucial.

4.  Using clean hands, squeeze handfuls of cucumber slices to release any excess liquid, and transfer the cucumbers to a medium nonreactive bowl.

This essentially means grab handfuls of cucumber and squeeze the bejesus out of it. Feels strange. The end result, however, does not feel strange. You may worry that you are mushing up the cucumber, but, you are not. And yes, this takes a minute.

5.  In another medium nonreactive bowl, combine the white vinegar, cider vinegar, and sugar. Stir until the sugar has completely dissolved. Pour the vinegar mixture over the cucumbers, add the chopped chives, and stir to thoroughly combine. Serve immediately, or refrigerate for up to 12 hours or overnight, and serve cold.

Now, I do not know if it was my use of four cucumbers as opposed to four pounds or what, but this vinegar mixture generated WAY too much liquid for the cucumbers I had. I used about a fourth of it. I also added a sprinkle of fresh dill. Definitely let the vinegar soak in a bit before eating. 

Though this did not generate massive amounts of cucumber salad, as my dear friend pointed out at her BBQ, one does not necessarily crave massive amounts of cucumber salad. So maybe four pounds was not necessary to begin with. All in all, DELICIOUS, and perfect for a hot summer BBQ.