We are entering the time of year when we can just about stop going to the grocery store. Pantry staples, meat and dairy are about all we need these days, because the garden is producing a steady stream of wonderful stuff. When you are a gardener, just what each summer is going dish out for you. Last year was a perfect example of the whims of summer – late blight whomped through our tomato plants and completely wiped out our usual freezer full of frozen sauce and stewed tomatoes. Winter didn’t let me forget it either – I winced every time I had to buy tomatoes. So far, the tomatoes look fine – the weather is better this year and we are more vigilant about spraying anti-fungal stuff. It is the cukes that are really coming into their own right now though. We eat them in obscene quantities, and I am always looking for new ways to dress them up a bit. We also have a lot of jalapenos right now and Larry just harvested our garlic. The limes came from the store – citrus does doesn’t so well where it gets down to -15 in the winter, so we have to resort to huge bags of lemons and limes from Sam’s Club. Don’t yell at me – my every-6-weeks-trip to the big box is a necessity with our budget.
This is my favorite kind of recipe – easy, adaptable, bright and fresh. Start by washing and slicing a half dozen or so pickle cucumbers, or a couple of larger ones. Cut them into uniform slices – Ellyn and Jason gave me this mandoline slicer for Christmas and it made short work of the cukes. 
Next dice up a jalapeno or two. How much is a matter of personal taste and who will be eating the salad. This early in the season, ours aren’t very hot yet, so I used a pretty good sized one. You don’t want this to be blazing hot, but rather it should just have a nice zinginess. Mince a clove of garlic too. This is the first year we have grown our own garlic and let me just say, not only was it easy, but it is some awesome tasting stuff.
Add the juice of a lime, a 1/2 teaspoon or so of salt and a bunch of grinds of 5 peppercorn blend.
Whisk that around until the salt is disolved, and then whisk in a stream of olive oil. You want to use twice as much oil as lime juice, so you can just eyeball that.
Once it has blended together nicely, mix in your cucumber slices and toss them so they get nicely coated with the dressing. You can eat it right away if you like, or let it marinate for a few hours.
We like it a bit chilled, so I usually make it in the morning, chill it in the fridge and then take it out an hour or so before dinner. It is luscious – the cukes are cool and bright with the lime and you get just nice little kick of heat to finish. Fantastic with grilled chicken or burgers and a great take-along for summer picnics – they are going to think you are a cucumber genius! 
Jalapeno Lime Cucumber Salad
My favorite Potato Salad
I have a terrible weakness for potato salad. It began in my childhood, when my Mom always turned out a killer version, and continues to this day with numerous permutations of my own. This one is my go-to choice these days. Our potatoes are doing really well this year, so you are likely to see some other great ways to use them this summer, but when I need something I know will be easy to makes and always delicious, this is the one I fall back on. It’s not earth-shaking; just a few simple ingredients and nothing complicated about how to combine them, but the result is satisfying and just the thing on a steamy summer day. And – this is a method, more than a recipe, so change it up to suit your taste and what you have on hand. Ingredient amounts are approximate, and nothing will be ruined if you leave out the onions or use yellow mustard instead of dijon. Let’s get to it.
This is about 2 pounds of new potaotes, scrubbed trimmed, and cut into 1/2 inch or so cubes. More like cube-ish though of course, since some of them are little ones just cut in half, but you get the idea. Put them in a 3 quart sauce pan, fill with water till it is just even with the top of the potatoes pieces, and add a teaspoon or so of kosher salt. Bring to a boil and simmer until they are done, taking care not to over cook. I can’t give you an exact time, because it depends on things like the age of the potatoes, the variety, and exactly how big your cube-ish pieces are, not to mention the pahse of the moon or what color flip flops you are wearing. Start paying close attention after 10 minutes. Drain them as soon as they are done. I like to spread them out on a sheet pan – not so much to cool them off as to dry them off – cause wet potaotes are going to water down your flavors. 
In the meantime, dice up some add-ins. This is 3 or 4 small scallions, a huge stalk of celery, and a generous handful of plain old green olives with pimentos – all chopped in a medium dice
The seaonings are simple – fresh ground peppercorns, kosher salt and some minced flat leaf parsley.
Finally, some chopped, boiled egg – 4 eggs here, a couple big dollops of mayo [not too much - you can add more, you can't take it out], a couple tablespoons each cider vinegar and dijon mustard. 
When the potatoes are dry and at about room temperature, put them in a good sized bowl, along with all of the other prepared ingredients, and mix together gently. Taste, and add more salt if needed – I don’t add more mayo at this point, unless it is really dry – I wait until just before serving to decide if it needs more.
Chill for at least a couple hours or overnight, and serve cold. Remember that mayo-dressed foods should not be out of the fridge for too long. I tell you – I could make a meal out of this stuff.
Downright tropical
It has been a gorgeous summer here – lots of beautiful sunny hot days, some good whomping thunderstorms, followed by a day of lower humidity, and slowly building back up to some steamy humid days which break with the next wave of thunderstorms. The daylilies glory in this weather, and though the early dryness has diminished their bloom a bit, you would never know it these days. It is not unusual to see perfect strangers slow down to get a better look at the flowers and the other day when I was walking Riley, a woman stopped her car at the top of the driveway to tell me how much she enjoys my garden all summer. I thanked her graciously, while inside I am doing fist pumps and going “yesssssssssss!”
This is a daylily called “South Seas”. I got it from a plantsman in West Virginia a few years ago, when he was selling some of his excess nursery stock on ebay. The name reminds me of summer evenings spent at the Little League field up the street from our house, watching my little brothers play. We sat on the on the rickety wooden bleachers, drinking Kies soda, bottled just a few blocks from the field. “South Seas” was a favorite flavor, what with it tasting so exotic and all. It actually tasted like fizzy Hawiian Punch, but I guess our palates were not exactly discerning at that point. We paired it with Nestle Crunch bars and Sweet Tarts – perfect for watching sweaty little boys fumble their way around in the last of the early evening sun.
So tell me – how is summer going where you are?
