summer

5 Quick Summer Recipes for Garden Cucumbers

Freshly picked cucumbers and cherry tomatoes.

For the past few summers, I've slowly been learning to grow my own fruits and veggies. I started with tomatoes; I tried growing them in pots, and in garden beds. I moved on to beans and lettuce, then tried carrots. This summer, I added fine herbs and cucumber.

Sometimes I wonder why more people don't have gardens at home, it's so easy! I mean, if you want to open up a business and maximize productivity, maybe not, but if you just want to garden for pleasure, you should seriously consider it.

Picking cucumbers in the garden to make delicious salads, drink, soups and snacks!

Back to cucumbers. So I planted like, 8 seeds. I thought I'd plant a few more than I wanted because you always have loss. Some seeds don't germinate, others die when they're baby plants, and sometimes you get pests that eat your crop. I guess I was super lucky because none of that happened to my cucumber plants.

In case you don't know, cucumbers aren't like carrots. It's not one cucumber per seed. The plant grows into a really long vine which produce about 10-15 fruits per plant.  So we're looking at about 100 cucumbers in a matter about 2 months. Yeah.

Picking cherry tomatoes with kids is fun but you they end up eating more than you pick.

My toddlers have taken a liking to picking and eating directly from the garden, so quite a few disappear daily. But I still have a LOT. So, I had to come up with ways to use them. Here are 5 of my favorite.

Have you tried growing your own fruits and veggies?

 

CUCUMBER MINT INFUSED WATER

A refreshing summer drink, cucumber mint infused water.

Not so long ago, I shared my coconut lemonade recipe and although this is my go-to recipe for a nutrient boost and intense thirst quenching relief, I wanted something a bit more neutral in taste for the office. You can never have too many refreshing drink recipes for the summer.

 

Ingredients

Cucumber
Mint
Water

 

Directions

Wash, cut, mix. Let sit for a few minutes and enjoy!

I was pretty surprised at how much you can taste the cucumber in the water. It's super refreshing. You could even add a bit of lemon juice if you wanted. Once you're done you can either eat your slices of cucumber, or pour yourself another drink!

 

CUCUMBER CREAM CHEESE TOAST

A quick and light lunch idea for a hot summer day, cucumber cream cheese with chia seeds. A cool idea for those cucumbers in your garden.

I don't know about you, but when it's really hot outside, the last thing I want to do is eat a hot and heavy meal. Sometimes it's a spinach + lemon salad, sometimes it's some guacamole, but lately, with all these cucumbers growing in my garden, I had to get creative.

To be honest, it was a really hot day and I didn't want to cook. I just felt like eating a piece of bread. We had just spent the morning in the pool and the kids wanted to eat freshly picked cucumbers, so I thought we could make some cucumber sandwiches. 

Since my son is allergic to eggs, I usually replace mayo with humus. That day though, I had none in the fridge. I did find some cream cheese, which I buy to make the frosting for my egg free cupcakes. So bread, cucumber & cream cheese... just some protein missing. Seeds! I added a bit of chia and hemp.

 

Ingredients

Bread
Cream cheese
Cucumber
Seeds (Optional - I used chia and hemp)
Salt + Pepper (Optional)

 

Directions

1. Toast your bread + spread some cream cheese.
2. Wash + slice your cucumbers in the long using a mandoline.
3. Add some cucumber slices over the cream cheese then sprinkle some seeds, salt + pepper.

 

GREEK SALAD with OLIVE OIL

Use garden cucumbers and cherry tomatoes for a juicy greek salad!

Oh my god you guys. Have you ever tasted freshly picked garden tomatoes? They're god sent. Seriously, it's like eating extra sweet and juicy grapes. Can you imagine? Winter grocery store tomatoes, you are a crime to nature.

 

Ingredients

Cherry tomatoes
Cucumber
Feta cheese cubes
Olive oil (you could also use reduced balsamic vinegar as a dressing)
Red onion (Optional)
Salt + Pepper (Optional)

 

Directions

1. Wash and cut all your ingredients (I leave out the onions because they're too strong for my toddlers).
2. Put everything in a salad bowl.
3. Add some olive oil, salt + pepper.
4. Instead of #3 you could also bring some balsamic vinegar to a boil and drizzle over your salad.

 

COLD YOGURT CUCUMBER SOUP

A cold, light and refreshing summer lunch, cucumber yogurt soup.

This totally sounds like mush doesn't it? Lol. I promise you it's not, it's actually quite refreshing and super delicious. Plus, it's fast, nutritious, and cold (such a treat on a very hot day!).

 

Ingredients

1 cups of plain yogurt
2 cucumbers
1 clove garlic
Salt + Pepper (Optional)

 

Directions

Just clean and peal the cucumbers and garlic, and blend everything together. Season to taste and enjoy!

 

CUCUMBER CREAM CHEESE BITES

Simple cucumber cream cheese appetizers for snacks or parties.

Just feel like eating a snack? Grab a cucumber, a knife, some cream cheese and dried fruit. Slice, dip, sprinkle and enjoy some cucumber cream cheese bites!

Sweet Coconut Lemonade

A delicious summer drink made with coconut water, lemon juice and sugar. It's a great alternative to gatorade when you need to quench your thirst. Plus, it's completely natural with tons of essential vitamins. Perfect for a warm summer day or after …

Ok so, it isn't summer yet, but we've had a few warm days and I just couldn't wait to have this drink again.

Remember about our trip to Mexico? During our stay in Acapulco, we took a day trip to La Roqueta beach. It took about an hour to get there from the Mayan Palace (car + boat ride), and it was so worth it. It's on a tiny little secluded island and you have an amazing view of Acapulco. A lot of locals go there to chill and hang out.

We were sitting with my in-laws at the beach restaurant when my husband asked: "Would you like a coconut with lemon and sugar?". I gave him a silly look thinking it was a joke. Lemon? Coconut? Say what? Turns out he was serious so I figured why not. Oh-my-god guys, it's seriously delicious. To top it off, it's super easy, thirst quenching and nutritious!

Lemon juice and coconut water are jam packed with vitamins and minerals; vitamin C, calcium, fiber, folates, the list goes on. It's perfect for a daily immune system boost, or even for a little more energy during a workout. You could also just do like me and sip it at your desk during work, or while relaxing by the pool.

Make sure to pin it for the summer, you'll be glad you did on those hot and humid days!

 What kind of unusual drinks do you like to drink in the summer?

Add coconut water to juice of one lemon with some sugar to make a refreshing drink.

Ingredients

Coconut water
1/2 Lemon
1-2 Tbsp Sugar

Coconut lemonade ingredients.

Steps

1. Start by squeezing the juice of half a lemon into your glass and stir in the sugar.
2. Fill the rest of the glass with coconut water.

Squeeze the juice of half a lemon and add some sugar to taste.
Refreshing summer drink: sweet coconut lemonade. Perfect for one of those days where you're super thirsty.

The recipe is actually pretty subjective; you can add more lemon juice or sugar, it's all up to you. On a really hot day you can even add a few ice cubes to make it even more refreshing. Seriously though, doesn't it just look delicious? I'm salivating just looking at the pictures. I know it's still spring but um, bring on the summer!

Sweet coconut lemonade top view, with lemon slice. Delicious.