Watermelon Pickles

I love cucumbers! I love them plain, with salt, with or without the peel (wash well if the peel is on to remove the wax from store-purchased ones), in vinegar, or in sour cream with dill. Sometimes, I only peel part of the cucumber, slice it down the middle, add a touch of sea salt, and munch away. Usually, I do NOT peel them - fiber is fiber, right?

A great many years ago, my mother told me to select the thin, longer ones (not the English ones, which weren't available then). My adult daughter prefers the plastic-wrapped English ones because she feels they are "cleaner and fresher."

Family and guests love peeled cucumbers in a sour cream dressing (full fat or light, or use yogurt) with a sprinkle of fresh or dried dill. If we haven't used the cucumbers soon after purchasing them, I save the money I spent on them by either using the sour cream method or the seasoned rice vinegar. Cucumbers are also delicious in stir fry.

Great-aunt Jane couldn't eat them as they gave her indigestion, but if she had pickled them, that may not have happened. Seasoned rice vinegar is great to slosh over cucumbers; they are slightly sweet and yummy in about thirty minutes.

Recently, I saw an article from Martha Stewart featuring a cucumber expert. He said you really can't tell from looking at a cucumber if it is bitter. The bitterness is from Cucurbitacin, and usually, the ends and the stem have more of it, giving a bitter taste. The expert in the article also recommends seasoned rice vinegar. I find that it gives a much better taste, unlike regular or apple cider vinegar, which has stronger flavors.

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Years ago, I canned fruit and vegetables. I had a delicious recipe for tomato preserves—it was better than strawberry jam. I searched for my recipe and couldn't find it for a new friend who has an acre of tomatoes. The recipes I found on the internet all included hot spices, which my mouth does not tolerate, and I searched for hours. I would love to find some tomato preserves at a farmer's market—without hot spices! What a great treat over cream cheese on crackers with a slice of cucumber!

Hot spices deaden my taste buds, although I do like pepper jelly on some things. If you have a Trader Joe's, they have the best pepper jelly I have ever tasted. However, Trader Joe's, like Costco, tends to sell seasonal items, and once sold, they don't restock until the next season! My friends agree—that is maddening—if it sells out, that means it is popular. It means people like it and WANT it! Restock it!! NOW!

Okay, my rant is now over. I'm back to the story of not pickling but refrigerator pickles of an unusual kind.

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I used to make watermelon rind pickles. I loved them, yet I would have to search for my old recipe. I don't remember what spices I put in mine. I used the refrigerator method of preparation, not a canning recipe where you must "bathe" the canning jars. Today, I found a recipe for canning them that also had cherries in it from Spruce Eats. It sounded yummy, but I don't "can" fruit or veggies anymore.

Easy, I do; complicated, I skip. Maybe this summer, I will try my method again, tweak the preparation some, and add cherries.

My husband loves watermelon, but he doesn't care for my rind pickles. I say that is his bad, because they are yummy! Maybe he finds it odd to eat the rind. Growing up on a farm, his family sold their huge watermelons—you know, the real ones, with the seeds! Not hybridized seedless ones. So, in his head, the rind is for the hogs or the garbage (I guess?). Perhaps he would like them if I added cherries!

This summer, try returning to the old days and using all the parts of your food. Try making watermelon rind cukes and see what you think! Compost leftovers.