Cucumber Agua Fresca and a Cucumber Martini

Delightful, delicious, and different!

This cool Cucumber Agua Fresca will be a regular refreshment for our family this summer, especially since we are having a bumper crop of cucumbers this year!

Add a little vodka and it makes a delicious martini as well!

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Cucumber Agua Fresca
From  Put 'em Up!  Sherri Brooks Vinton

Ingredients:
4 cucumbers
1 cup water
2 tablespoons sugar (I used organic cane)
Juice of 1 lime

Method:
Set up a sieve over a bowl (or line a colander with cheesecloth and place over a bowl). Wash, peel, and seed four cucumbers.

Roughly chop, place in a food processor, and puree.

Pour over sieve and let the puree sit for about 10 to 15 minutes. Then lightly press down on the remaining pulp to finish extracting the juice. I used the bottom of a ladle. And give it a little shake.

Pour juice into a pitcher. I poured it through the sieve just to catch some pulp that pushed through. Add water, sugar, and lime juice. Stir until sugar dissolves.

My daughter really liked hers with a splash of seltzer and a little more freshly squeezed lime.

Cucumber Martini
3 ounces Cucumber Agua Fresca
1 1/2 ounces vodka
Ice

To this recipe, we added a splash of seltzer. For one serving, add all ingredients to a shaker and shake to blend.

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Posted with permission.

Traditional New England Boiled Dinner

I'm naming this dish a New England Boiled Dinner to make the connection to the meal's past. According to American Food by food writer, Evan Jones, this was a popular meal on New England farms and was typically served in the middle of the day. The salted meat was placed in a pot over a fire in the morning, simmered about three hours while chores got done. After three or so hours, garden vegetables were added and simmered another hour.  The broth was valued for its nutrients.  It was all served together and was accompanied by cider vinegar or, more commonly, homemade horseradish sauce or mustard.

We had boiled dinners when I was growing up, but my French-Canadian family often used ham. I remember corned beef around St. Patrick's Day only a few times. It was usually a meal we would eat out. Either way, I always loved these meals and today always feel so content when I cook and eat a hearty boiled dinner with my family.

I bought all organic vegetables. They still had dirt on them and I loved the earthy fragrance!

I gently simmered Whole Foods' own corned brisket for 3 hours, then added vegetables to the pot for 30 minutes. After that, I added cabbage for another 30 minutes.  The beets were boiled separately until fork tender.

While the vegetables simmered, I made the horseradish dressing, removed beets, cooled, peeled and sliced.

I served it all together . . .

New England Boiled Dinner, from American Food by Evan Jones

3 1/2 lb corned beef brisket 

5 turns of freshly ground pepper

1 bay leaf

1 parsnip

1/2 rutabaga

3 large carrots

4 medium-sized potatoes

1/2 cabbage

6 small beets, preboiled and peeled

1 tbs horseradish

1 tbs sour cream

2 or 3 dashes of Tobasco

Method (reworded): Cover corned brisket with water, add pepper and bay leaf. Simmer the brisket over medium heat for 4 hours, but after 3 hours, add vegetables, except cabbage and beets. Before the last 20 minutes add cabbage, and before the last 10 minutes add beets. Remove corned beef, slice thin on the bias and lay out on a platter. Remove vegetables with a slotted spoon, cut into 4 or more serving-sized pieces and spread on the platter around the beef slices. Serves 4.  

Side sauce: mix horseradish, sour cream and Tabasco together.  

My changes:  I used a 4 lb brisket, used a whole cabbage that I quartered, 3 parsnips sliced in half lengthwise, 3 carrots also sliced in half lengthwise, 1 whole peeled rutabaga cut into 4 pieces, and I didn't add beets at the end (kept them separate).  In addition to bay leaf and pepper, I added a few whole cloves (about 6) for amazing flavor and aroma!  

Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did!