My lemon cucumber plants did absolutely nothing this year. Actually, that’s not entirely true. One plant did manage to produce a scrawny thimble-sized cucumber. And I carefully picked it, washed it, sprinkled it with a little kosher salt, and popped it in my mouth. At least I got a taste.

Lemon cucumbers are an heirloom variety that date bake to the late 1800’s. They are round like lemons and range in color from pale to bright yellow. The paler the shade the more tender the skin, so no peeling is necessary. They also don’t have much of the chemical that makes other cucumbers bitter, thus they’re more delicate and sweet.

Unfortunately, they are difficult to find. Rarely do I see them in supermarkets, but you can find them briefly in farmer’s markets. My grandfather used to grow them in abundance on his ranch in Sonoma, California. My brother and I would stuff ourselves silly with them. And we ate them skin and all as we always picked them young. The best way to eat them was to simply slice them and sprinkle with salt and pepper, or on top of fresh Sonoma French Bread with Grandpa’s heirloom tomatoes.

Do I love them so much because they are so tender and delicious, or because of my memories with Grampa in his beautiful garden?

Yes.

Memories or not, I’m sure you too will fall in love with these gems.

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When I was a child we’d often visit my maternal grandparents in Sonoma, California. One of my favorite things to do, when I wasn’t roaming the back forty on one of my grandpa’s horses, was to go down to Vella Cheese Company and get a bag of fresh cheese curd. If memory serves correctly they only had it on specific days. And I was there at the door, money in hand, ready for my “squeaky cheese,” as we called it.
If you’ve never had cheese curd let me tell you about this little treat. It’s the fresh, young random-shaped curd from cheddar cheese before it’s processed into blocks to age. Cheddar cheese usually ages from at least 60 days to many years. Curd, on the other hand, needs to be eaten fresh and unrefrigerated (within about 12 hours) otherwise it turns dry and salty. You know good, fresh curd when it squeaks between your teeth.

Unfortunately, Vella’s doesn’t sell cheese curd anymore. I have begged them over the years, to no avail (insert soft weeping here). But, their other cheeses are simply divine in their own right. I still go there every time I’m in Sonoma, money in hand.

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