A popular cuke at the Greenhouse is the  heirloom lemon cucumber.  When fully ripe, it is a bright lemony color.  It’s small size makes it a great snack or perfect single serving in a salad.  It is never bitter but has a sweet crisp flavor.  When slightly under ripe, it is great for pickling.  I tried it in a recipe for freezer bread and butter pickles and they were terrific.  I shared they pickles with the greenhouse crew at our last Wednesday  worker’s lunch.  We also had Betsy’s dip and Ken’s famous hotdogs.

Here are the directions for the pickles:
Mix 4 cups of thinly sliced cucumbers with 1 very thinly sliced onion and 2 tsp salt. 
Let this sit in a colander for 2 hours.
Meanwhile combine 1-¼ cups of vinegar (apple or distilled) with ½ cup of honey in a sauce pan and heat until the honey is dissolved.
Add ½ tsp ground turmeric and ¼ tsp each of celery seeds, black pepper and ground mustard.  Let this cool.
Pack the cucumber mixture into glass jars leaving an inch at the top.  Pour in the brine to just barely cover the pickles.  Freeze.

Betsy Cabana brought a tomatillo and avocado dip.
Cut up 8 tomatillos and puree them with the juice of 1 lime, pepper and salt to taste, and one avocado. 
Dice another avocado and  a red onion and add to the pureed mixture to add some texture.