These adorable little veggies – which at first glance look like miniature watermelons – are actually a micro cucumber, sometimes called a Mexican cucumber according to the internet – and they were gifted to us from our neighbor Ken. Despite its shape, I find it hard to get excited about a cucumber, so when Andy told me about them on the ride home from work, I largely let it go in one ear and out the other.
When I got home and saw them, all of that apathy went out the window. Tiny and cute, and the very visual embodiment of little watermelons, they had me instantly smitten. Holding them in the palm of my hand gives you a slightly better perspective and rendering of their size.
As for the taste, I was not sure what to expect beyond the usual, slightly-bland water-heavy non-remarkable dullness of a typical cucumber, but I was wrong: these are bright and crisp, with a slightly tart lemon-like zing that absolutely sings in the mouth. They may very well be my new favorite vegetable – I just can’t imagine the numbers needed and the amount of cutting required to make a dish. There’s an end-of-summer challenge in that – and I love a challenge.
