Full DISHclosure

Memorial Day weekend, at last! Time to remember those who’ve served our country, and time to revisit the simple joys of summer.  I plan to spend the weekend unwinding with friends at Lake Blue Ridge where we’ll see if waiting 12 years between water skiing sessions is too-long a hiatus (surely not!). In case I prove less than graceful, I’m prepared to distract observers with the ultimate lake-side lunch, Cool Cucumber Gazpacho. This anything-goes refresher is adaptable to an assortment of ingredients,  but not those organic Euro cukes identified Friday with one of history’s worst E. coli
outbreaks. (Really, a dangerous organic cucumber? They’re 96 percent water, you know, so where is that run off from?)  Instead I’m sourcing spicy peppers, basil, cilantro, mint, sorrel, green and yellow cherry tomatoes and… the first fat cucumber from our humble backyard organic garden (so proud!). Otherwise, in the spirit of full disclosure and having learned from our First Lady, stunt vegetables will be required. Among them, avocado for bold color and creamy texture, and pineapple for an unexpected tart-sweetness to balance my heavy handedness with sea salt. 

In light of the tragic cucumber contamination, have no doubt this calm, collected, favorite summer staple will endure. Cukes debuted in India 3,000 years ago. They found their way to France in the 9th century, reached England by the 14th century, and discovered North America in the mid-16th century. Even though they’re mostly water, cukes pack a lot of nutrition: vitamins A, C, and folic acid, fiber, electrolites and minerals like magnesium, molybdenum, and potassium. And let’s not underestimate silica, a trace mineral that contributes to the strength of our connective tissue.  Connective tissue holds the body together, of course, and that’s important when you’re being pulled along, willingly or not, by a fast ski boat on a mountain lake.