Cucumber Sorbet

A friend helping at the CSA solar cooking demos recently accused me of something kind of funny. I was telling her about my plans to make Vinagre (spicy pineapple vinegar) with the skin of the organic pineapple (from Mexico) that I picked up that morning at a new Farmer's Market in town. She said, "I think you have more fun using the parts of produce most people throw away than using the actual produce." I laughed and assured her that I would indeed enjoy the pineapple, too.

But, she has a point. I love finding new ways to use the trimmings and leftover produce bits that usually go straight to compost. I salvage limp leaves of lettuce and the thick ribs for a cooked dish, I make liqueurs with the "waste product" leftover from making pomegranate jelly, and I use every bit of the watermelon except the skin. I love the creativity that results from striving to avoid food waste and I get to enjoy more food for less money. Who could argue with that?!

This weekend, I made a delicious local meal which included a tasty cucumber and lime drink we occasionally serve for samples at the CSA. We get Armenian cucumbers that members tend to shy away from because they are so large. Once we share the drink, however, they hold on to their cukes and hope for more the following week. The combination of cucumber juice, lime juice, simple sugar syrup, and ice water is very refreshing in our summer heat.

Unfortunately, I don't have a juicer. I tried running a cucumber through my food strainer that worked so well on the tomatoes but the cucumber was just too firm. This weekend, I resorted to using the blender method. I peeled and chunked up the cucumber and processed it in the blender with some water until liquified. Then I added a few frozen lemon juice cubes, rather than lime juice, and blended it some more. After straining it to make the drink, I was left with a strainer full of finely ground solids. I took a taste and enjoyed the fine texture and hint of lemon juice. An idea popped into my head.

Why not make sorbet? Crazy, right? Well, who would have thought drinking a cucumber was a good idea...but it was.

I found a flat container for the ground cucumber and stirred in a fair amount of the sugar syrup. I popped this in the freezer and occasionally stirred it up with a fork. I didn't get around to eating it until the next day, but it was an intriguing dessert. The flavor, with each bite, was unexpected but it was refreshing and I felt good about making such a healthy choice for a sweet treat. Heck, when my mother told me that I had to eat my veggies in order to get dessert, I'll bet she never thought I'd simply combine the two!

Update: here is a similar-looking recipe for cucumber sorbet. It, however, does retain the juice as well for the sorbet instead of making a separate drink.