When the garden and the market abound with cucumbers, and summertime “pot lucks” promise savory treats, maple pairs elegantly with lime for a flavor reminiscent of Yankee seafaring sailors.  Good friends introduced us to a maple lime beverage years ago.  One part freshly squeezed lime juice, one part maple sugar, one part rum was their recipe.  They theorized that all three ingredients would have been aboard the sailing ships “rolling home to old New England” – the limes intended to ward off the possibility of scurvy, the maple sugar to sweeten the tartness of the lime juice, and the rum – reminiscent of the islands they were leaving behind.   Today, the convenience of ice adds pleasantly to the concoction!

“Cool!  Maple Lime Cukes” are cousins of the seafaring beverage.  Maple sugar and lime juice marry their flavors to produce a simple and delightful dressing for cucumber sticks.  Add to that your favorite maple cream cheese dip, some party picks, and you’re off to a pot luck!

INGREDIENTS:

2 small limes or 1 large lime 

2 rounded tablespoons of pure maple sugar (more if your taste requires, but tartness is desirable) also, maple syrup may be substituted for the maple sugar, but increase the quantity to 3 tablespoons  

Cucumbers – enough to fill your serving plate

HOW TO DO IT:

Squeeze the lime(s)

Mix the lime juice with the maple sugar; stir, and permit the mixture to stand until the sugar is completely dissolved

Peel the cucumbers, slice lengthwise into strips and cut crosswise into snack size pieces.  Mix the lime/maple marinade with the cucumber pieces; arrange on a plate, and chill until serving.    

Photo by Don Lockhart

Aug./Sept. 2014