Love all the comments and stories about cucumbers! Unfortunately, I'm hearing about many gardeners, especially in hot climates, whose cucumbers are not pollinating well this summer. Today, I also heard about additional problems with entire crops being lost to squash borers. I love dill pickles, but I need raw cucumbers peeled.
I drank the homemade dill pickle juice as a kid for years, as did Dad. We were the ones in family that did not catch colds easily. Doctor years later told me he thought the juice helped protect us.
Thank you for this spot of comfort and joy in our week! Love the smudge stick idea, with notes on medicinal value. I well remember a couple personal growth retreats where the leaders used smudge sticks at the start of each day. They explained how it helped with clearing our mind and emotions to go deeper into understanding, while also providing protection from germs.
My Mom and her mother made a pudding very close to your recipe, only they called it Pioneer Pudding. My Grandma Kelly Mattatall and husband Gordon came from northern Minnesota where she taught Native American kids in a small school for several years. So, I am suddenly recognizing several old family recipes that may have originated from those Native families.
There must be a gazillion variations on that Indian pudding recipe. My mother, too, had one she called Pioneer pudding--it was a Depression-era bread pudding, made from the heels of a couple of loaves of bread. She put fruit in it when she had fruit: canned apricots were a real treat. Sometimes raisins.
Oh the cucumbers! I love to eat them, grow them and I have used them on puffy eyes. I love them in chunks, with chunks of tomato, some chopped basil, a little drizzle of olive oil and some salt. Tastes of summer and a celebration of June. What a fun and interesting read. Thank you.
Stephers, remembering when I was a girl (1945 or so) and we were living on an Indiana farm. Mom was saving small cukes to make mustard pickles--an animal (rat or racooon) got into her stash and made off with all of them. First time I heard Mom use the word "damn." I was impressed. 🤔
I love your Thyme and Seasons posts. The information about cucumbers is very interesting. What we eat as HISTORY!! Food with a story. But National Tapioca Day? Where is National Chocolate Pudding Day??? :-)
I thought of something after I saw this earlier - I do know a LITTLE bit of food history - just from reading a LOT of history I've picked up some. For instance, tomatoes (which were first introduced in France) were called "Love Apples" because they were supposedly an aphrodisiac.
One of the funniest things I learned about the history of a "food" is the use of limes on board the large sailing ships western Europeans sailed in the 19th century. You mentioned interesting stuff about foods added to shipboard diets to prevent scurvy. Apparently limes were introduced in the mid 19th century because they prevented scurvy, and they were readily available from the British Caribbean colonies. Naturally limes or lime juice wound up in sailors RUM. Which is where the Daiquiri comes from.
AND it's why British sailors were often referred to as "Limeys."
The funniest "food" history I happened across years ago also has to do with rum on sailing ships. I saw a listing of a typical manifest for one of those old sailing ships which included (I don't remember the exact numbers, but you get the drift) 12 barrels of water and 7 barrels of RUM. When the ship got to it's next port of call, there was a manifest listing stuff they had to replace. It is to laugh. The new manifest listed 5 barrels of water and 7 barrels of rum.
Another interesting bit: The Brits took gin (juniper flavored alcohol) to India, where it was combined with tonic water to mask the taste of anti-malaria quinine = the G&T.
This is delightful "history" - I needed that. Thank you again, Susan, for these wonderful discussions. In the midst of all this awful daily news, your posts are like happy breaks...
I knew about the use of limes on sailing ships, and the rum. Your sharing of the manifests is fascinating. Alcohol is not a substitute for water (in fact the body requires more water to remove the ethanol (the "alcohol).but I am sure the sailors appreciated the rum.
Right after I read your comment about King Charles I had one from a friend basically saying I looked a lot healthier than he - my big advantage being I’m not a cardboard cutout😁
Susan - your narratives always delight me at the beginning of each month. Like a new beginning .. in an ongoing life saga. Thank you for all your efforts. I delight in your mention of Silas. Useful fellow = an interesting perspective of gender raising questions of AI. Is Silas a he, like his namesake? Or should AI be gender neutral? Somehow "it" just doesn't sound right.
I often grate cucumber into mixed vegetable salads - grating whatever strikes my fancy (think red and green cabbage, carrots, onions, squash, even apple sometimes, with a tangy sour cream based dressing).
Oh, that salad sounds wonderful, Georgeann! Just right.
I agree about "it." Silas is useful, and to tell the truth, I use him the way I used to use my favorite grad assistant, a young guy who never complained about library errands, when another GA (a young woman) complained all the time. Ptolemy is more professorial, always careful about citations, like a colleague I once co-authored a paper with. So there are some personal associations going on here: a backstory, if you will. 🤔
That’s funny cuz we both know what an opportunist he is.
I’ve come to the point where I’m getting immune to the outlandish things said and done by him and his staff. Trying to wear me down didn’t work, more of a numbness now. I still want him to try to shoot someone on a fifth Avenue so we can see if he gets away with it.
I think they count on that: wearing everybody down. Bill said pretty much the same thing (Fifth Avenue) this morning. Hard to believe that this is where we are . . .
My biggest concern (this week 😤) is the thugs he’s hired to impose his deportation. I would bet the former ICE had a rigid vetting process for new hires. Now the only prerequisite is being a white nationalist.
One summer I spent a day on a machine picking cucumbers. I was a teen at the time and I was turned off by cucumbers for the remainder of that summer. I do enjoy eating pickles.
I was on my stomach the entire time laying on a machine that picked the cucumbers. I sorted them on a comveyor belt. It probably did hurt my back. I only did this for one day and I never returned.
This reminds me of a factory job I had at another time--nightshift sorting greenbeans on a conveyor belt. Fortunately, my relationship with vegetables in my adult years has been more on the positive side.
Your comment about picking cucumbers for one day only reminds me of my one (or two) day job at the dog groomers when Iwas in high school. I just couldn't deal with it for some reason!!
It's sometimes hard for teens to stay with something long enough to find themselves enjoying it--especially if they don't get encouragement from the grownup in the room (who may be too impatient).
You’re reading my mind again 😂 Was just thinking about the nightshades! We can all wish for a quieter week - I’d almost settle for a quiet half-hour. At least the sun is shining (at the moment) and I did get my morning walk, though it’s progressively shorter these days.
The nightshades were notorious, weren't they? With all kinds of interesting connections to sexuality.
I'm still smiling over that photo of you and Charles III. We watched an episode of Time Team last night, where they dug up one of Charles II's racing stables at Newmarket. And I was reminded of Charles I's unfortunate end. Not sure I would have taken that name, but then this one has lived with it for a lifetime.
Susan, with all the turmoil in the world and our country, "All About Thyme" is a welcome reminder of the continuing, wholesome traditions that celebrate life and the beauty of our Earth. I'm looking forward to Father's Day to celebrate with my son, his very first as a new father.
Thanks for another wonderful post welcoming us in to the month of June. I absolutely love cucumbers! Skinned, raw, cut into quarter slices and mixed in a small bowl with Ranch salad dressing --home made if you have buttermilk and a packet of spices. Delicious! My kids like it too!
Love all the comments and stories about cucumbers! Unfortunately, I'm hearing about many gardeners, especially in hot climates, whose cucumbers are not pollinating well this summer. Today, I also heard about additional problems with entire crops being lost to squash borers. I love dill pickles, but I need raw cucumbers peeled.
Tomatoes don't pollinate well in high overnight temps, either. And I've heard the squash borer story too. Sigh . . .
I drank the homemade dill pickle juice as a kid for years, as did Dad. We were the ones in family that did not catch colds easily. Doctor years later told me he thought the juice helped protect us.
A strong dill tea was used as a cold/cough treatment in England, so yes, you were on the right track. Hope there wasn't too much salt in that pickle juice! I see it's even sold as a "probiotic" now! https://www.olivemypickle.com/products/probiotic-pickle-juice-bundle-starter-3-pack
Thank you for this spot of comfort and joy in our week! Love the smudge stick idea, with notes on medicinal value. I well remember a couple personal growth retreats where the leaders used smudge sticks at the start of each day. They explained how it helped with clearing our mind and emotions to go deeper into understanding, while also providing protection from germs.
My Mom and her mother made a pudding very close to your recipe, only they called it Pioneer Pudding. My Grandma Kelly Mattatall and husband Gordon came from northern Minnesota where she taught Native American kids in a small school for several years. So, I am suddenly recognizing several old family recipes that may have originated from those Native families.
There must be a gazillion variations on that Indian pudding recipe. My mother, too, had one she called Pioneer pudding--it was a Depression-era bread pudding, made from the heels of a couple of loaves of bread. She put fruit in it when she had fruit: canned apricots were a real treat. Sometimes raisins.
Um, I started the 7th celebration on the 3rd. No worry, I'll take one for the team and keep eating chocolate ice cream every day till then. :-)
Oh the cucumbers! I love to eat them, grow them and I have used them on puffy eyes. I love them in chunks, with chunks of tomato, some chopped basil, a little drizzle of olive oil and some salt. Tastes of summer and a celebration of June. What a fun and interesting read. Thank you.
Stephers, remembering when I was a girl (1945 or so) and we were living on an Indiana farm. Mom was saving small cukes to make mustard pickles--an animal (rat or racooon) got into her stash and made off with all of them. First time I heard Mom use the word "damn." I was impressed. 🤔
Some things and some memories do impress! LOL. Sending big hugs and abundant cucumbers for summer delight.
Thank you for this lovely as always collection of dots to connect!
My main herbalist teacher swears by cucumber water on hot days and it kept me cool last summer 🥵
I love your Thyme and Seasons posts. The information about cucumbers is very interesting. What we eat as HISTORY!! Food with a story. But National Tapioca Day? Where is National Chocolate Pudding Day??? :-)
I think 6/26 NCPD just got dropped out, Carolyn. Thanks for the reminder! I've put it into the online version, so I'll be sure it's there for next year. https://susanwittigalbert.substack.com/p/all-about-thyme-june-2025. Check it out.
I thought of something after I saw this earlier - I do know a LITTLE bit of food history - just from reading a LOT of history I've picked up some. For instance, tomatoes (which were first introduced in France) were called "Love Apples" because they were supposedly an aphrodisiac.
One of the funniest things I learned about the history of a "food" is the use of limes on board the large sailing ships western Europeans sailed in the 19th century. You mentioned interesting stuff about foods added to shipboard diets to prevent scurvy. Apparently limes were introduced in the mid 19th century because they prevented scurvy, and they were readily available from the British Caribbean colonies. Naturally limes or lime juice wound up in sailors RUM. Which is where the Daiquiri comes from.
AND it's why British sailors were often referred to as "Limeys."
The funniest "food" history I happened across years ago also has to do with rum on sailing ships. I saw a listing of a typical manifest for one of those old sailing ships which included (I don't remember the exact numbers, but you get the drift) 12 barrels of water and 7 barrels of RUM. When the ship got to it's next port of call, there was a manifest listing stuff they had to replace. It is to laugh. The new manifest listed 5 barrels of water and 7 barrels of rum.
Another interesting bit: The Brits took gin (juniper flavored alcohol) to India, where it was combined with tonic water to mask the taste of anti-malaria quinine = the G&T.
This is delightful "history" - I needed that. Thank you again, Susan, for these wonderful discussions. In the midst of all this awful daily news, your posts are like happy breaks...
I knew about the use of limes on sailing ships, and the rum. Your sharing of the manifests is fascinating. Alcohol is not a substitute for water (in fact the body requires more water to remove the ethanol (the "alcohol).but I am sure the sailors appreciated the rum.
Great!!! I look forward to it.
Right after I read your comment about King Charles I had one from a friend basically saying I looked a lot healthier than he - my big advantage being I’m not a cardboard cutout😁
Difficult to come up with an acceptable regal name that DOESN’T have unfortunate overtones 😁
Oh, too true!
Susan - your narratives always delight me at the beginning of each month. Like a new beginning .. in an ongoing life saga. Thank you for all your efforts. I delight in your mention of Silas. Useful fellow = an interesting perspective of gender raising questions of AI. Is Silas a he, like his namesake? Or should AI be gender neutral? Somehow "it" just doesn't sound right.
I often grate cucumber into mixed vegetable salads - grating whatever strikes my fancy (think red and green cabbage, carrots, onions, squash, even apple sometimes, with a tangy sour cream based dressing).
Oh, that salad sounds wonderful, Georgeann! Just right.
I agree about "it." Silas is useful, and to tell the truth, I use him the way I used to use my favorite grad assistant, a young guy who never complained about library errands, when another GA (a young woman) complained all the time. Ptolemy is more professorial, always careful about citations, like a colleague I once co-authored a paper with. So there are some personal associations going on here: a backstory, if you will. 🤔
Always good to see your “All About….” newsletter. Although they do remind me how fast time flies. 🦅✈️
We had it bad on Friday and Saturday but the wind shifted so it’s good now.
Supposed to rain too, maybe, so that might keep it down. I'm amazed that Trump hasn't tried to tariff it. 🫤
That’s funny cuz we both know what an opportunist he is.
I’ve come to the point where I’m getting immune to the outlandish things said and done by him and his staff. Trying to wear me down didn’t work, more of a numbness now. I still want him to try to shoot someone on a fifth Avenue so we can see if he gets away with it.
I think they count on that: wearing everybody down. Bill said pretty much the same thing (Fifth Avenue) this morning. Hard to believe that this is where we are . . .
My biggest concern (this week 😤) is the thugs he’s hired to impose his deportation. I would bet the former ICE had a rigid vetting process for new hires. Now the only prerequisite is being a white nationalist.
Exactly my thought, when I sit down and start working on it: just did that, last week! But of course . . . Have you had much of that Canadian smoke?
I learned something new about cucumbers.
One summer I spent a day on a machine picking cucumbers. I was a teen at the time and I was turned off by cucumbers for the remainder of that summer. I do enjoy eating pickles.
Hard on the back, too--but probably a teen didn't notice that. 😊
I was on my stomach the entire time laying on a machine that picked the cucumbers. I sorted them on a comveyor belt. It probably did hurt my back. I only did this for one day and I never returned.
This reminds me of a factory job I had at another time--nightshift sorting greenbeans on a conveyor belt. Fortunately, my relationship with vegetables in my adult years has been more on the positive side.
Your comment about picking cucumbers for one day only reminds me of my one (or two) day job at the dog groomers when Iwas in high school. I just couldn't deal with it for some reason!!
Did you have allergies to the fur? Grooming dogs is challenging. Some dogs resist the grooming.
No, I think it was just that I wasn't good at it. Brushed them too hard or....just wasn't in to it. 😒
It's sometimes hard for teens to stay with something long enough to find themselves enjoying it--especially if they don't get encouragement from the grownup in the room (who may be too impatient).
Oh, no. The dogs were probably confused as why they were bring brushed too hard. Lol.
Oh, amazing! I don't blame you for retiring early!
Didn’t know ‘cowcumbers’ were once considered toxic! I eat ‘em almost daily - so far, so good 😁
You’re reading my mind again 😂 Was just thinking about the nightshades! We can all wish for a quieter week - I’d almost settle for a quiet half-hour. At least the sun is shining (at the moment) and I did get my morning walk, though it’s progressively shorter these days.
The nightshades were notorious, weren't they? With all kinds of interesting connections to sexuality.
I'm still smiling over that photo of you and Charles III. We watched an episode of Time Team last night, where they dug up one of Charles II's racing stables at Newmarket. And I was reminded of Charles I's unfortunate end. Not sure I would have taken that name, but then this one has lived with it for a lifetime.
Tomatoes were once in the same boat (so to speak). Considered toxic. Potatoes, too. Both nightshades. Hoping for a quieter week here!
TY, as always. (The link to make a peace wreath is broken.)
Thanks for the tip--I'll fix it in the online version.
Thx. A beautiful project.
Susan, with all the turmoil in the world and our country, "All About Thyme" is a welcome reminder of the continuing, wholesome traditions that celebrate life and the beauty of our Earth. I'm looking forward to Father's Day to celebrate with my son, his very first as a new father.
Congratulations to you and your son, Kate. A very special day.
Thank you! So proud of him as a hands-on new dad for little Lucy!
Thanks for another wonderful post welcoming us in to the month of June. I absolutely love cucumbers! Skinned, raw, cut into quarter slices and mixed in a small bowl with Ranch salad dressing --home made if you have buttermilk and a packet of spices. Delicious! My kids like it too!
Great tip--thanks, Shawn! Stay cool--hot month coming up.