Cucumbers & Summer

A friend once said something that I found to be a little wonky: “Cucumbers taste like summer.” I thought it was the silliest thing, but as a high schooler, we’ve all said some crazy things. Like the quotes that are often an option to have printed with your picture in the yearbook: some of them I read now, 20 years later, and just shake my head. We were such babies! But really, “cucumbers taste like summer” is a quote that has stuck with me for decades… and I’m now starting to appreciate its truth.
Every place in the world has seasons that hold different things that we look forward to and things we dread. There are places that have “wet” seasons and “dry” seasons. Winter for eight months and summer for two (maybe three depending on the year). Then there are the “normal” or fortunate areas of the world that have four blessed seasons. Spring with the blossoming of life peaking through. Summer with the sprinklers, pools, fireworks, and beach trips. Fall with the glorious bursts of color flaming against blue skies – vibrantly showing through a blanket of fog at times. Winter with normal amounts of snow, a fire crackling in the fireplace, sledding, and skiing. Each season with its own celebrated holidays that match the weather (most of the time).

Since Alaska falls into the category of winter for eight months and summer for two, we take every opportunity to enjoy our two months of warmth. As soon as the outdoor temp reaches 50°, I can guarantee that you’ll see at least half a dozen people wearing shorts and sandals at the store. They may be wearing socks with their sandals, but I’m not getting into a fashion faux pas discussion right now. It’s not always a pleasant sight to see, the sheer volume of pale skin on display, but it is definitely a sight. Outdoor festivals, concerts in the park, Summer Solstice parties, and extended business hours are all included with Alaskan summers.

Then there are the “dreads” for the summer season in Alaska. Has anyone read up on Alaska’s state bird? All of the books are wrong; our state bird isn’t really the Ptarmigan. It’s all 35 species of mosquitos that call Alaska home. So not only do we have the show of miles upon miles of pale skin, but it’s all branded with inflamed mosquito bites! There we are, dancing at these outdoor festivals and concerts, with pale cellulite that is covered with pink polka-dots. I won’t even start to describe how it looks once the itching sets in – that’s a really humorous dance number!

Summer in Alaska isn’t all dancing and itching, but it’s a lot of work, too. Fishing and processing said fish, berry picking and jamming, gardening and processing the harvest, chopping and stacking the wood to get through another winter are just a few things that are on the list of things needing to get done. But we also want to have fun, enter the festivals, concerts, and parties. We lose track of dinner times, bed times, and we become high on vitamin D but have a serious shortage of melatonin. Come winter, there’s a small part of us that welcomes the shortening of our days; it gives us time to rest.

One of my favorite things about summer is the produce – it’s juicier, more affordable, and is a welcome treat! Cucumbers: eat your heart out! For the many cook-outs that we host or are invited to attend, my go-to dish is a spin on your typical fruit salad. Since produce is so stinkin’ expensive (at least $3 per pound for grapes!), I’ve revamped this recipe to be made almost entirely with frozen fruit. The beauty of frozen fruit is that now my favorite fruit salad is available (and affordable) all year long! Feel free to tweak it as you see fit!

Fluffy Fruit Salad

• 32 oz whip cream
• 1 x 5.1 oz instant pudding mix – vanilla (dry)
• 1 x 3.4 oz instant pudding mix – coconut cream (dry)
• 1 x 10.5 oz can mandarin orange in 100% juice
• 1 x 20 oz can crushed pineapple
• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 cup frozen dark sweet pitted cherries
• 1 cup frozen berry medley
• 1 ½ cup frozen mixed fruit

Using mixer, blend together whip cream, dry pudding mixes, and juice from both canned fruits.

Once blended, get out a spatula and put away your mixer. Dump the crushed pineapple into your bowl and combine with the pudding mixture.

Add the mandarin oranges and fold into the pudding mixture.

Before adding the frozen fruits, I recommend cutting the cherries into quarters and the mixed fruit and strawberries into smaller bite-sized pieces. I have small children and, even though they all have rather big mouths, this is something they appreciate. Once everything is cut into smaller pieces, fold all of the remaining fruit into the pudding mixture until fully dispersed.

If you’re a creative type, feel free to dress it up with extra fruit pieces to make it look pretty.

While there are no cucumbers in this fruit salad, I have to agree with my friend from so long ago: cucumbers really do taste like summer… but so does this fruit salad.