The one thing my kids have always craved in the middle of winter and/or when sick with a cold, is cucumbers. They love them so much and will happily munch on a whole one like one would eat an apple. Sadly for them I don’t often buy cucumbers over winter, unless we’re really desperate (or I’m trying to cheer up a sick kid), and instead we go crazy and try and get most of our yearly quota in over summer, when they’re in season and abundant (and cheap in the store, if you don’t grow your own). We’ve always grown cucumbers over the summer months, but I’ve never felt like we’ve had amazing crops; a few years ago powdery mildew killed the plants before the season really got started and last year I made the mistake of growing way too many apple cucumbers (admittedly not at all my favourite to eat) and not enough of the nicer varieties.
But this year we’ve nailed it. Less plants, to improve airflow and lessen the chance of premature powdery mildew, more water and a beautiful new expansive sunny spot, just for them. We’ve picked well over a hundred of these small Lebanese-style cucumbers over the past few months and no one is even near sick of them yet. Nearly all have been eaten as snacks or added to salad, but a few have ended up in the blender as well, to make these super simple ice blocks (icy-poles/popsicles).
Using only 4 ingredients, they couldn’t be any easier to make. First a simple lime and mint syrup is made, before blending with chopped cucumber and lime juice and freezing. That’s it! They’re super refreshing on these hot summer afternoons.
Cucumber, mint + lime ice blocks
Ingredients
- 4-5 limes
- 1/2 cup raw sugar
- handful mint leaves
- 1 medium telegraph (continental) cucumber roughly chopped
Instructions
- Finely grate the lime zest and place into a saucepan with 2 cups (500ml ) water, sugar and mint. Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cook 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, and set aside until cold. Strain and discard solids.
- Juice the limes, you'll need 1/2 cup (125ml) lime juice. Pour into blender, add chopped cucumber and lime/mint syrup. Blend on high until smooth. Strain mixture through a fine sieve and pour into ice block moulds.
- Freeze for 2 hours before adding wooden ice block sticks and freezing for a further 4 hours or until frozen. Run moulds briefly under warm water to help release ice blocks.
