sweet miscellany

Freshly juiced garden cucumbers are mixed with lemon basil, lemon juice, maple syrup, and sparkling water for a deliciously hydrating soda. This vegan and gluten free drink is perfect for enjoying on hot summer days or anytime you need to use up a glut of cucumbers!

Summer is officially here, and it is suffocating levels of humid and hot in Houston as per usual. I’m not exaggerating when I say it’s sort of like an armpit here during the summer. I’ll wait while you enjoy that imagery in your mind for a few seconds… Since I can’t change the weather, I try to make do with cooling and refreshing foods and drinks. Enter: this verdant cucumber basil soda!

This tipple was born out of a glut of cucumbers from the garden and the need for something a little more exciting than water to provide some summer hydration. I decided to throw the cucumbers into my juicer with a handful of highly fragrant lemon basil from the garden. I added lemon juice for brightness, maple syrup for sweetness, and sparkling water for some fizz. It’s simple yet delicious and is all I want to sip on at the moment!

Looking for more refreshing summer sips? Try some cold brewed herbal tea, sparkling sage lemonade, a cooling summer tisane, or a papaya coconut water slush with lime and mint.

Refreshing Cucumber Basil Soda

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

Author: Courtney
Total Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 3–4 servings 1x
Diet: Vegan

Print Recipe

Description

Ingredients

Scale

1 large (or 2 small/medium) cucumbers
1 large handful of fresh basil leaves (I used lemon basil)
1–2 lemons
maple syrup to sweeten (you’ll need .5 oz per serving)
ice
plain sparkling water (you’ll need 2-3 oz per serving)

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Juice together 1 large cucumber and a large handful of basil. Alternately, you can blend these together in a high speed blender until completely liquefied, then strain it through a sieve to remove the pulp and solids.

For each drink, you’ll mix 3 oz of the juice with .5 oz of maple syrup and the juice of half of a lemon. You can shake these in a cocktail shaker if you like or mix them together right in your glass.

Add ice and top with sparkling water. You can garnish with a lemon wedge and fresh basil if you like.

Notes

You can use agave syrup or simple syrup in place of the maple syrup if you like. You can also make a big batch ahead of time, just leave out the sparkling water until right before serving.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Category: drink

Quick Pickles with Green Coriander & Dill Seed (vegan & gf recipe) | seasonal plant-based recipes via the Sweet Miscellany blog

A glut of cucumbers is transformed into a batch of quick pickles flavored with green coriander seed and dill seed. This combination of herbs yields a flavor similar to a classic dill pickle with a touch of brightness from the green coriander seed!

Inundated with pickling cucumbers from both the garden and the farm, I figured it was about time for some pickles. I used to make quick pickles/refrigerator pickles often when I lived up in East Texas, making quick work of it on a Saturday afternoon with my farmers market haul. It was satisfying to be able to make them myself with local ingredients rather than settling for something at the store. And since I wasn’t canning them for longterm storage, it was a quick and easy chore that didn’t work up too much of a sweat in my poorly air-conditioned apartment kitchen.

Quick Pickles with Green Coriander & Dill Seed | seasonal plant-based recipes via the Sweet Miscellany blog

I decided to flavor this batch with dill seed and green coriander. Both of these spices are signs that their fresh herby counterparts are done for the season, choosing to bolt in the presence of the slightest hint of heat. Originally I wanted to use fresh dill in these pickles but upon arriving at the farm last week, it was apparent that it had other plans. I chose to harvest the seeds instead for a different flavor profile. And, since I’m currently waiting on the coriander seed in my garden to dry out (the result of bolted cilantro), I figured some green coriander seed would make a nice addition to the brine!

You might immediately be thinking wait, where the hell do I get green coriander seed?! Chances are, unless you’ve also got cilantro that is going to seed in your garden, you won’t be able to find it anywhere. But, you can just as easily use whole coriander seed for a similar (and just as tasty) flavor! I’ve included notes on that substitution in the recipe below.

Want something a little different? Try these lemon cucumber quick pickles from the archives!

Quick Pickles with Green Coriander & Dill Seed

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

Author: Courtney
Total Time: 30 minutes
Diet: Vegan

Print Recipe

Description

Ingredients

Units Scale

Pickling Cucumbers (my cucumbers were on the larger size at 4-6 inches in length and I used about 3 per quart jar)
2 smashed garlic cloves for each quart jar
3/4 tsp whole dill seed for each quart jar
1/2 tsp green coriander (or 1/4 tsp dried coriander) for each quart jar
1 cup of filtered water for each quart jar
1 cup of distilled white vinegar for each quart jar
1 tbsp sea salt for each quart jar
1 1/2 tbsp natural cane sugar for each quart jar

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Make sure your jar(s) are clean. Rinse and dry your cucumbers then slice them in half lengthwise. Slice each of the halves lengthwise again so that you have 4 spears per cucumbers. If your pickles are particularly fat, you can slice them in half one more time. Once you’ve cut all of your pickles, fill your quart jar(s) with the cucumber spears. Based on how many quart jars you fill, you’ll be able to scale the recipe above to the appropriate amount. So, for each quart jar, you’ll add 2 smashed garlic cloves, 3/4 tsp whole dill seed, and 1/2 tsp green coriander (or 1/4 tsp whole dried coriander seed) to the cucumber spears.

Time to make the brine! For each quart you filled, you’ll add 1 cup of distilled white vinegar, 1 cup of filtered water, 1 tbsp of sea salt, and 1 1/2 tsbp natural cane sugar to a large pot. Heat the brine mixture over medium heat, stirring gently to encourage the salt and sugar to dissolve. Allow the brine to come to a simmer for 2-3 minutes before you remove it from the heat. Carefully pour the brine into the jars, making sure it completely covers the pickles. Place the lid on the jars and allow the pickles to cool for at least an hour before you move them to the fridge.

I recommend allowing these to pickle for at least 48 hours before eating one but in my opinion they are best after a week.

Notes

Green coriander is simply the fresh version of coriander seed before it has had a chance to dry out and turn brown. If you’d like to use whole coriander seed instead, you’ll use a heaped 1/4 tsp per jar.
I filled 3 quart sized jars based on the amount of cucumbers I had but I’ve written the recipe above so that you can scale based on how many jars you want to make!
This recipe is not formulated for canning/shelf stability. Keep your pickles in the fridge and they should last 2-3 months.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Category: side