Cucumber and Melons

Alex and I share a great love for cucumbers. They have a crisp, watery flavour that goes with just about any salad combo I know. If Alex asks for a 'salad' he usually means cucumber rounds, carrot and olives. When I tell him a salad usually has some type of lettuce in it he reassures me I am completely wrong and not to speak of lettuce again!

 With Sydney's fantastic weather 90% of the time my taste buds with the Mexican flare suit this climate very well. When cooking in summer at Campagnola you'd get hot, when working on the grill section your body would boil. Many a night servers (waiters) would ask me if I was OK due to the redness in my face and sweat running down my back. As uncomfortable as it got at times I wouldn't swap it for any other spot in the kitchen. Working the grill was one of the best parts about a restaurant kitchen. If you were having a good night, the whole restaurant was running well, if you started to go down then you'd pull the whole restaurant with you- yep it is all about the control factor!

Anyway I am getting side tracked- on summer nights the prep guy would usually have a few spare minutes before or after service and would peel and scrape out cucumbers 2-4 at a time then soak them in lime juice, chilli flakes, lots of salt and then we would all dig in. It was such a refreshing snack; reviving you while leaving a refreshing flavour in your mouth. 

I started this at home and the family hasn't looked back. Along with cucumbers, any melon gets a good going over with lime/lemon juice and a shake or two of chilli. It's a bit like eating peanut butter- very nice on it's own but when spread with jam (jelly) it is just delicious!

For a family friendly recipe visit kidspot