On Sunday last week a hurricane roared through Sag Harbor, her name was Irene and in the end my lemon cucumber plants were stripped of their leaves. Not a problem as the plants seem to be regenerating with new flowers and the existing cucumbers are much easier to find with the thinned foliage.

Lemon Cucumbers from the Estia garden for Lymanade recipe

We’ve had a regular at the East Hampton farmers market asking for our Cucumber Mint Lymanade for a few weeks now. The A. Sisters table featured raspberry, strawberry, watermelon, peach, and cantaloupe Lymanades as the season has progressed. Now it’s time to respond to the call for the Mojito mixer that’s been a late summer hit for the past 3 years.

Lymanade Variety

Each of our Lymanades feature a different seasonal, locally harvested fruit, but the basic recipe remains the same. Combine equal parts of lemon and lime juice (1 cup each) and then that much fruit puree (2 cups) with enough simple syrup to soften the citrus (1/2 to 1 cup)
and shake in an recycled wine bottle, chill and serve over ice with soda or your favorite spirit.

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup fresh lime juice
6 lemon cucumbers, just smaller than a tennis ball
3/4 cup simple syrup
6 to 10 mint leaves, stems removed, torn

In this case, start with the lemon and lime juice in a blender, then add the cucumbers after the ends and seeds have been removed. Run the blender on high for 3 minutes then add 6 or 8 shredded mint leaves into the mix and pulse the blender several times taking care not to completely puree the mint.