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More from FoodCucumber in your cocktail
Cheers! Cucumber-based drinks are light and refreshing, perfect for an evening on the patio. A wedge of cucumber is the classic garnish for the Pimm's Cup cocktail (made with a gin-derived spirit), but if you can't get enough cucumber, muddled cucumber or cucumber juice would be a great pairing for the herbal notes of any gin. Try making a gimlet with a cucumber-juice base, or try cucumber-juice in a mojitolike drink with lime, mint and gin.
Foil a grate way to clean grill
If you don't have a grill brush handy, use a crumpled-up ball of aluminum foil to clean your grill grates either before or after cooking. It's particularly important to have clean grates before cooking delicate foods like fish; the cleaner the grate, the less likely your food is to stick to it.
Get 'em while they're plump
Gooseberries are a relative of the currant and the tomatillo. They're plump, brightly colored berries that tend to be tart early in the season and sweet later. They might have a papery outer coating (called the "cape") on them, like tomatillos sometimes do. The tart ones generally need to be cooked, ideally with a bit of sugar, as they can be mouth-puckering. They are a great accompaniment to oily fish like mackerel or bluefish, or add them to trifles and summer puddings if you're feeling particularly British. Look for plump, grapelike gooseberries, with or without capes. Remove the capes and wash away the sticky residue on the outside before cooking.
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