Summer's almost here and its starting to warm up around here.  I love summer, the heat and humidity (that's right, I said humidity), its the time when fresh produce just rolls in and overflows my shopping basket. In my opinion a key flavor of summer is cucumber and I have done almost everything imaginable to them...or so I thought. Erin, in our Features Department, stopped by and was raving about a cucumber cosmopolitan and cucumber mojito she recently had.  She loved the refreshing taste and enlisted my help so she could recreate the flavors at home. Now I have had a cucumber mojito before, but the cucumber cosmo threw me for a loop. So I hustled to the store, picked up a couple of cucumbers, and headed back to the Test Kitchens to try out some ideas I had floating in my head. The only way I could imagine  you could get a concentrated cucumber flavor into a martini glass without dicing half of a cucumber and letting it soak for 2 hours, was to make a concentrated juice.  So I came with a great recipe for cucumber juice (and yes it really is that green). 

2 large cucumbers, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 tsp. sugar

Pinch salt

Process all ingredients together in a food processor or blender.  Strain through a fine wire mesh strainer.  Rinse out strainer and line with cheesecloth. Strain juice through cheesecloth and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Makes about 1 cup.

I stirred about 1/3 cup into a pitcher half filled with lemonade, a few of cups of seltzer, and loads of crushed ice for a truly refreshing drink; add some vodka and it's even better. This recipe is definately worth a try so pull out your bar kit and drizzle a couple of tablespoons of this elixir into your favorite fruit based cocktail for a refreshing taste of summer.