{"id":11881,"date":"2018-05-09T07:49:57","date_gmt":"2018-05-08T21:49:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/?p=11881"},"modified":"2018-05-11T17:38:54","modified_gmt":"2018-05-11T07:38:54","slug":"cute-as-a-cucamelon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/cute-as-a-cucamelon\/","title":{"rendered":"Cute as a cucamelon"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Not for the first time I found myself the recipient of the bountiful produce of a friend\u2019s green thumbs. \u201cBut my, oh my, what are these little treasures? Cucamelon you say? Never heard of, or seen them, in my life!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This article is probably too late now for avid gardeners for this season, as this easy-to-grow plant needs to be grown from seed in spring for a longish-summer harvest period. And it seems they are a very prolific plant! My friends shared their recipe for a simple but sensational salsa, which I think would be delicious with any rich food such as salmon, or pork. They\u2019ve been enjoying the salsa on grilled sourdough bread as a kind of bruschetta, but equally I think this salsa could be served in those dinky ceramic Japanese spoons as part of antipasto spread.<\/p>\n<p>The cucamelon, I have now learned, is also known as a \u201cmouse melon\u201d, Mexican sour gherkin, and possibly best of all as \u201csandiita\u201d, which means \u201clittle watermelon\u201d in Spanish.<\/p>\n<p>This last descriptor makes perfect sense because they do have the markings of a watermelon, but are the size of a grape! Technically a fruit, the cucamelon (Melothria scabra) is a native plant of Mexico and Central America, where it has been grown and eaten since pre-Columbian times. Taste-wise they are a cross between a cucumber with a somewhat tart or sour note like a lime \u2013 very, very refreshing, and addictive I think. You could easily munch on them just as you do a cherry tomato. The plant is drought resistant, and grows as a vine with a leaf similar to an ivy leaf. I think Gavan has had weeks and weeks of harvesting and was possibly quite glad to handball a large quantity to me, complete with their delicious salsa recipe, which I believe was printed on the back of the seed packet!<\/p>\n<p>They are crisp, and although full of seeds, are much firmer to the bite that a cucumber. Some say you can add them to stir fries \u2013 but I think I\u2019ll stay with the salsa, and am keen to try pickling some.<\/p>\n<p>To make the cucamelon salsa, simply cut the fruit into small discs approximately 3mm, and combine with some fresh, finely sliced chilli (or chilli flakes), a squeeze of lime juice, a little olive oil, a slurp of maple syrup, some finely diced red onion. You could then boost this into a delicious salad by combining the salsa with the leaves of a bunch of continental parsley. Lately, I\u2019ve also been making some yummy, grainy salads by combining any combination of cooked brown rice, burghal, tiny green lentils (available in tins), freekah \u2013 and now I could envisage adding this cucamelon salsa to the lentils for a scrumptious lunch.<\/p>\n<p>But right now I\u2019m heading off to the kitchen to pickle the cucamelons, and will happily return a jar of them to Gavan the gardener to enjoy as an appreciative gift for introducing me to something I\u2019d never seen or eaten before!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Not for the first time I found myself the recipient of the bountiful produce of a friend\u2019s green thumbs. \u201cBut my, oh my, what are these little treasures? Cucamelon you say? Never heard of, or seen them, in my life!\u201d This article is probably too late now for avid gardeners for this season, as this [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/cute-as-a-cucamelon\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":11852,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-11881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-living"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Cute as a cucamelon - Surf Coast Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/cute-as-a-cucamelon\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cute as a cucamelon - Surf Coast Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Not for the first time I found myself the recipient of the bountiful produce of a friend\u2019s green thumbs. \u201cBut my, oh my, what are these little treasures? Cucamelon you say? Never heard of, or seen them, in my life!\u201d This article is probably too late now for avid gardeners for this season, as this [...]Read More...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/cute-as-a-cucamelon\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Surf Coast Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-05-08T21:49:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-05-11T07:38:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/05\/Cucamelon.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"505\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"219\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mary-Ellen Belleville\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mary-Ellen Belleville\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/cute-as-a-cucamelon\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/cute-as-a-cucamelon\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mary-Ellen Belleville\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3da556a8472586d75aa8fdcddfc697c7\"},\"headline\":\"Cute as a cucamelon\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-05-08T21:49:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-05-11T07:38:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/cute-as-a-cucamelon\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":512,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/cute-as-a-cucamelon\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/Cucamelon.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Living\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/cute-as-a-cucamelon\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/cute-as-a-cucamelon\\\/\",\"name\":\"Cute as a cucamelon - Surf Coast Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/cute-as-a-cucamelon\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/cute-as-a-cucamelon\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/Cucamelon.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-05-08T21:49:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-05-11T07:38:54+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/cute-as-a-cucamelon\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/cute-as-a-cucamelon\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/cute-as-a-cucamelon\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/Cucamelon.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/Cucamelon.jpg\",\"width\":505,\"height\":219,\"caption\":\"A friend\u2019s garden provided a bounty of cucamelon\u2019s for Mary-Ellen.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/cute-as-a-cucamelon\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Cute as a cucamelon\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Surf Coast Times\",\"description\":\"Free local news\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Surf Coast Times\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/cropped-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/cropped-logo.png\",\"width\":350,\"height\":38,\"caption\":\"Surf Coast Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3da556a8472586d75aa8fdcddfc697c7\",\"name\":\"Mary-Ellen Belleville\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/author\\\/maryellenbelleville\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Cute as a cucamelon - Surf Coast Times","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/cute-as-a-cucamelon\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Cute as a cucamelon - Surf Coast Times","og_description":"Not for the first time I found myself the recipient of the bountiful produce of a friend\u2019s green thumbs. \u201cBut my, oh my, what are these little treasures? Cucamelon you say? Never heard of, or seen them, in my life!\u201d This article is probably too late now for avid gardeners for this season, as this [...]Read More...","og_url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/cute-as-a-cucamelon\/","og_site_name":"Surf Coast Times","article_published_time":"2018-05-08T21:49:57+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-05-11T07:38:54+00:00","og_image":[{"width":505,"height":219,"url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/05\/Cucamelon.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Mary-Ellen Belleville","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mary-Ellen Belleville","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/cute-as-a-cucamelon\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/cute-as-a-cucamelon\/"},"author":{"name":"Mary-Ellen Belleville","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#\/schema\/person\/3da556a8472586d75aa8fdcddfc697c7"},"headline":"Cute as a cucamelon","datePublished":"2018-05-08T21:49:57+00:00","dateModified":"2018-05-11T07:38:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/cute-as-a-cucamelon\/"},"wordCount":512,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/cute-as-a-cucamelon\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/05\/Cucamelon.jpg","articleSection":["Living"],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/cute-as-a-cucamelon\/","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/cute-as-a-cucamelon\/","name":"Cute as a cucamelon - Surf Coast Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/cute-as-a-cucamelon\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/cute-as-a-cucamelon\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/05\/Cucamelon.jpg","datePublished":"2018-05-08T21:49:57+00:00","dateModified":"2018-05-11T07:38:54+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/cute-as-a-cucamelon\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/cute-as-a-cucamelon\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/cute-as-a-cucamelon\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/05\/Cucamelon.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/05\/Cucamelon.jpg","width":505,"height":219,"caption":"A friend\u2019s garden provided a bounty of cucamelon\u2019s for Mary-Ellen."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/cute-as-a-cucamelon\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Cute as a cucamelon"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/","name":"Surf Coast Times","description":"Free local news","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#organization","name":"Surf Coast Times","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/08\/cropped-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/08\/cropped-logo.png","width":350,"height":38,"caption":"Surf Coast Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#\/schema\/person\/3da556a8472586d75aa8fdcddfc697c7","name":"Mary-Ellen Belleville","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/author\/maryellenbelleville\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11881"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11881\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11881"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=11881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}