Black Americans crave locally harvested, coast-to-coast USDA Prime liberty, in all its bitter sweetness. On June 19, 1865, more than two years after President Abe Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, more than 250,000 enslaved Black Texans learned they were now free. Black joy often emanates from Black sorrow, and so it has been with that Southern American tendril of freedom, which has contributed to spread and strengthen. 

In my way, I have been part of that spread. I’ve celebrated Juneteenth with the brightest people in the culinary space in Austin, Texas, on the rooftops of Brooklyn, New York, with my dearest friends, and organized a neighborhood dinner and farm tour for Brownsville Community Culinary Center. Each of these celebrations was a time to block out the extraneous pieces of the workday world and feast on the food and liberation. Juneteenth has become my annual tradition throughout the years and always includes recipes that beat back the thick summer heat and are simple, swoon-worthy, and seasonal. In Watermelon & Red Birds, the first cookbook celebrating Juneteenth, I wrote recipes and stories to contribute to a growing Black cookbook genre that centers creativity. Books that seek more to chart a future for African American culinary traditions.

I have a cucumber granita recipe inspired by my friend, Chef Benjamin “BJ” Dennis, Gullah Geechee, cultural bearer in the Snow cones, Ice Pops, and Ice Cream chapter. I’ve watched him make many flavor combinations like yellow watermelon, but I landed on the humble cucumber. After all, my refrigerator barely closes because I’m constantly stuffing green vegetables in the lower storage bin in the summer months. Granita, widely known as a Sicilian dessert, is a combination of fruit, sugar, and water, and then frozen until set. The key to smooth granita is running your fork through the mixture a few times while in the freezer. If you have an abundance of zucchini, substitute it for the cucumber. This dinner treat is easy and refreshing. 

Cucumber Granita

SERVES 6

½  cup sugar

½ cup water

2 teaspoons lime zest, plus extra for garnish

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

4 cups cubed cucumbers (about 2 large)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

6 sprigs dill

• Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring, until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 1 minute. Immediately remove from the heat.
• Transfer the sugar mixture to a high-speed blender or food processor and add the lime zest and juice, cucumber, and salt. Blend until smooth, about 30 seconds.
• Pour the mixture into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan or baking sheet. Freeze in 45-minute increments, dragging a fork through to mix and break up large chunks after each time, until a frozen and fluffy ice mixture forms, 6 to 8 hours total.
• To serve, divide the granita among six dishes and garnish each with a sprig of dill and a sprinkling of lime zest.