There has been a wide variety of flowers and plants for sale the past couple of weeks at our market. I’m sure many mothers received some of them as gifts this past Sunday. Each week we will see an increase in the variety of fresh local produce available for purchase as well. Asparagus is still in season; lettuce and greens are coming on strong; green onions are ready; and there will even be some sugar snap peas available this week.
All winter we look forward to the taste of fresh vegetables from the garden. One of the first to be ready, of course, is the radish. Way back in January, I brought home a small painting of a radish from my friend Nora’s art gallery. I hung the painting in the kitchen and nearly every day since then I have looked at that radish just waiting for the spring days when I would once again harvest the real thing from my garden. The smell of the dirt as you pull it out of the ground, the juicy crunch, and the pungent spicy taste, are what make the radish a true spring icon.
If you are planting a garden with your children or grandchildren, radishes are a great place to start. The seeds grow so easily and produce so quickly that the kids will feel really successful right off the bat, which will hopefully lead to more gardening enthusiasm. Also, radishes don’t just come in red, but also come in white, pink, and even purple, so you can have some fun variety in your garden as well.
Rich Schroeder, fellow vegetable grower and radish fan, gave me the following recipe this week.
Red Radish Butter
½ cup radishes
1 cup green onions
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 cup softened butter
Finely chop onions and radishes in a food processor. Mix with mustard and butter. Makes ½ cup. Good on sandwiches, crackers, and with broiled fish and meat.
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