Radishes, or something new

It has been so nice not having to go to school on Saturdays! I can now go to the farmer's market in my town (after sleeping in and going out to breakfast of course).

It's kind of scary and exciting to have so much produce available already in the season here.

The delicious organic strawberries actually came in a little wooden pint container, but I brought my glass pyrex container to put them in instead - the farmers where of course happy to take back the wooden container to reuse. The glass container also keeps the strawberries safe, and ensures that they don't get squished - I can essentially toss it in my bag and not worry about it.

And then there are the radishes... I am always trying to broaden my palate, but it's easy to feel comfortable with the same old shopping patterns - especially when they are based on what I know my family will definitely eat. But the other nice thing about the farmer's market is that I can buy something on a whim because it looks good when I might not buy it in the store simply because I'm not looking for it. This is how I ended up with radishes - I never buy them because I'm not generally a huge fan, plus my family finds them to be too spicy. But they looked so good, so I'm making it a point to enjoy them.

I made some guacamole from the most perfectly ripe avocados (not purchased at the farmer's market, sadly) and decided to use the radish slices in place of chips to dip in it. It was pretty good! They were perfectly crunchy and the spice grew on me. Since I'm always looking for healthier alternatives for munchy food, I think I might be doing this more frequently. By the way, cucumbers are pretty good guacamole vehicles as well.

And since I was enjoying trying to find ways to incorporate radishes into my diet, I decided to make a pressed salad with them. I had a head of cabbage that was looking to be utilized, so I sliced it finely and added thinly sliced radishes and carrots and a clove of garlic, then sprinkled some himala salt all over it and tossed it thoroughly with my hands. Mix it well until it starts to feel wet, and then place a plate on top of it and place a weight of some sort on top of that. I like to let mine sit for a long time, hours or maybe even over night. The longer it sits, the more soft and digestible it becomes - it is like a raw form of cooking. You can taste it to see if you like it and once you are satisfied with the taste, pour the water off and serve. You will be surprised how much water there is, trust me.

Ok, I'm off to find a use for my last three radishes... but I think I might just slice them up, grind a little salt on top, and munch them down. Mmmmm!