Circle M Farm

Spring is really and truly sprung here at Circle M Farm. In fact, we’ve enjoyed temperatures in the 80s for several days. Or at least endured. The un-sheared sheep have actually suffered. But today the grass in their turn-out pasture finally reached the height I was looking for, so they have moved on to the new grass and can at least eat fresh greens while they suffer in the sun. We are eating fresh greens, too. And party-colored radishes. Delicious!

But I find it ironic that the earliest harvests from the garden are mesclun salad greens, which are somewhat bitter, and radishes, which are spicy. Spicy and bitter aren’t really “Spring-y” tastes, to me they are more emblematic of Summer. You’d think things so young, fresh and innocent would be mild and unjaded. You’d think they’d need time to develop such strong tastes. Spicy and bitter seem like flavors that belong to plants that have lived long and seen a lot of sun. Of course, by the time the heat is really on, both the lettuces and the radishes will be so strong as to be inedible. Then it’s time to eat mild vegetables like cucumbers.

Salad is always popular in my house, but nobody eats radishes but me. I love the watery snap of biting through the bright, perky globe. Maybe my gardener’s heart simply has to appreciate a vegetable that is ready to eat in under 3 weeks and doesn’t mind part shade. But I can’t be alone in the world – the variety of radishes that are available is mind-boggling. Just this spring I’ve grown Black Spanish, Sparkler, Easter Egg, Hailstone, Red Meat, Early Scarlet, and German Beer. Oh, and The French Breakfast Radish. The back of my seed packet actually says, “Whether anybody in France actually eats these for breakfast remains a mystery.” A survey of Google and Epicurious turned up no recipes involving radishes in breakfast dishes. But I did find a culinary school recipe that served thinly sliced radishes on buttered baguette slices, seasoned with salt and pepper. Mmmmm, that sounds delightful. Sort of like those skinny English tea sandwiches, only with crust. Breakfast tomorrow!