The Radish

Radishes were part of our CSA delivery this week.

Everything I know about Radishes, I learned from my father.

There are exactly two ways to eat a radish.

The first is to wander through the garden inspecting your plants and when you get to the spot where the radishes grow, you pull one or two and wipe the dirt off with your thumb. You pop the greens off and leave them lying in the garden path. You might clean the radish a little more on your shirt tail as you make your way to the hydrant, where you will clean the radish even more thoroughly. Finally, you simply pop it in your mouth and eat it. If it's a particularly large radish, or you want to share it with your daughter, you might pull your pocket knife from your pocket and slice your radish into halves or thirds or quarters. But it's okay to eat a radish whole. They're tasty that way and you'll know right away if this is a season when your radishes will be mild or if they'll have a bit of a kick to them.

The second way to eat a radish is to gather up a bunch of them and bring them into the house where mom will put them in a strainer and wash the dirt off in the sink. You get a slice of bread and butter it. Take one of those clean radishes and slice it thin, layering it on half that slice of bread. Fold the bread over and eat. You've got yourself a radish sandwich.