THE LOVELY CRAZY

The radishes in my garden have gone from these tiny little wisps of green to a freaking jungle of greens with bright red bulbs bursting through the dirt. Ah, radishes., those little red balls of zesty crisp goodness that grow like crazy in the garden. They are no fuss, no joke, toss them seeds into the grown and bam, you get you some radishes. No matter how crappy of a gardener you might think you are, I bet you could grow you some radishes no problem.

And with those radishes comes a butt load of greens, the greens that everyone seems to just toss away which is crazy because the greens are so good. They are tender and zippy and make for great eating. I usually just toss them into salads or whatever but I guess I went a little overboard with the planting of the radishes and I have so so so many radishes all ready to be pulled now with so so so many greens that need to be eaten. So pesto. Fresh early summer, tangy and bright green goodness. It is super tasty and great. Definitely anew favorite and a great way to use up your radish greens.

The stuff. Lemon, olive oil, garlic, walnuts, salt and pepper and a bunch of radish greens.

Pretty freaking simple here. Stick garlic, and walnuts into the bottom of the blender and give that a pulse or two. (I would have used my food processor but the new blade has yet to arrive). Add in all the greens, the juice of lemons, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Turn on low and stream in a oil. You might need to push down greens to get them into the blenders vortex.

And once it's all blended you have pesto.

Pour it into a jar and it's ready to go.

Eat it any way you eat your pesto.

Enjoy

-C

Radish Greens Pesto

Makes about 2 cups

4ish cups radish greens (I used the greens from about 10 radishes)
1-2 lemons
3/4 cup toasted walnuts
4 cloves garlic
about 1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper

Stick walnuts, garlic and the juice of the lemons into a food processor or blender. Give it a pulse or two. Add in a pinch of salt ans pepper then the greens. Turn on blender and stream in olive oil. You might need to stop a few times to push the greens down. Blend until combines. Taste and season with more salt and pepper to taste.

Pour finishes pesto into a jar. Eat with pasta, use as dip, smear on toast, dollop in soup. Eat it however you like.

Lasts for a week or two in fridge and freezes really well .

Having a vegetable garden is one of my joys of summer. You put seeds into the ground, water, weed, whisper sweet nothings to the plants as they start to grown and flourish. It's all like magic.

And in the garden, working our crazy magic, we grow all sorts of things; broccoli, beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, and so on. And even though all equally fantastic and exiting to watch grow, they take a bit more love and care and most of all, time.

But not radishes. First into the ground as soon as the ground allows, and first to come to maturity. the lovely radishes is a champion on it's own. Yeah, we thin and weed and water them a bit, but basically, once these zinging roots take hold, they shoot up and take charge. And within a month are ready to be picked and eaten. The closest thing to instant gratification in the garden that we can get.

This salad… oh this a good one. Its very slightly sweet, yet still has bit of bitter with a touch of spice and acid. A salad of the first radish harvest of the year,greens and all. (thanks to So, a little that will toss a cherry lollipop to the ground in exchange for a dirty bright red radish, and its greens. …she's the best!) I feel in love with radish greens a many years back when I started a veggie garden of my own and realized the radishes do in fact grow with leaves and that those leaves are vey much tasty. Now I can't imagine eating radishes without eating the leaves., that just seems like taking the best part and tossing it. Crazy, that's what that is. And as crazy as it it, I still find that most people are tossing there greens.

So stop being an ass and eat them.

The stuff. A big bunch of radishes, chickpeas, and red onion. Red wine vinegar for the onions, honey for a sweet drizzle, salt, pepper and olive oil.

First thing first.. get that vinegar ond a sprinkle of salt on those onions. The longer they have to sit, the better.

And now that we got that out of the way, remove radishes from greens, give them a good wash, and chop them in half (or quarters if really big)

Toss the cut up radishes and the chickpeas into a lightly oiled skillet on medium high heat and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Give them a stir and let cook.

Once the radishes are slightly browned and tender, turn the heat to low and drizzle on honey (If vegan, use agave or maple syrup)

While the skillet is still hot, toss your greens into and stir around until wilted.

Finish with the pickled red onion and grab a fork. I am all about plating food for others to eat, but I ate my half right out of the pan…one less dish.

Now eat you radishes!

Have a great hump day!

-C

All the Radish and Chickpea Salad

A big bunch of fresh radishes, greens included
1cup of chick peas, drained (if using canned,reserve liquid for a future magic use.. come back soon and I'll show you)
1/2 of a red onion
2 ish tablespoons red wine vinegar
salt and pepper
olive oil
1-2 teaspoon honey (optinal)

Thinly slice the red onion and place in a bowl with a sprinkle of salt and the vinegar and set aside. Grab your radishes and remove radishes from leaves, wash leaves and set aside. Cut radishes in half (or quarters if really big) and toss into a lightly oiled skillet on medium high heat, along with the chickpeas. Cook until the radishes are slightly browned and tender. Once cooked turn heat to low, drizzle the radishes with honey (or whatever sweetner you're using) and mix around. Toss in the cleaned rashish leaves and mix those around until wilted. When ready to serve, top with the pickled red onion and a bit more pepper.

Eat hot, warm, or cold.

A fork works better then a spoon.