Jill's Radishes

Every Monday is "Marvelous Mother Nature Monday" on my friend Jill’s Facebook page. She loves nature and has a vast knowledge of it and her posts are always so enjoyable to read.

“My gardens are thriving (so far!) I get such joy from the beauty and magic that I go out a couple of times a day just to gaze in wonder. Seriously. These plants are my babies. 

My radishes are round, red and ready to be picked and consumed - trouble is, I don't like radishes. No, I hate radishes. Seriously. I know, I know, why did I plant them? I could give you any number of reasons, but, they don't really matter. What matters is that I've got some really nice radishes that nobody over here wants to eat - please let me know if you'd like some! Seriously.”   ~ Jill

Well, well, well...I love radishes. Seriously. 

What to do with these 9 beautiful red gems? I wanted to do something different and so I roasted them. I’ve never roasted radishes. Roasting veggies brings a new dimension to them, a rich, brilliant, caramelized sweetness. These nuggets went from crunchy and spicy to mellow and soft. They reminded me of turnips only not as “bitey.”

But a tray of roasted radishes just didn’t do it for me...it needed some friends, so playtime began! And the end result was a farro salad with the radishes added to other roasted veggies: parsnips, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes. There was a beautiful pile of radish greens sitting on the counter and screaming, “DO NOT LET THESE GO TO WASTE!”  What goes good with greens? Bacon. Fry up a couple strips of bacon and saute the greens in the little bit of bacon grease, a splash of olive oil and cider vinegar, add it to the salad and voila...smoky bacon, tangy vinegar, earthy farro, sweet roasted veggies...Yum, yum, yum! 

Seriously.

Wordless Wednesday {First Blooms}

Pollen

The Miami Valley...this time of year fondly known as "Sinus Valley." Pollen counts have been high; allergy sufferers have been miserable. And here's proof...

This table is on my screened-in porch and I had wiped it off a little over a week ago. Just a little bit of pollen to send some noses into a tizzy! AHHHHH-CHOOOOO!!!!

Wordy Wednesday {Wine}

Connections...they make life meaningful.

When I taught, I asked my students how they connected to the book they were reading. Did the book remind them of another book they had read or a movie they had seen? Could they relate to any of the characters? Did something in the book bring back a memory?

Fast forward from the classroom to today's grocery shopping. I love to browse in the wine shop and look at the labels on the bottles. And yes, I will buy a bottle of wine because I like the label. And that happened today.

The Stump Jump...an Australian sauvignon blanc. I like sauvignon blanc and the name made me smile. It connected me back to the days when I would visit my grandparents who lived on a farm outside of Bloomington, Illinois. My grandpa taught me a tongue twister and it went like this:

A skunk sat on a stump.

The stump said the the skunk stunk 

and the skunk said the stump stunk.

Grandpa could say the tongue twister really fast without any mistakes. I remember trying to say it with a top front tooth missing...that was a "dithathter!"

Cheers to childhood memories ~

Simple Pleasures

Simple pleasures are one of the niceties in life. I was in New York City last week and came home to a very empty refrigerator. I should have gone grocery shopping right off the bat after getting home, but I didn't. Instead I spent the day outside waging war against the weeds that took advantage of my week's absence, tilled dirt in my gardens, and "vacuumed" up some heavy lawn clippings from the grass cutting Hubs had cut the day before. 

Dinner time arrived, I was starving, nothing of note to eat. The day had been a sunny, but cool spring day here in the Miami Valley and soup sounded good. Dorothy Lane Market, here I come, and please let one of the soup selections be Burgoo...please, please, please!

Burgoo...what a fun word! Back in the day when I lived in Owensboro, Kentucky, my parents would get Burgoo and other marvelous barbecue items from a little restaurant called the Moonlight Barbecue. My brothers and sister and I weren't too fond of this soup that was spicy, had all different kinds of meats and lots of veggies. We called it Bird-Doo.

Well, tastes change as we grow and I now love Burgoo. And it was one of the selections in the soup line up...YES!

Nothing better than a warm bowl of soup with lots of crackers crunched in to soothe, as Winnie-the-Poo would say, that "rumbly in my tumbly."

Soup...Saltines...Satisfaction...Simple

May 4

Wordy Wednesday {Waffles}

Homemade waffles...my mom made them for my brothers, sister and me when we were young. That tradition has passed on to my family. Waffles are a Sunday morning favorite.

I have used only one waffle recipe and it's from a Betty Crocker cookbook I received as a shower gift in 1980. The only waffle iron I have ever used is the one Hubs and I received as a wedding gift in 1980. (No cool touch lid on that "dinosaur!") It's always a game to try to get the perfect pour to end up with four perfect squares...this one came close!

And then to finish off the waffles, Vermont maple syrup from Dakin Farm. Pour the maple syrup on to fill each dimple...let it soak in for a few seconds...a little bit of heaven in each bite!