Mothership Meals and Satellite Saucers: Radish Love

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Radish Love

It's time to spread a little love in the world for my good friends, the radish.

They are so crunchy and spicy and sharp! They are like the meanest of vegetables. They are like your mean friend who has a sharp tongue and always says really incisive things that cut to the bone and sting, but later you have to admit she was right. And plus she is so refreshing after all the sweet lies everyone else always tells.

I almost always have radishes in the fridge, in a cold glass of water which keeps them from getting soft. In the winter it's black radishes, which seem like something that came out of the frozen tundra in Siberia, and you know just by looking at them that there is some intense survival compound in there. It is not a vegetable that wasted any resources on being pretty or perfumey or sweet. Like your friend who is ugly and brilliant and -- okay, enough with the friend metaphors.

Unlike mean friends, radishes have been scientifically proven to be good for you. They contain this phytonutrient called Isothiocyanates, which I can't pronounce or spell or remember, but which apparently stops carcinogens in their tracks.

Anyway, the pretty radishes are in season now, but they are still sharp and mean and refreshing.

Here's how I eat them:

-On good French bread with good butter and lots of coarse sea salt
-With cheddar cheese
-Sliced in salads
-Sliced and laid on top of slices of cheese on top of Ry-Vita or Wasa crackers
-Pickled in rice vinegar and salt and mirin and served with brown rice

And now Mark Bittman's blog has another suggestion: Radish Salad. I am totally trying this.

Are my kids going to eat radishes? Uhh, no. Probably not for a few years, when they've killed off enough taste buds so they can stand the spiciness. I'm just setting a good example for them now. With my radish sandwich. They're so good!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...: Hi:

Adding to the wonderfulness of the radish: you can make its greens into a great pesto, which I based on a recipe my husband found in Barbara Kafka's "Vegetable Love": Sautee 3 minced garlic cloves in 1/4 cup olive oil until the garlic is soft; add 4 cups stemmed and washed radish greens. Sautee until well wilted. Pulse in a food processor with 3 tbsps water, salt and pepper to taste, and 1/3 cup parmesan cheese. Serve over pasta.

Thanks for the blog!
Liz (Jamie's friend and upstairs neighbor); June 22, 2008 at 7:25 PM
Larissa said...: Liz, that sounds amazing! As I've mentioned here and there, my inner-Puritan hates throwing away perfectly good vegetable scraps, so this will make her very happy, and the rest of me, too. Thanks for posting!
-Larissa; June 30, 2008 at 9:29 AM

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The Mothership Method

(Or, how to sit down for dinner with your family without completely losing your mind)

It would be great if kids AND parents wanted boiled chicken and baby carrots every night for dinner. But, too bad, we picky parents want spicy, exotic, fun foods, and our kids want, well, sorta lame foods.
Here's the solution: break it down. Serve the dish deconstructed, and let everyone put their own dish together at the table. Sort of like tapas, or smorgasbord, or tacos. Or how in some parts of China you get a bowl of rice, and everything else is in the middle of the table and you take what you want for your own little bowl of rice. That way everyone gets to eat what they want, parents don't have to nag their kids, and kids get to feels some ownership over their meals. Plus, kids get exposed to the look and taste of the foods you hope they will one day love. But it's not just tacos. You'll be amazed at what can be served with the Mothership Method.

Ten Tips to Get Through Dinner Without Having A Nervous Breakdown

1. Accept That Kids Are Picky. No need to freak out on your cooking ability, or look at your kids like there is something wrong with them. It's called "neo-phobia", and it's just how they are, especially from ages 3-6.

2. Serve Meals Broken Down. Even grown-up meals like coconut curry or linguine with clams can be served in their elements, making them more appealing to kids. Grown ups can assemble their own jumble of deliciousness at their own plate while kids take on the pared-down elements.

3. Push if it Works, But Don't Nag If It Doesn't. Some kids are okay with being expected to taste everything on their plate. Others aren't. I think it's okay to push kids -- but not if you're turning dinner into a battlefield.

4. Suggest a Smell. Smelling a new food is easier than tasting it, and can sometimes provide a kid with the information needed to take that scary first bite. But don't confine smelling to new foods. Smell favorites, too, and help them develop their sense of smell by making a game out of it.

5. Don't Ask "Do You Like It?" Instead, try, "What does this remind you of?" or, "Would your cousins like this?" or, "Does this taste salty or sweet?". Asking if they like it or not gives kids too much power and ends the conversation. Besides, we don't care if they like it! We just want them to keep tasting it until it is familiar.

6. Don't Get Frustrated. Imagine being in Taiwan, or Nairobi, or Rome for the first time. Would you eat everything on the local menu? New foods are scary and gross. Our kids need time to learn about the foods that we eat.

7. No SubstitutionsThis is family dinner, not a diner. You, in all your wisdom, have provided foods that are healthy and delicious and appropriate for your children. There is something on the table for them to eat. Period.

8. No Snacks Before Dinner. This can be the hardest with our hectic schedules and hungry kids. But children who come to the table hungry are more likely to eat than cause trouble.

9. Put Peer Pressure To Your Advantage. School children are more likely to accept new foods if the alpha girls in their group accept them. Swap healthy food ideas on playdates.

10. Involve Your Kids In Cooking, Shopping, and Gardening. The more experience kids have handling and preparing a variety of foods, the more likely they are to eventually accept the foods. (But don't get upset if they help you make a complicated wonderful meal, and then refuse to eat it.)