Do You Like Radishes?

Well, do you like radishes? Some people don't. They're spicy...too hot...tough...just don't care for them. Nice garnish, but nothing to really consider eating. I never was much of a store-bought radish person either. But home-grown radishes are really tasty. We have been growing Cherry Belle for the last few years, and then added Scarlet White Tip this year. These are good!

Radishes need to grow quickly enough to avoid being invaded by root maggots or becoming hot and tough, so they need plenty of cool, moist soil. They are a  perfect vegetable for growing in the spring or late fall. The fact that they mature in 30-something days makes for a rewarding effort in the garden when there isn't much of anything else growing. OrganicGardening gives some great tips on growing radishes too.

But what to do with these guys other than putting into a salad? Here's what I do. It's not much of a recipe; pretty much more of a procedure:

Toast a somewhat thick slice of peasant/rustic bread.
Butter it. (THIS is the key ingredient. Don't skip this step.)
Layer thinly sliced radishes over the entire slice.
Sprinkle with kosher salt. (Table salt would work but would not taste quite the same.)

Enjoy, and then find yourself making another helping.

It's the first part of June here, and the radishes are still growing strong. So I've kept up my succession planting. We've had an extremely damp, cool spring which has probably helped. I know that once our temperatures start climbing, the radishes will just be a memory until fall.

2010 Goat Kids

HM Kari's 2010 triplets

For other links about Kari, click here.

Weaning Goat Kids

The sun is out today, and there is promise of no rain for a few days, so it's goat kid weaning day. Our first six kids of the year to be born are a little overdue to be separated from their mothers. We usually wean right around three months of age. But since we have been having torrential downpours and experience tells us that the kids will stand outside and holler, waiting until the weather moderates is in their best interest. The two does whom we will begin to start milking ourselves are experienced mothers and don't seem the least bit worried that their kids are starting to holler just on the other side of the fence. They look just a little bit secretively relieved to be off mother duty at three kids a piece. The kids about now though are pretty convinced that day-camp is over, and it is time to go back to mom. I do believe it is going to be a pretty noisy night outside later on.