apple radish slaw

To say I love this slaw is a disservice to the universe.  It's so delicious and perfect that I want to eat it every day (and I have been).  It's smart in that it's portable, gets better with age and is comprised of a whopping 5 ingredients–something I can stay on board with.

Ya'll might be tired of hearing about radishes, but this is my life!  Yes, radishes.  (At least until they disappear from the markets.)  At Georgetown's last weekend, I was meandering through the aisles doing my Expedia-esque price comparisons, when I stumbled upon the jackpot: tri-colored bunches of radishes that required practically two hands to hold as the radishes were erring on the size of small apples.  For a dollar.  Each. (I'm talkin' $1 per bunch, not radish.)  Naturally, I bought as many that would fit in my envirosax (three) and smugly smiled all the way back to Queen Anne.

Matchstick'd along with my long-time love, Pink Lady apples, green onion, a squeeze of an oversized lemon and a generous dousing of French oak barrel-aged apple cider vinegar, it's one of the best simple salads I've ever eaten.

It hardly requires a recipe, but for ballparking:
2 Pink Lady apples (You might prefer to peel the apple first, but I like the color so I leave it.)
3-4 XL radishes
3-4 green onions
1/2 large lemon
2-3 T barrel-aged apple cider vinegar

Using a mandoline, cut the apples and radishes into matchsticks. Squeeze the lemon half over to discourage browning. Add chopped green onion and vinegar. Stir to combine and chill before serving. Even better the next day.

whole roasted tokyo turnips

Sorry radishes, but the greens on these tokyo turnips were good enough to eat!

whole roasted tokyo turnips @ the kitchn

Note: This made an extremely filling dinner.  Delicious but not conducive to leftovers, a couple of these were casualities of a single girl and diner's kitchen.

side dish or dinner? braised radishes

I've never really thought much about radishes, but since I've owned a mandoline this last year, I've enjoyed paper-thin slices as a portable work snack. Almost as good as a peppery Kettle chip. I've always wanted to get trendy and eat radish slices with a good-quality butter finished with a sprinkling of fancy salt, but I typically don't believe in wasting fat on vegetables. I'll take pizza if I'm going to splurge, thanks.

And yes, it's June, but the weather remains depressingly rainy and chilly in Seattle.  While it seems like the rest of the country's feasting on fruit and cool, crunchy salads, I'm craving something hearty and warm.  I'm finally a little bored of the plain chicken I've been eating for what feels like forever (hence lack of content to post), so I stopped by the Queen Anne Farmers Market yesterday for some inspiration.

The pictured French breakfast radishes made it home with me.  A quick online search led me to this recipe for braised radishes at the Kitchn.  A lone shallot was the only other produce I had on hand, thus dinner was born.

I skipped the butter and salt pork in lieu of a scant teaspoon of olive oil, and I subbed my favorite low-sodium chicken broth from Trader Joe's for the water. No doubt the fats would make this a richer dish, but the substitutions fared well because I ate the whole thing for dinner tonight and may or may not have licked the bowl clean.

Must. Have. More. If you see a crazy lady snatching up all the radishes that can be bought at tomorrow's Georgetown Market, please say hi.

junk dinner?

After a long work week, I took my pilates trainer's suggestion and hit the gym for some swimming. I am pushing it when I claim to be a runner, so I have no shame in admitting that I am in no way a swimmer. In my gym membership's 5 year lifespan, I have hit the pool twice. I consider this a victory.

I was famished by the time I got home! Scanning my fridge, I thought I would follow the tone of my day's lunch and throw everything I had in my skillet. I know it isn't trendy to be "matchy matchy" but bare with me. Hmmm...that left me with some odds and ends and the bounty of goodness from the week's Costco trip. Baby spinach, fresh basil (left over from my white pizza), cherry tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, fat free feta, crushed red pepper, shallots and cremini mushrooms.

I chopped what need to be chopped, threw everything but the basil and spinach to saute with the marinated sun dried tomatoes. When good and toasty, I threw in the greens until they were ready to go and then topped with the feta.

As it was Friday night, I felt it only considerate to invite over my good friend, Jacob's Creek! ;-)