Radish Dip from Martha Stewart

Don't you hate those awkward conversations you have to have once in a while when you are stuck for what feels like an eternity? Say, for example, you are waiting for your son to be released from school, and your good friend sends her husband to school. You've met the guy a few times but you don't really know him, and now you're stuck for 6 minutes staring at a closed classroom door struggling for things to say.

How 'bout them Dodgers? And the weather's nice, eh?

Don't think I'm being awkward, but how about that weather? I don't know what it's like for you right now, but lately my little corner of Southern California is not acting at all like Southern California. We are supposed to get 4 inches of rain over the winter, and then a couple months of glorious days in the 70s and 80s and then a hot summer. In precisely that order. We don't flip flop between seasons. We don't go back to rainy days after they are done and spring has come.

But these days the weather is acting like... like... like the midwest. I love the midwest, I do. Despite growing up in Sunny paradise here, most of my childhood memories (and certainly my best memories) are from my summers in Green Bay. It's just that since small neighborhood houses here sell for close to a million dollars, you ought to get sunshine with your mortgage payment. Every day.

The past month had been kooky. One day it's raining, the next it's sunny and hot. Then back to overcast and cold. We even had... ugh... humidity. One Friday I was running, with my hood up, through the pouring rain to my daughter's classroom. The next Friday, at the exact same time, I was walking there in a sundress, trying to find ways to distract myself and stay in the sunshine for just a few seconds longer.

So, we are making the best of it and trying to stay outside every second we can to soak up the sun on the days it is here.  Which means that my kindergartner has gotten to go swimming with some of his buddies during the precious hours between kindergarten dismissal at noon and the big kids coming home at 2:30 or more than a couple of occasions. It's good to be the baby of the family, isn't it? And hey, we have to make hay while the sun shines. (Clearly that is an expression written somewhere other than here.)

Lazy days at the pool mean snacks and drinks and more snacks. Those kids parents can work up an appetite while they swim watch people swim!

I found this recipe for radish dip in Martha Stewart Magazine this month. It's yummy and easy to throw together. It tastes even better the day after you make it (when the ingredients have had time to meld). Stir together a batch of dip, and then bring it along with some pita chips or baguette slices to your picnic. Or pool day. Or happy hour party (It's fancy enough for that if you want it to be!). Or, skip the carbs and serve it with fresh snap peas and carrot sticks. After all, you want to look good poolside!

Radish Dip
Martha's recipe makes enough to serve quite a crowd. I cut everything in half and still had plenty.

1 pound radishes (about 25), julienned
1 1/4 cups sour cream
3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 3 cups)
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, plus 3 tablespoons lemon juice (from two lemons)
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
1/3 cup chopped fresh dill

crackers or toast or raw veggies for serving

Combine all the ingredients and chill until ready to serve.

This post is linked to A Little Nosh

Asparagus and Radish Salad

Well hello there!

It has been a while, hasn't it?

When I first started getting the box, and I first started reading more and more about the importance of eating locally and seasonally, all the literature assured me that my tastes and my body would grow to love it. That the zucchini would run out just when I was tired of it, and come back when I was missing it again. I would be thrilled to see the return of the oranges just as the stone fruits went to sleep for the winter, and that the coming of asparagus would be one of the highlights of my spring.

I have to admit that I wasn't so sure I believed it all. I thought that a year in which avocados were available every day and that beets didn't have a season sounded more like paradise. I'd rather have basil grow all winter long and skip the turnips, thankyouverymuch.

But once again, as it turns out, the experts know a tad more than I do. This winter I realized that a stew just hits the spot on a rainy day (and that turnips actually are a perfect part of a good stew!). And while I was eating hot bowls of creamy cauliflower soup or slow-roasted squash, I never longed for an avocado. (I'm still not sure I will ever last as long as zucchini season does, though).

But when the days got warmer and longer, it was so nice to see basil come back, along with it's perfect partner, tomatoes. It is paradise to spend a warm afternoon on the patio eating a no-cook appetizer of basil, cheese and tomatoes stacked together, and some avocado on the burgers we are grilling.

So, because I have spent the spring so happy to see my old friends come around again after months without them, I haven't done much new with them. As I unpack the box every week, I find myself saying things like "Awesome! Asparagus! I am going to make those appetizers I tried last year!" ...or... "Oooh! Lemons! Time for some more lemon curd! And lemon cookies! And lemon bars! And lemon COCKTAILS!" When the snow peas came last week, they didn't stand a chance. I was so excited to see them that I stood and ate them plain and raw as I unpacked the rest of the box.

But then I ran across a recipe for an asparagus salad that sounded just right. It happened to include no less than six ingredients that were all in my box this week! (See why cooking seasonally is so much fun!?)  The salad just basically steamed asparagus and sliced radishes, but it is tossed in the most delicious dressing. I made enough dressing that I had enough for the asparagus salad, and plenty more to store in the fridge. I have used the leftovers for a regular garden salad as well as a dip for raw veggies. Maybe this week's snow peas will at least get dipped before I make quick history of them!

Anyway, on to the salad:

Asparagus and Radish Salad with Spring-Herb Dressing
This one came from Food 52, a site I am looking forward to exploring more!


one bunch of asparagus, tough ends trimmed and cut into one-inch pieces
one bunch radishes, thinly sliced
one cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons olive oil
juice of one small lemon
splash of white wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
4 green onions, white and green parts, chopped
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Steam the asparagus on the stovetop or in the microwave. Slice the radishes thinly.
Place all of the remaining ingredients in a blender and whir until they are well combined.
Toss the vegetables with the dressing, and keep refrigerated until ready to eat!