The Good Old Summertime

I just finished lunch, which consisted of fresh peas from the garden and garden radish slices on crackers. I love summer and should move someplace where it never ends.

I LOVE PEAS! Love them! Some people think they don't like peas. I'm convinced they do; they've just never had peas prepared correctly. Good peas are as fresh as possible, preferably picked minutes before out of one's own garden. After shelling, saute peas for just a minute or so in butter. (No need to worry about the butter, you'll burn all the butter calories just shelling them.) Don't overcook--they shouldn't be mushy and should still "pop" when you bite into them. Sprinkle with salt & pepper, if desired. Devour.

I like radishes okay, but I don't LOVE them. I do love what radishes mean: Good things to come! Radishes are usually the first veggie ready to harvest in my garden and are one of the first veggies that show up at the farmers' markets. When you see radishes, you know peas and strawberries--and then tomatoes, corn, peppers, etc.--are on the way. Other reasons for a gardener to like radishes is that they're easy to grow and they're ready to harvest within about 28 days of planting seed, making them perfect vegetable to plant with kids.

I prepare radishes as simply as possible. I use (very thin) raw slices to top crackers smeared with cream cheese. Sometimes I add a sprinkle of salt & pepper. That's it. (I didn't have any cream cheese today, so I used butter instead and liked it just fine.)

I've never cooked radishes, but keep reading they're good that way. For dinner tonight, I'm going to saute some in butter and top with chives. I'll let you know what we think.