My husband and I started running again, it’s been MONTHS for me. I forgot how painful this process is, my feet and cardio are weak from all the time off. The first few times out I must have stopped every quarter mile to catch my breath before continuing on. For now we are sticking mostly to the trail system through a wildlife management area near the house. I prefer the trails over the road, I like the changing terrain and how engaged it keeps my mind. It’s more important for me to focus on dodging rocks and roots than for me to focus on the fact that my lungs feel like they are about to explode… stuff like that.
Last night we ran through the fog, it was sticky and near the end of our route all I could think about was dinner. I had planned on making Giada’s Neopolitan Shrimp and Calamari Salad but that wasn’t going to get in my face quick enough. Luckily, I had grass-fed beef burgers in the fridge, leftover goat cheese from the asparagus salad (posted on Facebook), and my very first batch of pickled radish chips. One of our favorite burgers at Bobby’s Burger Palace is the Napa, it comes with a lump of goat cheese all melty and warm with a Meyer lemon mustard of sorts and crunchy watercress. This was an impromptu attempt but a pretty good one.
Sunday I visited Fiddleheads Food Co-op and came home with a beautiful bunch of radishes. I had no idea what I would do with them but in my reusable bag they went. They don’t provide grocery bags at this store, that was lesson number one.
I gave them a good rinse and stared at them as I spun my wheels.
Then it came to me, I would pickle them.
This meant I had an excuse to haul out my mandolin. Of all of my kitchen appliances, gadgets, gizmos, and tools, this one makes me nervous. My husband makes a face whenever I use the box grater, luckily he wasn’t home when I whipped through these little guys.
I found a recipe and altered it slightly but this project took no time at all. There are a ton of recipes out there on the web and now that I’ve done this once, I’m excited to experiment more. I love radishes raw, barely out of the dirt. My husband on the other hand, is not a huge fan. Pickling them mellows the bite, in turn you still get the crunch and a sweetly sour effect.
Ingredients:
One bunch of radishes – washed, trimmed, and sliced
1 cup of vinegar – I did a blend of white wine vinegar and apple cider vinegar
1.5 tsp of salt
1.5 tbsp of peppercorns – I used a blend
1/2 cup of organic sugar
1 shallot – thinly sliced
a few dashes of dried dill or chopped fresh if you have it
To prepare –
sterilize a one pint mason jar
Dissolve the sugar and salt into the vinegar, return the mixture to room temperature. Layer the radishes, shallot, and peppercorns. Pour the liquid mixture over the radishes, add the dill and seal the lid.
Refrigerate overnight and then these are ready to enjoy! They were delicious as a burger topping, I plan on trying them in a salad soon as well… or maybe straight out of the jar with the fridge door flung open.
Even Road Dog liked these, that’s a win!
- Keiko the inmate, serving hard time.