Seared radish crostini, Earth Day's a'coming

I absolutely love radishes. I love their crunch, the little spritz of water you get when you bite into a fresh one, their pretty colors. I like them plain, or tossed in a salad, and in Paris once, they were served as a little palate cleanser with a bit of salt and butter. Aah… So, it was with delight that after bringing home several bunches of fresh radishes from the farmers market one day, I came across a new way to serve them: Melissa Clark’s Seared Radish Crostini. In essence, you make a warm anchovy butter sauce, sear the radishes in a hot skillet and then slop all that onto some grilled or toasted baguette slices. It is a unique, sublime way to enjoy radishes.

Tonight, I’m planning to make these but I’m also going to do a riff on the radish-as-star and sear Hakurei turnips too. These turnips and smaller and sweeter than regular purple top turnips. Hakureis are all white and when they’re young and fresh you can eat them raw and unpeeled. I love them and usually glaze them in a little butter and sugar; but tonight, they’re getting some special treatment.
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As you may or may not remember, Friday is Earth Day. Mamma Earth needs all the help she can get, so consider honoring her in some way: walk if you don’t need to drive; recycle plastic bags at the market; bring your own reusable bags for sure; plant a tree; consider greening some or all of your cleaning supplies; use diapers, paper towels and toilet paper that are made with recycled or PCW material and are not chlorinated; use less water- hey take the day off from laundry/dishwashers/etc; start a compost pile.

Since I have started composting, I have been amazed by how much food waste a family produces, even if you’re not the wasting type. Coffee grounds, food peels, eggshells, that bit of extra whatever that you just didn’t get to…it can all be composted. By composting in tandem with recycling, we now generate just about 2 bags of trash each week! And, you don’t need a fancy barrel to start a pile, although that’s nice and easy too; you can simply mark off an area in your yard (ours is by the garage and is fenced in by an old gate of Percy’s) and start tossing. The compost doesn’t smell at all, you can dump your lawn clippings in it, and it’s a kick for kids (and me) to watch the kabillions of worms crawling about each time you turn your pile.

Here’s a link that might be helpful: http://www.nrdc.org/thisgreenlife/

Ooh, school’s almost out. More later!

Metropolitan Diary

Do you read the Monday NYTimes? If so, have you discovered the Metropolitan Diary column? It’s near the end of the front section, just before the editorials and obits, and it’s a trove of delightfulness. Won’t take you five minutes to read, but it will make you smile. Make haste to find it!

Talking inquiry, LPQ's mushroom omelette, customer service

Y’all, can you suffer perilous consequences from being talked to too much? If you have any evidence to support that query, let me know.

Can I tell you how good I think Le Pain Quotidien’s wild mushroom omelette is? Ridiculous. How do they get the eggs so silky? Firm yet soft? The mushrooms and scallions are just perfect, and if you’re feeling really indulgent, ask for goat cheese to be added. Aah. After my rather leaden ravioli last night, I really didn’t feel that extra goat cheese was necessary this morning but I do sometimes go that route. I also like the gray salt they put on the tables so that you can grind and add your own amount. And folks, please always grind your own pepper- on a salad, for a recipe, wherever! Ground pepper from a spice dispenser is just not fresh, as the relatively non-existent taste it imparts suggests. A good pepper mill is indispensable.

Let’s talk about customer service. I feel that much frustration in the world could be eradicated with simple communication. If you are going to be late, call. If you’re not going to show up, let me know. Where in the sam hill are the deck guys? For folks who’ve been complaining about the rain interrupting their work schedules, why are they no-shows on sunny days? People, I’m getting tired of not having half of my backyard plus a door. Oliver and I are in the yard right now basking in the sun like fat cats (he sure eats like one; y’all should have seen him at breakfast: oatmeal, berries, eggs, bread with jam, etc- all before 9:15am) and we are using as our bench/desk/funtime props, all the boards, wheelbarrows and boxes of supplies that are just sitting here with us. If there was a good reason for the delay of the team’s arrival, just let me know. Most if not all of my irritation would immediately dissipate. Instead, I’m getting peevish and you know where that can lead.