Vegetable Lust

Some people like to think that they were someone famous in a past life: Sacajawea, Julius Caesar, or maybe Princess Anastasia. I think I was a rabbit. I've come to this conclusion because of my ever-growing love for all vegetable matter. I'll happily munch my way around the farm sampling crinkly spinach, tender curling pea tips, spicy mustard greens, or the flowering tops of collards. While I am not about the forswear that most human of rites, cooking my dinner, I am finding that our veggies are good enough to stand entirely on their own.

Lately, we've begun to harvest radishes. Radishes are another farmer favorite, as they have one of the shortest maturation periods on the books. Within 3-4 weeks, the red and white roots will be breaking through the soil, all but jumping from the soil onto your plate. Radishes are exactly the sort of unapologetic raw food that I'm drawn to at present--bright, crisp, and piquant. If you'll recall, my fetish is not a singular one: in the fairytale of Rapunzel, the pregnant mother lusts so mightily for radishes (or rampion, a similar green) that she sends her poor husband into the neighboring witch's garden to steal her a salad. On his third such expedition, the witch catches the husband and demands baby Rapunzel as payment. Remember that little exchange the next time you lament the prices at Whole Foods!