Sunday, February 13, 2022
Watermelon Radishes
The weather was bright and blue and crisp yesterday, so Olga and I took an afternoon walk to the cemetery. Yes, I am still technically in Covid isolation, but since I'm pretty much over it and I was outdoors and away from people the whole time, I didn't see how a walk could hurt. I desperately needed a change of scenery and I think Olga did too!
Along the way I found this stamp lying on the sidewalk. It's an old French stamp, somewhat battered and torn. Who knows how it wound up lying on a London street. It makes me suspect someone's stamp collection got discarded and this one blew out of the trash can. But who knows.
Olga wasn't super-energetic, and in fact she turned for home after we'd made one loop around the rear part of the cemetery, rather than also doing a loop around the front too -- our usual path.
I finished Sean Wilsey's "Oh the Glory of It All," which I liked even though it ran long in a few places, particularly toward the end. For example, I could have done without the road trip to Marin County, complete with thumbnail-sized photos from a disposable camera, to find the exact spot where the author's father had died peacefully a few weeks before in a passenger seat while en route from Napa to San Francisco. But Wilsey's descriptions of interactions with his truly evil stepmother -- a cliché, but this woman was capital E-V-I-L -- and his entertaining accounts of his troubled teen years and education at various expensive and exotic reform schools made up for the occasionally excessive detail. Like I said, it was thumbs-up overall.
Here's something I've never seen before. It's called a "watermelon radish," and Dave bought a package of three at the grocery store as an experiment. His verdict?
"They taste like nothing," he said. "It’s the 'Seinfeld' of radishes."
(In case your '90s cultural references are rusty, "Seinfeld" was often described as "a show about nothing.")
Indeed, they are pretty and they're pleasantly crisp, and as you can see they're quite a bit larger than a traditional radish, but they don't have much of a taste. I think they're more about texture and appearance than anything else.
We also tried another new product, courtesy of my monthly (now quarterly; I reduced the frequency) box from the Craft Gin Club. It's called "Crodino," and it's a non-alcoholic Italian aperitif. It's very bitter and neither Dave nor I cared for it. He likened it to concentrated orange rind, and I think that's pretty accurate. But some people love it (at least according to the Amazon reviews) so maybe it's just not our thing.
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53 comments:
I thought of you today and your Newbery Award project -- I follow a guy on Instagram who's from Florida and who is currently reading and writing a newsletter about ALL the books that were longlisted for the National Book Award beginning in the 1950s when it started. His name is Hunter McLendon of ShelfbyShelf. I think you might like following him. It's always so good to see and hear about Olga -- and I'm glad that you're getting out and about, recovering from the plague.
The watermelon radish is a beauty. I love Dave’s description.
As for Crodino: It tastes best very cold (a glassful of ice) with soda water. That’s not to say you’ll like it. That’s just to say it tastes best that way.
Leaving the house while still in COVID quarantine would be fine if you were ringing a handbell and warning others, "Unclean! Unclean!" Funny that you had nice weather yesterday when 170 miles north it was wet, grey and miserable.
I like the tree shadow
I’ve had watermelon radishes a number of times but they are normally quick pickled and used as an edible garnish. I guess the pickling process was for flavor.
Great stamp to find on the ground. I sometimes wonder if lost and abandoned things try to find YOU.
Interesting foray into food and drink today. Both new to me. I also wondered if the Crodino works as an addition to a sparkling water.
Olga was probably happy for her walk,too. Even dogs like a change of scenery.
You had me at the "Seinfeld of radishes"! An apt description of what looks like it might be delicious but isn't.
Hmmm...
The watermelon radishes might be good in a salad where their texture can be appreciated.
I wonder if you could use the crodino (which I've never heard of) in baking. Orange and chocolate together are a nice combination.
Okay. I am far more interested in that knife. My son took me to a hibachi restaurant when I was last there, and on the way home, he said that he would love to have one of their knives. I've been looking at them as a possible gift idea. (I Christmas shop all year around.) So tell me about that particular knife. I've been researching.
That is a great photo of the tree shadow. And two things I will never try...watermelon radishes and crodino.
I love that shadow photo. It's so beautiful.
That stamp is such an interesting find. And that watermelon radish doesn't look like anything I would want to try.
Great shadow shot on the first photo. Keep on walkin'
I've never seen watermelon radishes either but they are lovely. Probably better for presentation than dining! (Or did Dave lose his taste with Covid?) I like "The Seinfeld of Radishes!"
Watermelon radishes show up quite often here. They get added to salads to ad a bit of color but I agree, they don't have much taste.
Love the shadow in the top photo.
That's a beautiful radish but I would be disappointed to as I prefer my radishes with a bit of bite. I'm often puzzled by what is the latest and "greatest" in foods, drinks, books, films, etc.
I would probably like the watermelon radish since I don't care for radish taste and I love crunch! I bet it would be good in Thai green papaya salad. How long a walk is the full cemetery loop?
You sound like you will be happy to go back to work! Glad you are feeling better.
I've seen watermelon radishes on TV cooking shows where they always seem to pickle them. They must need that flavoring to be any good!
Concentrated orange rind doesn't sound very good. Why on earth was your gin club sending you something non-alcoholic??
Yay for a walk! You've been cooped up for a long time. The radish looks interesting, too bad they don't taste like anything.
HAHA what Mr. Pudding said! "unclean Unclean", ding ding ding. Hilarious! Olga is doing great for a gal her age- I am not as spry as she! The radishes look amazing - the crunch must be like water chestnuts.
It's really interesting about the Watermelon Radishes. I was telling my son Jon that we should give them a try, but after I read your description about them, he said "Ummm No" lol. He is not much for change lol.
I love the stamp and you could be correct. Then again perhaps a tourist was planning to use it to mail a post card home and it fell out of their pocketbook/wallet. I always try to think of real life, scenarios or things that have happened to me.
Have a great last day of your sentence and a return back to a normal routine. xx
That description of Crodino reminds me of the time Mike & stayed at a Shaker village & ate at their restaurant that served "authentic" Shaker food. I got lemon meringue pie for dessert & it was SO BITTER. They used LOTS of lemon zest and practically no sugar. No thank you!
Well, the radish is very pretty, if not tasty. Concentrated orange rind does sound very bitter. We use something called bitrix when having our fit testing for N95 masks, the most bitter, nasty smelling and tasting stuff every. If the N95 mask fits properly, you shouldn't be able to smell or taste the bitrix.
That's a vicious looking knife. I want one!
The radish does LOOK interesting and without much bite, might be suited to kids who haven't tried radishes yet.
Wow! That sounds like a much bigger task than reading all the Newbery winners. Did he say how many books that would be? More power to him!
OK, good to know about Crodino! We didn't mix it -- just poured it over ice. (That's how the Craft Gin people suggested serving it.)
Well I crossed the street whenever anyone came toward me so that's the equivalent of ringing the "unclean" bell, I think!
That tree always makes interesting shadows. I've shot them before.
I can see how they'd pickle well because they're so crisp.
I think there's just a lot of stuff lying around out there -- though I don't remember finding this much when I lived in NYC. Maybe I wasn't looking as closely.
I can see how sparkling water might dilute the bitterness a bit, which might make it more palatable.
I thought that was a pretty apt description too!
I think salad would be good for the radishes, or pickling, as some suggested. The Crodino tastes more like orange rind than orange.
The knife is labeled "masanobu seki - Japan" and below that, "by MCUSTA VG-10"
Hope that helps! Dave bought it when he went to culinary school. He loves it.
Well, you might like the radishes, but the Crodino I'm betting not.
See, I think it LOOKS appealing. But it looks better than it tastes!
Now that I can walk to work again I'll be walking more!
Yeah, I think they're mostly for appearance and texture.
We'd never seen them before!
Sometimes it's just a matter of being "new," not necessarily good!
It's not too long. I've never measured it out, honestly! Let me get back to you!
Absolutely. I am so ready.
I can see how pickling would work well. The Gin Club sends a variety of little treats and mixers in each box. It's usually a bunch of weird stuff that I would never buy otherwise! LOL
They have a pleasant crunch -- that's the best I can say.
She still gets around pretty well, all things considered!
But the stamp has already been used! And besides it wouldn't work for postage here in the UK.
Yikes! Well, the Shakers strike me as people not likely to be very indulgent with sugar. :)
Oh, interesting. I've never heard of having a mask fitted that way!
It's very effective and scary looking. LOL
That's true! Kids might go for it, particularly with a touch of salt or something to give it a bit more flavor.
And, if you feel like cooking, an orange slice is a nice touch (with a squeeze).
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