Radish Salsa

I made up a recipe several years ago I called "Salad on my Chip", made with lots of radishes. So often radishes get too big or hot and I thought they'd make a good salsa. Well, I'm needing to use up garden radishes again and Googled "radish salsa" and found lots of recipes. I used from the varying recipes what I had on hand - most from the garden - and it was great!

I'd cooked and shredded a chuck roast in the crockpot using 1 tsp Mexican spice mix called "Alan's Spices" in my Hearth & Home cookbook, about 1-2C beef broth, and 1 16oz jar 505 Organic Green Chili Sauce. It had some spunk, but when mixed with black beans, sauted slivered roasted poblano chilies, sour cream, and the radish salsa on top ... yummmm! ... The first meal was with homemade from masa corn tortillas, the next meal was with crisp corn tostadas. And too, we'll put some of all the leftovers on a large lettuce leaf freshly picked from the garden and eat as a lettuce wrap - so lots of options. All yummy!

RADISH SALSA

-1# radishes - amounting to about 2 cups chopped in food processor
-small wedge of cabbage - maybe about 1/4-1/2C chopped
-1/4-1/3C chopped cilantro
-1/2C chopped chives
-1 tomato chopped
-2 minced cloves garlic
-pinch each of salt and pepper
-2 Tb lime or lemon juice (I used both, using up halved pieces sitting on cutting board, which is what Monte always uses on his salads, and in water with ice to drink)

I wanted to put some jalepenos in it but didn't have any fresh or jarred in the fridge. But then, with the poblanos and spunking chuck meat, I didn't need any. Eating alone, it was still great without jalepenos. Also in the past I'd added a bit of cider vinegar, but prefer the limon juice better.

The kitchen garden is looking beautiful! Along the picket fence you see the tomatoes in walls-of-water. At my altitude I can get tomatoes if they have the benefit of extra warmth, so I leave them on the entire growing season, whereas most people just use them for early spring, and remove them. I'm trying exposed tomatoes in-between this year. So far, those in the walls are growing bigger. We'll see how those out of the walls-of-water produce ... like will I pick the first tomatoes just before our first frost?!

I plant all sorts of lettuce varieties and greens. I love a bit of spunk in my salad that a few mustard greens provide. We use a lot of spinach and kale. Lots of phytonutrients! Kale has more vitamin C than citrus. And eating fresh spinach and greens is the best defense against disease and heart attacks. All our food choices should be as fresh as possible and THINK COLOR! - lot's of variety of color.

Now to sit on the deck, under the umbrella, read a bit drinking tea, and eating my second breakfast of yogurt and fruit and sprouted dried flax seeds and a bit of granola, and enjoying all the flowers and birds. Then back to my textile art work (fun!).