Look at What I Found! Purple Summer Radishes

I am not fond of radishes, but when I went past Lloyd's stand at the Davis Farmer's Market, I was taken by the lush beauty and vibrant colors of his plum purple summer radishes. Glorious! For a moment no one seemed to take notice of the beautiful, fresh mounds of greens and all hues of purple, pink and white....and then the crowds came and scooped up the lovely bunches as if they were gold.

I took the bunch you see here, the one that has one white radish (the rest are pink and purple), home with me -  certain of their beauty, uncertain what to do with them. I was particularly interested in the greens. Lloyd told me I could steam the tops...and so I was hooked. I soaked the green tops for a couple of hours until they revived and then in a minimum amount of salted boiling water, I cooked them ever so briefly. I drained the greens in a colander as they continued to steam. Later I sauteed them briefly in a little olive oil, fresh red chilis, and a finely chopped clove of garlic - the classic! They were sweet and tender like spring. With the radishes, I finely sliced them into green salad with fresh tomatoes. They are lovely...but I'm still not sure I'm keen on radishes!