It all began with a phone call from Nancy.
“You guys like radishes?” she asked.
“Yes! We love radishes!”
“Good, because we just got a bunch in our garden co-op flat. Steve and I don’t like them. I’ll bring them to you.”
It occurred to us that they might just taste good roasted. We googled “roasted radishes,” and sure enough, they were a thing. We glazed them with butter and garlic, roasted them for ten minutes in the oven, then another five minutes under the broiler, and served them with scrambled eggs to our son after an early morning of fencing. They passed the “Mikey likes it!” test.
Later, we tossed the leftover roasted radishes into a food processor with roasted corn and potatoes, ground them into tiny chunks, cooked the mixture in broth, added a bit of sour cream and Cajun seasoning, and made a tasty, garden-fresh, roasted radish soup. It even passed the Nancy test.
We’ve been accidental chefs together for more than 25 years. We like making up our own recipes and playing “What’s the secret ingredient?” with our kids. I like making roasts, scones, and cookies. Mark likes incorporating underrated ingredients like parsnips and Brussels sprouts. We both love trying new spices and ingredients that we bring home from our travels to various countries and regions.
We tend to buy organic and like supporting local farmers and small businesses. On a weekly basis, we drop in at the local Apple Barrel Country Market and pick up a monster loaf of homemade, whole wheat, Hutterite bread to have with Danish Creamery Butter and Bonne Maman fig preserves from France.
We rarely make the same thing twice. We decided to start writing our recipes down to share with our kids—and anyone else who might be interested. They’re starting families of their own now and want to be able to make some of their favorite dishes for their own kids someday.
Welcome to our vegetarian adventures!
Mark & Conna Bond
Roasted Radish 