Is spring here yet?? It’s March and I was still wearing my winter coat as of Friday. MY WINTER COAT PEOPLE! I started wearing it in October. Now that’s what I call March Madness! Maybe it’s just me, but this feels like the longest winter ever!
I’m so ready for spring. And spring foods like this…
If you long for the taste of pickles but not all the sodium, you will love this. I used to inhale pickles by the jar when I was younger, but then I had to break up with pickles once I found out how the sodium impacted my blood pressure. It was a really nasty breakup actually. So my rebound was cucumbers.
I turned to cucumbers and found comfort in bold flavors and flavored balsamic vinegars. I discovered that if I marinated cucumbers with flavored balsamic vinegar & oil, they could boldly go where no pickle has gone before. Because let’s face it….the flavor of pickles is pretty much just….salt. Am I right? (Oh and don’t even get me started on sweet pickles. Gag) The taste of this spring fling is like a happy explosion in my mouth.
Paring cucumbers with radishes and letting them sit in a bath of oil and vinegar is like the bomb dot com. And guess who I have to thank for my love of radishes? The muppets! I remember watching this version of Cinderella called “Hey Cinderella” when I was little and there was a character named Splurge that had a love for radishes. I can remember eating radishes because Splurge loved radishes. He had quite the influence on me. Hilarious right? What I learned later is that radishes are low in calories and also contain a decent amount of potassium, which is healthy for blood pressure. Who knew?
Speaking of blood pressure, did anybody see the Huskers beat Wisconsin last night? What a crazy game!
My favorite way to enjoy this dish is to soak the cucumbers and radishes overnight in the dressing, which is made up of olive oil, peach balsamic vinegar, pepper, and a dash of salt. You can also mix and eat right away, but it tastes better if you give it at least two hours before diving in. This makes a great spring/summer side dish!
