Black radish

After the success of last week’s watermelon radish, we decided to give another radish variety a try. Enter black radish. But we learned an important lesson this week: not all radishes are created equal. Some, like the watermelon radish, are pleasantly spicy. Others pack  serious heat. Fortunately Sam didn’t suffer permanent damage, but from his reaction you’d have thought he’d scorched his tongue. I think I’ve tested about all the radishes my kids can handle. No need to try any more, we’ve been there, done that, time to move onto non-radish food.

ME: OK, you guys are going to be really excited about this next one…

SAM: Green beans?

ME: What do you think this is?

LAUREN: A radish?

ME: Yeah, how did you know it’s a radish?

LAUREN: Looks like it.

ME: Oh my gosh, I don’t think it looks anything like a radish. How did you know?

LAUREN: Well it had that same shape and the same thing on the top, so I just guessed it was a radish.

SAM: It’s a bum bum.

ME: Stop.

ME: What color is it going to look like on the inside?

SAM: Bum bumish.

ME: OK, thank you.

LAUREN: Uh, pinkish? Red? Green? Pink or green I guess.

SAM: Booty color.

ME: Oh, my gosh!

LAUREN: White?

ME: Yep. Hard to believe, right? Smell it.

LAUREN: That smells a little bit like cucumbers.

SAM: It smells like a bum bum.

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NYE

Nothing like waking up on Jan 1 with a mind-blowing hangover. But truthfully, I don’t remember the last time that we actually left our living room on New Year’s Eve, let alone stayed up until midnight. Years, I’m telling you, years.

So it goes without saying that our night out on the town had to be a go big or go home kind of evening. Starting with bowling and ending with dancing at some vaguely European-Middle Eastern-type of swankfest that used to define my 20s but is now just a blip in my hazy memory.

Waking up as a vegan on Jan 1 was no treat. Where were those greasy yet restorative egg and cheese sandwiches? The burgers dripping with fat? I had to console myself with quinoa sliders, which I assure you aren’t at the top of anyone’s hangover list. But Thursday brought some well-needed grease back into my life when I was able to track down a vegan cronut. Nothing like starting a January cleanse with cronuts, vegan or not. Give an inch and I’ll take a mile.

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Although I welcomed cronuts on Thursday morning, it was also time to say goodbye to a few of my favorite places. So long seafood counter at Whole Foods, you’ll be missed. 25 more days until we’re reunited.

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But I’m getting well-acquainted with a set of healing vegan foods this month, including lots of hummus and guacamole, 36 ways.

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veg 173

Annnnnd we’re off to the races. Vegan cleanse is well underway, and to be honest, I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.

Other than the first day when I was suffering from a raging New Year’s Eve hangover and was craving an egg and cheese from the corner deli. But I made do with some terrific quinoa sliders from Bareburger in Chelsea.

On Day 2 of the cleanse I hit Whole Foods. There was no leaf unturned, no fruit unsqueezed (gently of course). It was fun to visit my usual stomping ground with a new lens. All of a sudden the once-neglected veggie burgers in the freezer case became a source for inspection, label reading and indecision.

But it was my healthiest shop in months, maybe years, with far more fruits and vegetables in my basket than usual. Gone were the packs of applewood smoked bacon, pork sausages, and triple cream cheeses.

Heading into my cleanse, I promised myself that I wouldn’t load up on vegan versions of the real thing, the Tofurky burgers and the Vegenaise. But once I was in the store, I started to second guess my ability to subsist on vegetables alone, so I made a few exceptions.

Here’s a snapshot of what I bought this week: 

As expected, a healthy dose of fruit and vegetables, including plenty of citrus, pomegranates, kumkuats, Japanese sweet potatoes, and a week’s pay in avocados.

Knowing that I should be drinking more, I got some detox teas and a few fresh-pressed juices. The French Vanilla soy creamer seemed like an indulgence (and not particularly healthy) but black coffee just doesn’t cut it for me. It has yet to be sampled, but I’m guessing that it won’t be my favorite purchase.

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From my research on vegan eating, I felt I’d be amiss if I didn’t include a truckload of hummus in my diet. I’ve made hummus at home and would prefer to eat a homemade version, but wanted to have enough on hand in case of a hummus emergency. That situation where you’ve turned vegan, you’re starving, and the only thing that you can make quickly is hummus and crackers. And yes, that is vegetarian chopped liver that you see at the top. It’s made with lentils, peas, and all kinds of spices. I don’t even like chopped liver but something about this called to me. My intuition was right. It’s good…Really good.

Like any good vegan/vegetarian, I had to buy a sampling of tofu products. I’m not the biggest fan of tofu, but figured I’d give them another go. While the Tufurky chorizo actually seems appealing, the Asian pressed tofu is an unattractive shade of brown. I’m expecting to eat it the day before its expiration date, swayed by guilt more than appetite.

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And now let’s talk about dairy. I was going to bypass this category altogether, but the fabulous write up about Kite Hill cheeses in last month’s Food & Wine magazine gave me pause. The cheesemonger convinced me to try Treeline as well. Once I’d passed the fake dairy threshold, coconut milk yogurt didn’t seem like a far stretch. I’ll now admit that The Earth Balance buttery spread was  the worst kind of impulse buy. Maybe I’ll fry my Asian tofu in it and call it a day.

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Watermelon radish

Like our bean sprouts experience, watermelon radish was a total surprise hit this week. I had a feeling the kids wouldn’t like it because they didn’t like the red variety that we tried a few months ago. But because watermelon radish is so darn cute, I gave it a try. It’s a little sweeter and mellower than other radish varieties; if you’re not keen on radishes, you might just like this one. If you can find it…they’re not so easy to track down unfortunately, but higher end specialty markets (I got this one at Dean & Deluca) and the farmers’ markets are good places to look.

ME: We’re doing a quick mystery food guys, OK?

EMMA: It looks like canteloupe.

ME: It does a little bit doesn’t it.

SAM: No it doesn’t.

ME: What do you think it’s going to look like on the inside?

LAUREN: Pinkish.

ME: You saw it right?

LAUREN: No!

ME: Oh, I guess there’s a little red on the outside.

ME: Did you expect it to look like that? Do you know what this is called?

EMMA: A cranberry.

ME: It’s not a cranberry. Smell it, you might be able to tell from the smell.

EMMA: I want to hold it.

ME: What does it smell like?

SAM: A banana sauce.

ME: What do you think it is?

LAUREN: I don’t know. Kiwi or something?

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snow-dock 164

It was an odd Christmas this year, fun, but odd. Mostly it was the weather’s fault, which was having an existential crisis and couldn’t decide if it wanted to be summer or winter.

On Sunday when we headed up to the lake, it felt hot in the car. Like really hot, put down the windows and strip down to a T-shirt hot. I turned on my mobile and saw this:

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Hmmm….I admit that I’ve never seen that in December, let alone November, but we went with it. When we got up to the lake, we ran down to the dock, eager to dip our toes in the water. Unfortunately the lake was still frozen.

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Unperturbed, we suited up and got ready for a few of our favorite summertime activities. Emma dug out her swimsuit, while I made myself a BLT.

summer

We considered breaking out the Slip ‘n Slide but figured that the ground might be too muddy, so we headed back inside to do another favorite summertime activity: decorate our Christmas tree. Pardon me, a favorite wintertime activity. Now you can see how confusing this was for everyone.

Tree decorating is really Lauren’s domain. She does it so well that I’m hands off about the whole thing. We end up with a bunch of bare spots and hand-drawn ornaments but it gives our tree a certain look that I’ve grown to love. My dad’s question: “Is your tree decorated?” Answer: “Yes.”

At last, just in time for Christmas, it snowed. Hard to believe that after a 70 degree day, we snuck in a white Christmas after all.

Christmas morning was the usual chaos. Toys were unwrapped and opened, game pieces went missing, pieces were retrieved, garbage bags were stuffed, pieces again went missing and were thought to be in the garbage bags, pieces were again found, cocktails were made, toys were defended, claims were staked.

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