What's In A Name
Radishes
Of the Greek word "Raphanus"
Quickly appearing, matures rapidly
Cultivated for a few months in late spring, early fall
A symbol of spring, of fertile soil
Favored in ancient Roman times
Used as wages, even
Its flesh, the colour of love
Inside, the colour of purity
Venus
The goddess of love and beauty
Originally, the goddess of gardens and vegetation
Associated with the arrival of spring,
Cultivation
A mature woman at birth,
Botticelli
Venus
The hottest, brightest planet
Reveals herself for a few hours before dawn,
A few hours after sunset
As a jewel on clear nights
Originally named "Aphrodite" by the Greeks
Later named "Venus" by the Romans
Welcome To A Virtual Picnic!
This picnic game is hosted by Louise who writes the incredible
Months of Edible Celebrations. On June 18, it was International Picnic Day and time to begin the Picnic game.
When I decided to play, the letter R for my Radish Salad was already picked so I chose the letter V for my dish after doing some research. I found some amazing facts about the Greek and Roman history of radishes and made some interesting associations with mythology and the planets.
I envisioned a picnic, late in the day, extending into early evening, on a clear night, away from city lights when Venus would shine its brightest. A moment to pause and reflect on the feast, on the ancient root vegetable and its history. The first bite, crisp, peppery, and moist, awakens the senses. A reminder that the earth is good and what comes forth, a blessing.
I'm going on a picnic and bringing:
A-Apricot Cobbler (Mae)
C-Cherry Bars in a Jar (Barbara)
F-Fingerling Potato Salad w/ Honey-Thyme Vinaigrette (Heather)
N-Nice Mini Biscuit Sandwiches (Gloria)
V-
Venus-Is-Out-Tonight Radish, Black Olive, And Feta Salad
The recipe, Radish And Feta Salad, is from the cookbook "Asparagus To Zucchini", MACSAC
Ingredients:
4 cups thinly sliced radishes
1/2 pound crumbled feta cheese
Sliced black olives (I used pitted Kalamata olives)
Chopped scallions or fresh mint (I used both the first time I made it and just mint the second time)
Lemon vinaigrette
Combine all ingredients. The recipe says to create a lemony vinaigrette but offers no recipe. That's easy enough to make but I decided to simply use the wonderful lemon olive oil I have with fig-infused white balsamic vinegar that I saw Elisabeth use once on
Food And Thrifts Finds. It sounded great and I decided to try it.
The lemon olive oil and fig-infused vinegar worked together perfectly. And so simple!
The actual picnic with radish salad, grapes, cherries, Italian cheeses, fig spread, assorted spreads: tomato with artichoke, smoked salmon with spinach, feta hummus, assorted nuts . . .
It wasn't long before the White Mountain rains came . . .
Our picnic at the hemlocks' edge was quickly abandoned . . .
Venus won't be out this night, but she'll be with us in spirit. We continued indoors . . .
And The Virtual Picnic Continues
Visit Months of Edible Celebrations to see the picnic roundup, including W, X, Y and Z.
* * *
"Though the day still lingers,
already scintillates through the azure sky"
~ Willem Kloos (1859-1938, Dutch poet and essayist)
