Not So (Break)Fast

They look sort of interesting in the store.

Sign in produce department for breakfast radishesYet somehow, when I get them home, I am less sure.

Breakfast radishesNever mind to be or not to be: How to serve them at breakfast, *that* is the question. With eggs, do you think?

2-photo collage of breakfast radishes and eggsOr maybe with bacon? And a dab of Sriracha?

Breakfast radishes served with baconOr maybe savoury is all wrong. Maybe sweet is the way to go. Maple syrup?

Breakfast radishes served with maple syrupOr as an accompaniment to dry cereal? A blueberry substitute?

Breakfast radishes served with dry cerealOr with (English) muffins and (Scottish) marmalade?

Breakfast radishes served with muffin and marmaladeYou know, I don’t want to be unduly negative here and I know I haven’t exhausted the possibilities — breakfast radishes with steel-cut oatmeal? with cream cheese and lox? with muesli and yogurt? — but none of these pictured or imagined options looks promising to me.

I begin to suspect that whoever named this vegetable didn’t, you know, think it through.

But I also begin to wonder whether there’s more afoot here. I mean, what’s next? Mashed breakfast turnip, with cream and brown sugar? Roasted breakfast Brussels sprouts on a waffle (Belgian, natch) with whipped cream? Steamed breakfast squash with . . . um, strike that. Nothing goes with squash.

I could be overreacting, but keep a sharp eye on the produce aisle near you, folks. They’ll stop at nothing to get us to eat more vegetables.

 

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8 Responses to Not So (Break)Fast

  1. John Whitman says:

    Isabel – which grocery store do you shop at – so I can avoid it.

    • Isabel Gibson says:

      John – Well, these were seen at a Metro, but I suspect they’re available elsewhere. They have their own Wiki page.

  2. Radishes at breakfast must be a European tradition. I have seen “French” attached to the seed packets of rather long and mild-tasting radishes. I knew a German man who ate a radish and a green onion every day for breakfast and who drank only filtered water, notions of healthy living he’d picked up in his youth and served him into his late 90s. I have a vegetable cookbook that recommends cooking them. I did so and found they lose their flavor to become pale and insipid. It seems pointless to destroy that roses-in-snow piquant addition to a relish tray. However, the touted benefits here (https://www.med-health.net/Health-Benefits-Of-Radishes.html) suggest my German friend was correct. I have a new respect for that little veggie!

    • Isabel Gibson says:

      Laurna – Interesting. European breakfast radishes – who knew? Certainly they run counter to our North American habits – what one dietician knew called “having dessert for breakfast.” It’s like most things, maybe: The more savoury you eat, the more you want. And the less sweet? Maybe.

  3. Alison says:

    My mom ate them with butter – and I like them roasted – but for breakfast?? I think not.

    • Isabel Gibson says:

      Alison – Roasted? My goodness. I’ve never even heard of that. I’ll consider it. For dinner. 🙂

  4. Marilyn Smith says:

    Isabel, I notice you do not recommend one way of preparing/serving over another. Your presentation photos are lovely, however. I wonder if there are also “lunch” or “dinner” varieties of radishes. Never before crossed me mind.

    • Isabel Gibson says:

      Marilyn – Don’t encourage them! Next thing you know we *will* have meal-specific varieties of not just radishes but other vegetables, too. As for my preference, at a decent hour — say, noon — I prefer them raw, with salt.

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