Radish...peas?

As I mentioned in the last post, we've been planning the farm since November of 2009. We've planned for all kinds of things; irrigation, soil amendments, varieties and quantities. We spent hours pouring over seed catalogs and diagramming what would be planted where. We planned every crop from the moment the seed was pushed down into the soil to its expected date of harvest. Something we didn't plan for? Radish peas. (If you've never heard of radish peas before, don't feel bad; we made that name up. They are more commonly referred to as radish seed pods.) Farmer Brent and his trusty farmhand (read: his mom) unintentionally discovered them in the field last week as they were harvesting sugar snap peas next to a row of radishes that had become overgrown and gone to seed. Farmhand Pru reached over, snatched a few pods off the stems and popped them in her mouth, declaring them delicious. Now, the peculiar epicurian delights that Farmer Brent's mom enjoys has a long and sordid history, so needless to say, Farmer Brent was somewhat skeptical of her assessment. Nevertheless, he plucked a few for himself and was surprised to find that not only were they edible, they were incredible. Before running out to the markets, Farmer Brent investigated their culinary aptitude and sure enough, they are legit. There's even a blurb about them on Wikipedia. The next day he harvested a bag full, took it around to some friends and potential buyers for taste testing, and sold his first pound that evening. A local chef purchased some to garnish a ham soup and a few friends picked some up to top salads.

I would encourage you to try a few if you find them in a farmer's market, or if your radishes bolt and go quickly to seed like ours did. Radish peas look like a smaller, lighter sugar snap pea and they pack a peppery punch like a radish, without the intensity. They are delicious alone as a crunchy snack, but really shine when used as a surprisingly zesty garnish. We will have them on hand at the farmstand and on locallygrown.net for the next few weeks for our local foodies.

It's a beautiful thing when you discover something amazing and you never even had to plan for it.