A Simple Trick for Making Radish Flowers

How was everyone's Easter? If you made or enjoyed a special Easter meal, how did that go? 

I find I learn something new with the food preparation for every special occasion. This time, I tried Live and Learn's suggestion for spinach squares. I found a recipe online and made a batch for my family. They were well-received by everyone. I will be adding these to my variations on using leafy greens. Thank you, Live and Learn. I think these could also work well with kale, Swiss chard, and broccoli in addition to spinach. They reminded me a bit of Impossible Pies in texture and use of eggs  (also a great brunch or supper dish), without needing the prepared biscuit mix.

I wanted to show you a great trick for turning radishes (and other firm veggies) into blossoms. It uses a tool that many of us have in our kitchens, an apple corer/wedger.

After washing and trimming the tops and tails from radishes (this works best with larger radishes), I cut each radish in half. Placing the trimmed end (top or tail) down, I gently press the apple tool onto and through the white of the radish, not quite all the way down (that would break the radish into pieces). The result is a little flower. 

I used about 12 radishes, making 24 flowers, then placed them all into a lined clay flower pot for the table. Each flower took seconds to make and are beginner-easy. 

As you may recall, I themed this year's Easter dinner table and dining room decor to a spring garden. So, radish flowers served in a clay flower pot seemed just about right.

Not only do radish flowers look pretty on a vegetable tray, but they also make a lovely garnish for main dish salads. These would be an especially nice addition for platters for bridal and baby showers or ladies' luncheons, I think. The stem and blossom end of both cucumber and zucchini can also be turned into "flowers" using this technique. Cucumber flowers make a pretty garnish for a tossed salad or a sushi plate and zucchini flowers are lovely on top of casseroles or bowls of soup. Use about 1 1/2 unpeeled inches of the blossom or stem end of either cucumber or zucchini to make those flowers.

So, back to my original question, how was your Easter? Anything new to you on your menus?

Just in Time for Easter Dinner: My Latest Vintage Shop Finds

My husband was out of town over the weekend and into this week. So, my daughters and I ventured out to the vintage district one day they were both off of work. 

A favorite antique mall with many vendors had lost their lease, leaving the vendors to scramble to find new locations and sell off merchandise. The sign out front said it was their last day, and the discounts were deep. It looked somewhat empty inside, with just a few items here and there remaining. I checked every nook and corner to see if they had something I collected or was needing. 

Something that has always irritated me when we're entertaining guests is that we don't have enough serving spoons for the different dishes. I always make-do with a large tablespoon used for servings foods where portions might tend to be smaller. But I had always wanted at least one other serving spoon to go with the ones that are part of my stainless flatware set.

When I came across the basket of miscellaneous silverplate and stainless serving pieces, I pawed through the entire thing, hoping to find my pattern or a close match. Well, lo and behold, there was a pattern of silverplate that looked similar enough to my stainless flatware. In fact, there were 3 of these serving spoons in that basket. The vendor originally priced all of the serving spoons and forks at $3.75 each. With the moving sale, they'd each been marked down to $1.33 each! I quickly checked online and found an exact same piece for sale priced at $14 through eBay. I bought all 3 spoons. I'll be using them on Sunday in serving our Easter dinner.

Here's a comparison between my stainless pattern and these serving spoons. The handle on the far right is the stainless pattern. They look close enough, don't you think?

I also looked closely through the stacks of vintage books. Here's one that caught my eye, a Sunset magazine cookbook. The copyright on this cookbook is 1949 and the publishing date is May of 1963. It's old-school, complete with pen and ink illustrations in place of modern color photos. There are over 1000 recipes inside, and practically all of them are for cooking from basic ingredients. That's the kind of cooking I do. The cookbook was also on steep discount, with the vendor originally asking $10 for the book. I got it for $2.38. I'm sure I will find this cookbook not only entertaining but also very useful. And of course, I'll share recipes with you, as well. Just a P.S., in searching online, someone on eBay has the same quality of this cookbook (meaning in very good condition) listed for $11.99.

Anyway, those were my finds this time in the vintage district. It's nice to know that I could resell any of these items and make a profit, if need be.

Wishing you all a very lovely Easter weekend with friends and family. I'll be back on Monday.