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When spring is still a whisper away, it’s a good time to explore the cool-weather vegetables we normally take for granted….and I’m hard-pressed to think of one more overlooked than the humble radish.

Often dismissed as little more than a colorful afterthought for crudité platters, there is probably not a grocery store in California that doesn’t keep a permanent mound of red radish bunches piled high in the produce department (or, worse yet, stripped of their leaves and decaying in plastic bags.) Unfortunately, more often than not these little orbs are unpalatably peppery, giving the entire genus a bad rep.

Although available year ‘round, radishes are just now coming into their finest season. And if you’ve limited your past consumption to only the red globe varieties, you are in for a very affordable surprise at the farmers’ market.

Members of the mustard family, radishes are root vegetables that resemble tiny beets or turnips. Aficionados reach for the reliably mild Flambo or French Breakfast radish, so chic with its elongated shape, red shoulders, and white tip. White Icicle radishes are, as the name suggests, long, thin, and snowy white. The rounded Easter Egg radish comes in varying shades of red, pink, purple, and white; often bundled together for visual appeal.

It is believed radishes were first grown thousands of years ago in China, and eventually migrated to Egypt and Greece. They made their way to England in the mid-16th century, and were cultivated in Massachusetts less than 100 years later. Although now grown throughout the U.S., the largest commercial crops come from California and Florida.

While perusing radishes at the farmers’ market, be sure to also stock up on end-of-season apples, pears, and citrus. And treat someone special to a bouquet of fresh flowers to brighten up a cold wintry day.

Radish Tips and Trivia

• 1 cup of sliced radishes weighs in at less than 20 calories; with 4 grams of carbohydrate, 2 grams of fiber, and 45 mg sodium. They also contain 29% of our RDA of Vitamin C.
•   Crisp, bright green leaves are the primary indicator of freshness.
•   Smaller radishes are generally milder and crunchier. As the weather gets warmer, most radishes become spicier.
•   Some may like them hot, but everybody wants them crunchy—which means the very best radishes are fresh from the grower. Once purchased, use them within 5 days.
•   Unless you plan to serve the radishes intact, trim away the leaves, leaving a bit of the green stems attached. Then store the radishes in an open plastic bag in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator.
• Radish leaves are edible—and nutritious—so do not discard. Rinse them well to remove any grit, then add to salads or cook as you would Swiss chard or kale.
• Radishes are best served raw; but any unpleasantly peppery ones are easily tamed by cooking—either sautéed or roasted with olive oil, salt, and pepper; or braised in a bit of chicken stock and a splash of white wine. Serve warm as a side dish.
•  Enhance a crisp butter lettuce salad with sliced radishes, chopped fresh chives, and a homemade herb vinaigrette or buttermilk dressing.
• Toss sliced radishes into your favorite coleslaw or other cabbage- or cucumber-based salads.
• For another invigorating salad, combine sliced radishes with matchstick-size pieces of jicama, bite-size chunks of avocado and orange segments, dressed with a lime-cilantro vinaigrette.
•  For a taste of the exotic, cut away the skin and pith from several navel oranges. Cut the oranges crosswise into 1/4-inch slices and arrange on a platter. Mix together a tablespoon or so of fresh lemon juice, a few drops each of orange flower water and honey, a pinch each of ground cinnamon, salt, and cayenne; then drizzle over the oranges. Scatter sliced radishes on top and garnish with small fresh mint leaves.
• Serve a bowl of sliced radishes at the table to top off posole or other soups and stews.
• Tuck radish slices inside soft tacos, or shower them over tostadas.
• Spread crostini with soft goat cheese and top with radish slices, a tiny sprig of arugula or watercress, and a few grindings of black pepper. For more genteel occasions, make tiny tea sandwiches filled with paper-thin radish slices, finely shredded mint leaves, and a lemony mayonnaise.
• Grate radishes into softened cream cheese; stir in some chopped fresh parsley and season with salt, pepper, and a squirt of lemon juice. Serve as a spread for cocktail rye, pumpernickel bread rounds, or whole radishes.
• Whip up a healthy lunch by stirring sliced or coarsely grated radishes into cottage cheese, and season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.
• Stir grated radishes into guacamole for added crunch and color. Ditto for egg salad.
• Pair chopped radishes with cucumber, celery, minced red or green onion, and cilantro for a refreshing homemade salsa.
• For an unusual raita, mix chopped radishes with cucumber, yogurt, and a few minced golden raisins; season to taste with ground cumin, salt, and a bit of minced fresh jalapeño. Serve alongside spicy curries; as a condiment with grilled chicken or fish; or as a dip with pita chips.
• Make radishes the unexpected star of grain or veggie salads. (Especially when asparagus and sugar snap peas come into season.)
• Rozanne Gold, author of Radically Simple, sautés sliced French Breakfast radishes and their coarsely chopped leaves along with bite-size strips of bacon; then tosses everything together with just-cooked pasta, grated Pecorino Romano, lots of coarsely cracked black pepper, and a dash of salt. Brilliant.

Radish Crudité

This classic French appetizer couldn’t be easier on the host—nor is there a better way to showcase your latest radish finds from the farmers’ market. The quality of each ingredient elevates the simple to the sublime.

• Whole young French Breakfast radishes (the smaller the better), or red globe radishes, halved lengthwise
• Best-quality unsalted butter, such as Kerrygold or European-style Plugra, at cool room temperature
• Coarse salt, such as Maldon sea salt, fleur de sel, or kosher salt
• Thin slices of sweet baguette

1.  Rinse radishes well with cold water. Leave whole with leaves intact, or trim away some or all of the leaves, maintaining enough of the green stem to serve as a “handle.” For maximum crispness, refrigerate the radishes in a bowl of ice water, covered, until serving time. (This can be done up to 24 hours in advance.)
2. Drain the radishes well and arrange on a small platter. (You can place them on a bed of crushed ice, if you like.) Accompany with a crock of butter, a small dish of salt, and the bread. Set out an empty bowl for any radish tops that may be discarded.
3. Have each guest spread a bit of butter on a radish and dip lightly into the salt. Eat as-is, or cradled in a slice of bread.

Variations:

• Mix chives or other fresh herbs into the butter before serving.
• For added depth of flavor, offer truffle salt (available in many gourmet shops), or mix a bit of finely grated lemon zest into plain coarse salt.
• Provide a small dish of toasted cumin seeds as an alternative to salt.

The Danville Certified Farmers’ Market, located at Railroad and Prospect, is open every Saturday, rain or shine, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. For specific crop information call the Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association at 1-800-949-FAR, or visit their web site at www.pcfma.com.

As an elementary teacher I have dealt with the ramifications of poor nutrition every day during my teaching. This does not mean that parents neglect their children; on the contrary they have the absolute best intentions of feeding them healthily. Unfortunately, with the rush of the mornings, dealing with children who are picky eaters, and little time to pack lunches and snacks, students often ingest empty calories and a lot of sugar. The result is lack of concentration, sugar highs, crashes, irritability and mood swings. These are very real issues to handle for teachers who are trying to maintain productive classroom environments. With this in mind, here are a few fun ideas I have collected from friends who are moms and food websites that are sure to help even the pickiest eater dig into his lunchbox and have a rewarding day.

The Breakfast Challenge
I have had many parents come up to me before the start of the school day and say in a defeated tone, “I just couldn’t get Patrick to eat anything this morning.” According to the Center for Disease Control “Eating a healthy breakfast is associated with improved cognitive function (especially memory), reduced absenteeism, and improved mood.” So what do parents do? My friend Lauren, mother of two, has a fabulous and fun solution: cookies! Not just any cookie of course, but cookies that have applesauce, dried cherries, oats, walnuts, dark chocolate and are low in sugar and high in nutrition. You can make them at the start of the week and freeze them for a fast morning solution. Who wouldn’t want to eat that for breakfast! Try this amazingly delicious recipe on the food network website for Kitchen Sink cookies by Ellie Krieger. http://www.foodnetwork.com/kitchen-sink-cookies/video/index.html

Snack Dilemma
Snack time is a well-deserved break in the morning for students and teachers alike. It is time to move around and fuel up before lunch. Snack is not an option in my classroom! Everyone needs to reboot their systems and when blood sugar levels get low, students suffer. I love this stuffed cucumber recipe because it’s fun to eat bite-sized things, it’s realistic to make and it incorporates vegetables!http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/stuffed-cucumber-cups-877034/

Lunch Time Doldrums
Part of my job that I wasn’t expecting is monitoring lunches to make sure every child eats. The most successful eaters in my class usually have a few things in common. A fun lunch case to use (try Bento mealtime Kit skiphop.com or Double Decker Mealbox giggle.com), and food presented in fun ways. Kids always seem to love wraps and it’s a fast way to keep them entertained. I liked this turkey, cream cheese, cranberry sauce recipe and recommend looking at the Super Healthy Kids Blog, as they have so many creative ideas. http://blog.superhealthykids.com/2011/11/healthy-lunch-box-turkey-wrap/

Hopefully these recipes and ideas will make dealing with hunger a little less painful in your family as well as healthy. Your child’s teacher will thank you!

A reader asked me to write a story regarding turning professional and what led me down the path to becoming a pro. I want to first explain the difference between someone who is a Golf Professional and someone who is a professional golfer.

A Golf Professional is someone who is in the business of golf. That person can be an instructor or a club manager, a director of golf, a head pro and or an assistant pro. I am a Class A PGA Professional and a member of the Professional Golfers Association of America. My title is Director of Instruction at the Boundary Oak Course in Walnut Creek. I have been at the same facility for 17 years now but before I went to Boundary Oak I was a Professional Golfer for 13 years.

How I came to the decision of turning pro was a life long dream in the making. I began at age eight, playing golf with my Dad at local municipal golf courses in the greater Portland area. My first Nine Hole score was a 71 entered my first junior tournament at age 12 and shortly afterward decided that golf is what I wanted to do more than anything so I quite all the other sports.

I had moderate success as a junior, never winning once but learning to be consistent and place high in most of the events I entered. I caught a break my senior year in High School by qualifying for the State High School Championship then going on to win it. That same year, my dream of going to college on a scholarship came true when I signed a letter of intent to play at the University of Oregon on a full-ride scholarship. Oregon was ranked number five in the nation so I had my work cut out for me.

Consistency, once again, earned me a spot on the varsity and I went on to play in every tournament the team entered over a period of four years. By the time I graduated I was a plus four handicap and had my sites set on playing on the PGA Tour. I would have never had the confidence to play at that level had it not been for playing golf at the University of Oregon. There were several players who had made it to the PGA Tour that had played at Oregon so I worked hard on my game and believed I could too!

I entered the PGA Q School for the first time in 1983 forfeiting my amateur status after a summer were I had won seven times, including a win in the Pacific Northwest Amateur Championship and a quarterfinal showing in the U.S. Amateur. I thought I was ready for the big time. I earned my TPS (Tournament Player Series) card that year which would be equivalent to a Nationwide Tour status now. For 13 years I traveled to nearly 20 countries, played on numerous tours including the U.S. PGA Tour as well as the Ben Hogan and Nike Tour, Austrailasian Tour, Canadian Tour, Asian Tour and numerous mini tours, earning more than a half a million dollars during that time. However, in the back of my mind, I knew that my playing days would come to an end and I would most likely end up in the business of golf.

Playing golf professionally has been something I am so thankful to have been able to do. I had some great help along the way. From coaches to mentors and some truly great friends, I could have never realized that dream without all of them. I have been fortunate and blessed to have met some great people, experienced traveling all over the world, and to have played a game for a living! With no regrets, I am thankful I made the decision to turn pro. Now, I enjoy helping people play golf and teaching them what I have learned over a period of some 45 years.

I found myself recuperating from a strenuous hike while watching Super Bowl XLII on Feb. 3, 2008. More than the commercials and half-time show, I really wanted to see Eli Manning play, but from a horizontal position, because I was in so much pain from the six-mile hike.

Pain or no pain, food took priority, so I jetted to a Mexican restaurant just minutes before the coin toss. The Motrin I took earlier gave me the strength to drive. Heads I’d buy chips and salsa, tails I’d buy a chili relleno dinner. I ended up buying it all since I heard it was going to be a great game—much fuel needed.

When the cashier clerk, a young blonde thing, asked me who I was rootin’ for, I said the Giants over the Patriots, hands-down. She agreed with my choice and explained why. ”I support San Francisco all the way!” she said. I almost said something about the difference between NY Giants and SF Giants (football verses baseball), but thought, what the heck, it doesn’t really matter. So instead I told her I was supporting the Giant’s too. I mean if she had told me she was voting for Osama Bin Laden for President, then I woulda said something. You’ve gotta choose your correctional-battles.

Meanwhile back at the house, Eli Manning came through for me. He was MVP for me too, not just for the San Francisco Giants! Added bonus was watching his older brother Peyton from inside his $30,000 booth showing such brotherly love and support. I’ll bet his mom made him stay there in the corner all day, seen through the dark windows, but either way, he was there.

Mr. Rubberface himself, Jim Carrey was spotted at the game. Comics and football go so well together, like cake and ice cream – of which I had neither for my one-person after party celebration.

By second half, I had stuffed myself so much, that my stomach hurt, but it was worth it. The game was alive, exciting and edgy, even down to the very last second (literally) of the game.

The commercials were fun too. Talking Stain was one of my favorites, but I didn’t like the one with the guy who connected jumper cables to his nipples to start a car. That was both “ew” and stupid. He should’ve just connected them to the cavities on his teeth.

Bridgestone Super Bowl halftime show with Tom Petty was good, but not wow. No wardrobe failure either, not even a popped guitar string. He opened with American Girl and ended with Free Fallin’.

By the end of the game, Giants 17, Patriots 14, I had forgotten all about my aching calves, until I got up and the pain hit me hard. I still don’t know what a blitz is, but my body sure felt like one.

Charleen Earley is a comedienne, freelance writer and a high school journalism teacher. She can be reached at charleenbearley@gmail.com.

If you have heard or been exposed to bluegrass music, you most likely responded viscerally in one way or another. It is a toe-tapping, hand-clapping, body-moving, head-nodding brand of exciting, American music. It is almost impossible not to get physically involved with this art form. “Bluegrass music has a way of creeping into your soul and staying there,” said Jason Borisoff in an article entitled The Lonesome Language.

Origins

Although, bluegrass music has elements of English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish, and German influence, its roots were inspired by immigrants living in rural towns and villages in the Appalachian Mountains. The music was further enhanced by African Americans.

Early on, bluegrass music was used to accompany the rural area dances known as clogging, flat footing or buck dancing. This genre of music wasn’t called bluegrass when it first evolved. It was simply called “old time mountain hillbilly music.” In the early part of the 20^th century, this form of music slowly made its way into larger areas (cities). It no longer was just an accompaniment for dances, but was listened to for its own intrinsic value by a growing number of fans.

Music historians cannot pinpoint a date when this musical form was first called bluegrass but they agree it was in the early 1950’s. It was named after the father of the genre, Bill Monroe. Monroe was from Kentucky (the bluegrass state). He formed a band in 1939 and named it “Bill Monroe and The Bluegrass Boys.” Monroe and his band established the instrumentation and sound that is the model for today’s bluegrass bands.

 Instrumentation
During the early years of bluegrass music, many combinations of acoustic instruments were tried by various groups, among them, “The Bluegrass Boys.” It was the latter group that finally settled on the instruments that are still used today. They are: the violin (fiddle), five string banjo, guitar, mandolin and string bass. Vocals, both solo and group, are also an important part of blue grass music.

The fiddle is the lead voice and will sometimes play in 3rds and 5ths, filling in between the vocals. The guitar doubles the notes of the bass and strumming gives the music its basic rhythm often described as “boom-chick.” The banjo is played with three fingers picking style.  It also plays continuous eighth note rolls. The mandolin plays chords with a fast tremolo and also fills in between vocal lines.  The string bass is the foundation of the chordal structure of the music. It plays the basic rhythm and harmony. The bassist plays pizzicato the majority of the time. It alternates between the tonic (first note of the scale or Do) and dominant (fifth note of the scale or So).

The learning and playing of bluegrass is summed up by Pete Wernick, aka, “Dr. Banjo.” He states, “Bluegrass is a team sport, and if you just learn to play a lead by learning a rote arrangement at home, that’s really not learning the language of bluegrass anymore than learning a Chinese poem phonetically is learning Chinese,” says Wernick. “You need to be fluent, and be able to change gears, like switching between lead and backup. Those skills are really critical for playing bluegrass music.”

You can experience authentic bluegrass music in many movies including: O Brother, Where Art Thou, That High Lonesome Sound, Bill Monroe, The Father of Bluegrass (documentary), Deliverance, Bonnie and Clyde, and Bluegrass Journey (documentary).

Believe it or not, you can actually get a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Bluegrass and Old Time Music studies. The program includes courses in bluegrass and country music-both academic and performance oriented. This major course of study is at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee. To my knowledge it is the only four-year university offering such a degree.

Please submit your questions and comments to banddirector01@comcast.net

Visit our website at www.danvilleband.org for up-to-date information about the Danville Community Band.     

One of the things I am most proud of is the fact that ALIVE is home to some of the best, when it comes to local writers and authors. Every month, our readers are treated to interesting, entertaining and useful content provided by the likes of Dr. Lawrence Anderson, Buzz Bertolero, Mike Copeland, Damien Couture, Dave DeLong, Charles Donaldson, Bob Fish, Charleen Early, Peggy Fallon, Ben Fernandez, Theresa Grutzeck, Carolyn Hastings, Paul Hirsch, Harry Hubinger, Amanda King, Patricia Leong, Carolyn Rovner, Mike Spencer, Trina Swerdlow and Anita Venezia.

If you’re an ALIVE reader, you know our mix and depth of material is extensive. We cover everything from music, gardening, finance, golf, automotive, cooking, beauty, film and fashion; to sports, travel, trivia, law, psychology and humor. Where else can you learn about the world of private investigations, facial cleansers, the Galopagos Islands and Honey-Glazed Butternut Squash Salad, all in a single issue of a magazine?

In addition to being regular contributors of features and columns in ALIVE, many of our writers, like Bob, Peggy, Harry, Trina, and Anita, are accomplished authors as well, having their own, highly acclaimed books in the marketplace. (Just do an author search on Amazon to find their books).

While ALIVE may have already cornered much of the writing talent in the East Bay, the fact is we live in an area rich in editorial expertise, so we thought it might be of interest to share a bit about the Indie Publishing industry. Beginning on page sixteen, you’ll read Anita Venezia’s first hand account of her experiences as a newly published author, attending a writer / publisher trade show. If you are an aspiring author, you don’t want to miss this piece!

And, speaking of aspiring authors and publishing … ALIVE is excited to announce our own upcoming launch into the world of book publishing, under the banners of ALIVE Publishing Group and ALIVE Book Publishing. With an “official” start date of April 2, 2012, ALIVE will begin offering comprehensive book publishing and marketing services to local authors.

Now, more than ever, if reading (and now writing) are your thing, you’ve come to the right place — ALIVE!