The girl and the fig and the radishes

We recently spent a few days up in Sonoma County, starting with lunch at the much-loved and critically-acclaimed restaurant, the girl and the fig. The day was already quite warm, and when I started reading the menu, one of their starters really got my attention. I’ve since learned that this dish, mixed seasonal radishes, anchovy butter and grey sea salt, enjoys a permanent place on their ever-evolving menu. I love radishes, and even grew ‘French breakfast radishes’ in my summer garden one year, but I'd never eaten them in the classic way, with butter and salt. What a simple, perfect combination: cool, crunchy radishes and smooth, rich butter. There's a great post on the restaurant blog about this dish, so I'll let it provide the details—and photos.

The next morning, we went on a hike outside of the town of Sebastopol. As I often do, I took photos of wildflowers, to identify and sketch later. When I looked up this delicate little flower that evening, I learned that it is a wild radish!  

As for drawings, however, I have exactly two sketches of radishes in my portfolio: At the top of the plate page, we have a French breakfast radish from my garden. Such a beauty.

And below, we have a trio of the popular 'watermelon radish'. Now, one usually sees the inside of this radish featured, as it's bright pink (as the name implies) while the outside is comparatively plain: white to pale pink at the root. 

A few months after I drew this, I realized how much the creases and texture looked like faces. So, with barely a touch of a pencil, these radishes become three people, with a bit of a story to tell, it seems! 

Hmmm, I have drawers full of veggie drawings. I feel a series coming on...