Miss Jo's San Francisco

UNDER THE CATEGORY OF VEGETABLES WITH ALTER EGOS, THIS JUST IN FROM MISS JO’S SAN FRANCISCO KITCHEN: a radish posing as a California sea lion.

These are French Breakfast Radishes from Eatwell Farm, where Miss Jo and Jeff get their CSA farm box of organic produce.

Committed locavores since 2006, the two Js just renewed their box for another 13 weeks for $25/each— a bargain for all the seasonal bounty, which they pick up in a neighbor’s garage down the hill. The farm hauls its SF boxes across the Golden Gate Bridge from the Sacramento River valley in a bio-fuel truck.

This week’s carrots, arugula, bok choy, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, thyme, poblano peppers, leeks, apples and persimmons are as beautiful as the radishes.

It’s been a culinary expedition basing most meals around what’s in the box. In the process, the two Js have become better and more adventurous cooks who actually now plan meals— nothing fancy— and always have something in the fridge to eat. At the same time, they’ve gradually lost weight and are happy to have finally moved beyond the fad Atkins’ low-carbo, high-protein diet followed for too many years.

The sweet potatoes, carrots, poblanos and thyme went immediately into a chicken-stock-based soup, with a head of garlic, several chiles de arbol, ginger, cilantro, bay leaves and juice from two limes, all bought last week at the Alemany Farmers’ Market. Also added were ends of parmesan cheese, a can of plain coconut milk, pinch of salt and a few sprigs of rosemary from the two Js’ garden. A dollop of Greek yogurt is added to each serving.

The radishes will go in a salad with lettuce from Alemany, or with butter on a slice of Jeff’s whole wheat bread.