Seven years ago, my first year at The Saint Constantine School, I subbed for Mrs. Lewis’ third grade gardening class as she was out on maternity leave. On my first day on the job, we got to harvest a bunch of radishes that the class had planted. They dug their fingers through the soil and reaped their rewards, fists high in the air with little red bulbs dangling between their fingers. At first, I felt a bit guilty getting to enjoy the reaping of a harvest that I did not help plant or water or care for. Then I thought, practically speaking, "What are we going to do with all these radishes?" Honestly, I am not a big fan of the slightly spicy root vegetable, and taking a bite out of a freshly picked radish did not sound appetizing. Then, a lightbulb came on!

Raw radishes? No thanks. Give me those puppies. That night, I took them home and did a little Middle-Eastern thing to it and came up with a recipe for what we now call, “Radical Radish Salad.” When I shared this salad with the students, they ate it up! Literally and figuratively. They were begging for the recipe, and many of them made the salads at home. Was it a magical salad? Was there a special ingredient in there? Maybe… though I truly believe that what made it taste so good to those students was the fact that they grew those radishes. I mean, God grew them, but they helped. There is something so satisfying about growing your own food, something that was much more common in the days before H.E.B. and Uber Eats. The garden is one of the many things I love about The Saint Constantine School. I love the fact that we grow so many wonderful vegetables and herbs at our school, and when the opportunity allows, we make something delicious with them.

This year, I have been reaping some of the beautiful grape leaves that are now draping the pergola in our school garden as well as the iron rod fence that faces the parking lot. We started planting them at school a few years ago.  The vines are pretty, but they serve a greater purpose. In my culture, we stuff and roll grape leaves with meat and rice and cook them in a lemony broth. You haven’t lived until you have eaten Middle Eastern warak enab (You can buy the leaves in a jar, but the fresh ones are the best).

I was recently picking some leaves at school when one of the gardening teachers, Mr. Novotony, made a comment that they would like to start making more food in their gardening classes. I instantly perked up and offered to teach his 5th graders how to roll grape leaves, with only one requirement: they needed to pick the leaves. Hand shake. Let’s go! The following Tuesday, his class picked the leaves, and on Thursday morning, they met me in my first grade classroom and got a master class in "Grape Leaf Rolling 101." What a joy it was to see these sweet students working like busy bees, stuffing, rolling, and chatting with each other, the way it has been done for countless generations. Rolling grape leaves is very much a communal activity. It is meant to be done in a group, around a table. After tightly arranging them all together in a large pot, we poured water and lemon juice over it and cooked it on a hot plate for about an hour and a half. Much to my surprise (and gratitude), the “little hot plate that could” was able to do the job!

During fourth period that day, a delighted group of Saint Constantine 5th graders (and some teachers, too) had arguably the most delicious pot of grape leaves. I have made countless pots in the last 25 years, and that was the best tasting one yet! Was it a magical pot? Was there a special ingredient in there? Maybe… or perhaps it is the radical idea that we appreciate and enjoy things so much more when we are a part of the process, when we are invited to participate in the planting, the reaping, and the offering of the good gifts that God gives us.

 

Recipe for “Radical Radish Salad”

INGREDIENTS: 

• 10 to 12 radishes 
• Handful of baby carrots, chopped finely 
• 2 stems of green onions, chopped finely 
• 1/4 cup of chopped parsley
• Half a teaspoon of dried mint, (or a few stems worth of fresh mint)
• Queso Blanco (white cheese) Cut into very small cubes, as many as desired (¼ cup or so)
• Salt, lemon, olive oil (to taste)

 

– Wash the radishes well and peel some of the outside skin. Slice them very thinly, keeping them in the shape of a circle. Add all of the above ingredients in a small bowl.

– Mix them all together and serve. Enjoy!  Keep gardening!