What does one do during the drab winter months? Make a colorful, spicy salad from all the veggies that withstood the wrath of Mother Nature, of course! My garden was pleasantly prolific thanks to the cooler temperatures and the increase in precipitation (a rare occurrence in Central Texas). This is a salad packed with vitamin C.

INGREDIENTS:

• icicle radish (daikon will do)
• Florence fennel
• red radishes
• arugula
• 1 large tangelo orange
• fresh-squeezed tangelo orange juice (1/2 of the tangelo will d0)
• Old Thompson Garlic Pepper spice grinder

DIRECTIONS:

1. Wash and clean the arugula, radishes, tangelo, and Florence fennel. Spin-dry the arugula. Be sure to use a scrub reserved specifically for washing root vegetables, and in this instance, the tangelo because we will be eating the vitamin-packed rind. Some roots tend to have stubborn specks of dirt and sand. You don’t want to eat a gritty meal, do you? 😉
2. Tear the spun-dried arugula into chunky pieces. Thinly slice the radishes and fennel. Reserve some of the frilly fennel leaves to mix into the salad.
3. Using a paring knife, thinly slice off some of the tangelo rind and cut them into thin strips. Make sure you don’t cut too much of the pith, unless you like it.
4. Combine the radishes, fennel, arugula, and tangelo rind in a salad bowl. Squeeze 1/2 the tangelo and grind in some seasoning of your choice.
5. Lightly mix with wooden salad utensils.
6. Serve in bowl, squeeze on some more tangelo juice, and sprinkle some fennel leaves on top.
7. Grind some fresh black pepper corns on top (optional).