Radishes, Braised
See that picture? That is a picture of braised radishes.
There is a good reason why we eat radishes raw, neatly sliced up in salads, dressed with something acidic. That's because cooked radishes, in this case, braised, are just not good. Maybe it was the recipe, although it did come from Vegetarian Cooking for All, which usually produces fairly solid results (only, add more flavoring. Trust me).
In case you're curious, here's the recipe. Saute a chopped shallot and thyme in a few tablespoons of butter, add trimmed radishes, cover in water and braise 3-5 minutes. Add radish greens, braise another minute and then remove radishes from braising liquid. Let it boil down for a few minutes, add some butter "to turn it into a sauce" and sauce up the radishes. Simple, right?
In case you're curious, here's how it all went wrong. The radishes took much longer to cook until tender, approximately 15 minutes. When cooked, they sort of had that radish bite, only meek and watery. And the braising sauce...tasted just like water with butter added. The dish was thrown away.
On the positive side, the seared coho salmon (generously seasoned with salt and pepper) and sauteed spinach (with thinly sliced garlic, salt and pepper, then squeezed of excess liquid, then seasoned with a bit of balsamic) were both delicious, definitely making up for the disappointing radishes.