Cooking is not just transformational, but also transporting. Transporting in terms of place or time. Even just the smell of a particular food can take you back to a moment in the past à la Marcel Proust. When I crunch into a fresh radish, I take a journey to my husband's family home in Brittany, France. Brittany is known as the land of crêpes, for sure, but it's an agricultural area and a generally cool climate, which is also known for many of the first spring vegetables to emerge from the thawing ground: onions, shallots, artichokes, mache and radishes. Early spring is the beginning of radish season. Looks for radish tops that are bright green and not at all wilted.