Dragon Tails

When is a dragon your friend?

When it is a...well, read on.

Every year, in our garden, we try to attempt something new.  This year, going through a depleted seed rack, we came across a packet of something called "Dragon tail radishes".

I had heard of something called Rat's Tail Radishes, a radish grown, not for its root, but for its seed pods. However, I am not a big fan of radishes.

But this year is not your normal year, and we decided these dragon tails might make a nice fall crop.  They grew quickly, with abundant foliage.

Then they decided to bloom.

You can see some of the young pods growing out on the upper left side of this flower cluster.

The blooms were different shades of pink, too.

Here is some more information on these radishes.

Beautiful flowers were followed by lots (and lots and lots and lots) of pods, like a long, thin, purple bean.  The young ones are crisp and have a little bit of a bite, but I have grown fond of them. I eat them raw right off the plant. The older thicker ones, the thickness of a green bean, will pepper up your mouth.

They are addictive, though.  So we decided to make some pickles.

You can see some of the pods over to the right.  The vinegar pickling mixture (for refrigerator pickles) is on the left.

Here's how to pickle.

Almost ready for the fridge.  These will not be canned, so will need to be used up soon.

So now what?

We are at a loss, honestly.  I went on an internet search.

Here's something called Peas and Prosciutto with radish snaps, although these aren't the pods we are getting. I also found something for "radish snack" involving roasting them in the oven.  I do note these are not the same pods as "rats tail", which are smaller, thicker, and green instead of purple.

I hope we can find some other ways to use these.  If you have any ideas, I would appreciate you sharing.