Radishes are one of the joys of spring. (Provided photo — Yvona Fast)

When visiting a friend in Poland, I got so excited when she served radishes for breakfast, with an assortment of breads and cheeses. That’s because few Americans get excited about them.

For many, radishes are simply a garnish that adds a little color and flavor to salads. For me, radishes are one of the joys of spring. I love their crispy crunch and sharp zing of freshly harvested spring radishes. My favorite way to eat them is on a piece of rye bread or a bagel with cream cheese and sliced radishes on top, sprinkled with a little salt.

There are many varieties of spring radishes. They come in all shapes and colors. Red-skinned, round or oval-shaped varieties are the most popular.

Easy to grow, they need little space. They’re one of the first vegetables to come up from seed in spring and take only a month from sowing until harvest.

Scallions — also known as green onions and spring onions — are the stems and leaves of the onion plant. They also come up early in the season. If you have a garden, you can easily pick a few to spice up a dish you’re cooking in the kitchen.

Both scallions and radishes are native to Asia, where they have been cultivated for millennia. Both are low in calories and high in fiber and vitamin C.

A cruciferous vegetable, radishes have cancer-protecting properties. They’re rich in the minerals sulfur, iron and iodine. Scallions contain quercetin, a potent antioxidant important in cancer prevention. Their green leaves contain more vitamin A, C, folic acid, and the minerals calcium, magnesium and potassium than do mature onions.

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Cream Cheese and Radish Sandwich

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Ingredients:

1 plain bagel or good-quality sourdough bread

1 tablespoon cream cheese

Thinly sliced radishes

Salt

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Directions:

Toast bagel or bread lightly. Spread with cream cheese. Arrange sliced radishes on top, and sprinkle with salt. If you wish, you can add some scallion greens or chives.

Serves 1 or 2.

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Spring Radish and Scallion Egg Salad

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Ingredients:

3 eggs

2 cups cottage cheese

1 tablespoon sour cream or plain Greek-style yogurt

1 bunch radishes (6 ounces or about 1 1/2 cups, sliced or chopped)

3 or 4 scallions

Salt and pepper to taste (I use about 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper.)

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Directions:

Cook, peel, and dice the eggs. Place in bowl. Stir in cottage cheese and sour cream.

Cut root ends off the radishes, and slice thinly or chop coarsely.

Cut off root ends of scallions, and remove any wilted leaves. Slice thinly.

Stir radishes and scallions into the bowl with eggs and cottage cheese. Taste, and add salt and pepper to your liking.

Serve with whole-grain or sourdough bread or crackers.

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Author of the award-winning cookbook “Garden Gourmet: Fresh & Fabulous Meals from your Garden, CSA or Farmers’ Market,” Yvona Fast lives in Lake Clear and has two passions: writing and cooking. She can be found at www.yvonafast.com and reached at yvonawrite@yahoo.com or on Twitter: @yvonawrites.