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Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Much Ado About Radishes ~ An Experiment

Tammy here ~ The latest in the epicurious adventures of "us" is upon us.  

We were out at the grocery store about a week ago and I spied several packages of radishes on the produce rack.  

I grabbed them all. I'm not a big fan of radishes as a rule but I buy them for my family for salads, or to make pretty radish rose garnishes for veg plates.  I decided I was going to come home and find some "new" ways to make radishes. 

To be honest, I drew a complete blank, and in looking for recipes I came up pretty empty.  I had really hoped that it would go the way of the green pepper, which I always detested as a child raw or cooked (think roasted stuffed green peppers like Mom used to make).  I have fond memories of my Dad sneaking my green pepper from my plate when Mom wasn't looking and leaving me with the stuffing that I liked.  If Mom knew, she never said anything but Dad was my hero for taking that awful thing from my plate.   

Imagine my surprise to discover one afternoon during a fridge clean-out and batch cooking session that if I diced and fried them that I *loved* them.  So now I add them to spaghetti sauces, stir fries, and other creations. 

For those of you who might just be turning in, I have been a long-time fan of produce clearance racks when it comes to cooking.  There's something rather freeing about experimentation without the fear of failure.  Prepping and freezing several baskets of Garden market multi-color peppers (for example) at the end of the day at 1.99 when they were selling for 1.49 and 1.99 a pound in the store.  Having to dispose of 2.00 is a lot less harrowing than the alternative.  

I consider it a personal challenge to keep a stocked pantry, and to cut corners where I can.  There's nothing quite like the feeling of having your spouse come in and tell you that things are going to be tight for a few weeks, and can we stretch the grocery budget,  and being able to smile, show a stocked pantry, and a well stocked freezer and know you have nothing to worry about.  The meals may not be a big thrill but nobody will starve.  We've come such a long way since then.  With so many choices for dried vegetables and spices the pantry is boring no more!! 

Now that we're older, and the kids are grown the issue becomes making too much food and using up leftovers, rather than budget boosting for a young family but one thing is for sure.  With the prices of food and grocery items climbing exponentially it is never a bad thing to trim the corners from your budget wherever you can. 


Experimentation is the key to some of my best discoveries and this is no exception.

Somehow when it came to the radishes, I was at a complete loss.  Though after trying out our new rosemary garlic seasoning and oven roasting pan last week for the first time I was struck with inspiration.  Why not roasted rosemary garlic RADISHES??   

My hubby was skeptical ~ gave me that almost deer in the headlights "whatever you wanna do dear" look that he's become famous for.   I pointed out that I'd gotten 9 bunches of radishes for about 3.00 so even if the whole thing was a bust, I really wasn't out a whole bunch of anything but time.  Even the spice costs are negligible since we use so little for such a big batch.  

I actually did this experiment in two parts.  Washed and peeled all of the radishes one night while watching TV and then did the actual roasting today.  

Everything was prepped as per directions.  We checked the radishes at 20 minutes but did end up cooking them for the full time.  Don't they look good? 

The final result ~ James seemed to be having some trouble wrapping his head around this one but he was a good sport and tried it.  While he admitted they weren't "bad",  he wasn't particularly struck on them either.  I, on the other hand,  really liked them.  It was a little different, absolutely, and some had a bit more of a kick than others.. but overall I think it's something I'd definitely do again. 

Oh and before I forget..  we paired them with our Garlic Aoili ~ Yummy!! 

So there you have it..  my experiment du jour!  Let me know if you try it!! 

I'd love to hear your ideas for new ways to cook radishes..   Please leave us a comment, or send an e-mail to us at feedmeepicure@gmail.com. 

     

Thank-you for choosing us to be YOUR 

demonstrator!

Tammy J. Wilson ~ J. James Edwards

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