An Unusual Ingredient - Radish Tops

Have you ever had or thought of eating radish tops?!?! Maybe?! Maybe not?!?!

Honestly, I am not a fan of radishes. It is crunchy but very spicy. I tried to eat them every time we received them in our CSA baskets. Last year, I added radish to a stir-fry dish, hoping that other ingredients might moderate the spiciness. It did not work. So when we received bunches of radishes the past two weeks, I did something different. I searched "radish green" in one of my favourite iphone recipe apps. Scrolling through the list of recipes, radish top soup caught my attention. "Radish top soup?!?! Interesting!" I thought to myself. After glancing through the ratings, ingredients and reviews, it actually appeared simple and "edible". I decided to give it a try. Why not?! I have got nothing to lose.

  

Okay, I know it was not the best looking dish. However, the soup was quite good, fresh and light (maybe because I have omitted the potatoes)! Unlike many reviewers on allrecipes.com, I did not think it tasted like spinach. It certainly, thank goodness, did not taste like radishes! Its texture was similar to spinach but its taste was much milder. I think much milder than turnip green, collard greens and kales too. I would recommend it if you like cream of spinach and/or kale and bean soup.

  

From Allrecipes.com
Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

1 large onion, diced

2 medium potatoes, sliced

4 cups raw radish greens

4 cups chicken broth

1/3 cup heavy cream

5 radishes, sliced

Directions

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and saute until tender. Mix in the potatoes and radish greens, coating them with the butter. Pour in chicken broth. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.
2. Allow the soup mixture to cool slightly, and transfer to a blender. Blend until smooth.
3. Return the mixture to the saucepan. Mix in the heavy cream. Cook and stir until well blended. Serve with radish slices.               

Changes I have made this time:

• Substituted butter with a small amount of cooking spray
• Substituted heavy cream with milk
• Omitted potatoes
• Added carrots
• Added 1 radish when I blend the soup

Things I would do different the next time:

• Add some bacon (I have learnt that everything taste better with bacon)
• Not blending the soup
• Not adding the radish

How about you? What the the most unusual ingredient(s) you have used?

Mint and Lemon Air Freshener

Mint is a flavour that many people like, in teas, breath mints, ice-cream, cookies, gum, etc. I might be weird but I REALLY REALLY do not like mint. I would actually say 'no' to mint chocolate. (You have to know that I LOVE chocolate in almost any way, shape or form.) The only time I "like" mint is when I used it to repel ants in the kitchen. However, when we received a bunch of mint cuttings in the CSA basket, I was determined to use them constructively. So I searched for uses of fresh mint here and there. Then I came upon this - DIY mint and lemon air freshener.

At first, I tried to substitute the lemon with mandarin orange, thinking that any citrus would be comparable. I also wanted to save my lemons I had for making jams. Oh how I was very very wrong!! It appeared okay at the beginning. The mint was strong but the scent was pleasant in the house. However... after simmering all night in the crockpot, the liquid in the crockpot smelt like Chinese pickled mandarin oranges (咸金桔)!!!! If you have any idea what that is, you'd know that it does NOT smell like any air freshener at all.



I followed the instructions and used lemon the second time around.



I transferred the mixture into a crockpot, turned on low and left it uncovered through the night.

Using a crockpot allowed me to leave the liquid unattended during the night. The resulting scent is also much milder than if it had been simmering on the stove.


What is your favourite scent for air freshener?

I am back!

I am back! Here is the first entry for this new CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) season. This is our second  CSA subscription, however, this is the first time we have it in the summer. I am very excited about all the new vegetables and new recipes I might experient. I am certain that my husband is EQUALLY EXCITED about trying the products! :-p

This is one of the first things I made with the sugar snap peas from the first week's basket, a simple stir fry with ground pork and sugar snap peas...

Ingredients
1/2 lb Ground Pork (Chicken or Turkey would work too)
~1/2lb Sugar Snap Peas
1 Medium Onion
1 Bell Pepper
3 Garlic Gloves, minced
Light Soy Sauce
Dark Soy Sauce
Sugar

It is amazing how fresh ingredients elevate a basic everyday dish!

Hold Tight

This blog will return SOON!!!!