Saturday, April 14, 2012

Daikon "noodles" and Polenta Caprese "toasts"

This mean is fresh, simple, quick and tastes great. My daughter thought this were actual noodles and ate them right up! I hope that you enjoy them as well!

Daikon "Noodles" and Bruschetta Sauce
  • 2 large daikons, about 1#
  • 2TB EVOO
  • 2TB garlic, minced
  • 3 large tomatoes (I prefer vine ripe), chopped
  • 2ts horseradish, fresh ground
  • 1 bunch scallions, chopped
  • 1 ts basil paste or 1/2c chopped
  1. Peel daikons then use the peeler to create thin strips and add to salted cold water and soak for 30 minutes.
  2. Heat EVOO over medium-high heat, add garlic and reduce to medium.
  3. Heat garlic until fragrant then add tomatoes. Continue to cook until tomatoes are broken down and most of liquid is evaporated. 
  4. Add horseradish and scallions and cook for about another 5 minutes until scallions are soft.
  5. Drain daikon and add to pan. Cook for another 10 minutes until "noodles" are soft and sauce rethickens.
  6. Let rest for 5 minutes, top with veggie cheese and enjoy!
Polenta Caprese "Toasts"
  • 1 sundried tomato polenta "log"
  • basil paste (in produce section or puree a bunch of basil)
  • 1 medium tomato
  • veggie mozzarella
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Cut log into 1/4" slices and add a thin layer of basil paste. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes.
  3. Thinly slice tomato and place on top of polenta round, top with veggie cheese and back for another 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted.
  4. For best results, let rest for 10 minutes and enjoy!
Hopefully I will be able to get some more recipes posted as we get the last of our stuff moved.

Parsnip "Fries"

I know that I have been slacking on posting. We are actually in the process of simultaneously packing one house up and unpacking at our new house. This is in an attempt to make the process less stressful, but I do not think that it is working.

The thing that sucks the most is that my backing/cooking stuff is divided between to places and it has made it difficult to "create." I was determined to cook stuff this week and decided with the recent warm weather, nothing would taste better than burger and "fries." However, I have a weird phobia of frying foods and I am not really a fan of potato fries, unless they're sweet potatoes. I happened to have parsnips and I thought "why not."

They are technically just roasted parsnips in the shape of french fries but they're freaking good either way. :-)

  • 1# of parsnips, peeled and cut into french fry sized strips
  • 1/8c EVOO
  • 1TB parsley, dried
  • Salt & Pepper
  • 1/3c veggie stock
  • 2TB garlic, minced
  •  1 bunch scallions, chopped
  • 4TB butter, softened
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Toss parsnips in EVOO, salt, pepper and parsley. Place in a baking dish with a lid, add stock and bake covered until soft and all the liquid is absorbed (25-45 minutes). 
  3. Combine butter, garlic, and scallions. When parsnips are done, toss with butter mixture and place back in the oven and bake uncovered for 10 minutes. 
  4. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes with the cover on. 
These take a little while to make but they are so worth it!