Daikon - White Radish

From time to time I find something totally new to me. The other day I was shopping for some Thai green curry at our local international market and after selecting on one but 5 different curries to try I went over to the produce section. I found some really interesting and kind of pretty large pale green and white roots that fascinated me. There were several varieties from Japan, Korea, and a couple of other Asian countries. They were all varieties of Daikon. I decided I must buy one and try it. The Japanese variety really caught my attention as it was the longest and was smoother than the Korean, so I put it in my cart.

When I got home I did some research on this mystery root. It is a mild white radish that is popular in Japan, China, Korea, Vietnam and India. The word Daikon is Japanese meaning dai (big) and kon (root). Daikon has its origins in the Mediterranean region. It was introduced to East Asia some time prior to 500BC.

Daikon is low in calories. One half a cup is only 20 calories. It is high in vitamin C. It also aids in digestion.

In Japan daikon is eaten grated and raw, in soups, dried, pickled, in sushi, simmered and stir-fried. There were lots of things to choose from. I found several soup recipes and since it has been chilly I decided to make a soup for dinner. I found one that I had all the ingredients for and changed it up a bit to make it Paleo and to suit my taste.

Daikon Mushroom Soup

1 Japanese daikon about 12 inches long (peeled and cut into quarters lengthwise and then                  sliced about 3/8" thick)

1 cup cremini mushrooms (thinly sliced)

1 quart chicken broth

8 slices ginger root (cut 1/8" thick)

1 green onion whole

4 finely sliced green onions (for garnish)

1 cup chopped chicken or pork (I used left over chicken breast already cooked)

1 cup loosely packed fresh spinach leaves

3/4 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons coconut aminos

  chili flakes (for garnish)

1. In a 6 quart stock pot add the broth and meat. Bring to a boil and cook the meat if raw for a few minutes. Add the daikon, ginger root, whole green onion and simmer for 20 minutes.

2. Remove the whole green onion and add the sliced cremini mushrooms. Simmer for about 3 minutes.

3. Add the spinach leaves, salt and coconut aminos and simmer for a minute just till the spinach is bright green.

4. Remove from the heat and serve into soup bowls. Add a sprinkle of finely sliced green onion and a small amount of red chili flakes for garnish.

This was a very nice soup for a cool day. I will difinetly make it again. I also want to try a few other recipies useing daikon. I will likely try the other varieties the international market has to offer as well.

Vanilla Blueberry Macaroons

I have not made these in awhile and I have to say I have missed them. I was making them every week and packing them for my lunch at work. They sure are a treat. I found these wonderful treats on Urban Poser Blog. They were Vanilla Strawberry Coconut Macaroons and they are quite yummy. I have made those cookies just as the recipe was written. I have played with the recipe and made a few changes of my own for this batch. I have made the strawberry macaroons just like the recipe and they were awesome. I did not have strawberries so I tried blueberries and they are yummy too.

There are only seven ingredients for these: 

   

Vanilla Blueberry Macaroons:
3/4 cup cashew meal
1 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup coconut oil (liquid)
2 teaspoons vanilla
Pinch sea salt
1/4 to 1/2 cup freeze dried blueberries (the fruit has to be freeze dried there is no substitution)

Pre heat the oven to 190 degrees F. These will be dehydrated so the heat is pretty low.

Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.

chop up the blueberries. I left some of them whole.

Combine all the ingredients and mix well.

Use a rounded measuring table spoon and scoop up enough dough to fill the spoon. Press it into the spoon, and be sure that the bottom is level.

Place the cookies on the parchment and place in the oven for about 50 minutes. They should not be brown when they are done. They should just be hardened a bit on the outside and still moist on the inside.

Cool about 10 minutes and store in an airtight container.

You can use any freeze dried fruit you like. I have used strawberries and they are really good. Another suggestion is raspberries which I have not yet tried.

Sweet Potato

Most of of think of sweet potatoes as a concoction made for a Thanksgiving feast that is swimming in marshmallow, sugar and who knows what else. Actually the sweet potato is quite a healthy food. It is the Paleo substitute for the potato...................and so much more! It is a good source of dietary fiber, high in antioxidants rich in Vitamin E and beta-carotene. They also have a low glycemic index which is characterized by slow absorption, and a modest rise in blood sugar (glucose). They are good source of Potassium which is important in maintaining electrolyte balance in the body.

I bought two large bags of  organic sweet potatoes over the holidays and have been eating them baked, mashed and oven roasted. These are all yummy. Today though, I was looking at Melissa Jouluan's website: theclothesmakethegirl and found a recipe that was intriguing. You can find her recipe for Sweet Potato Soup With Bacon: www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2013/12/28/15-popular-recipes-2013/

I have been reading Melissa's Paleo cookbook: Well Fed Paleo Recipes For People Who Love To Eat. I got it for Christmas and have already tried a couple of her recipes and they were quite yummy. Since I had all the ingredients for the Sweet Potato soup except for the Ras el Hanout (a spice mix on her website and in her book) I forged ahead. I did have all the spices on hand to follow her recipe for the Ras el Hanout and made that up. As you can see from the photo it is quite a complex array of spices. I am going to have to say that the soup would not be the same without this ingredient so I highly suggest if you try her recipe you make up a batch of this. Her book has quite a few other uses for it so it is well worth the time to mix up some.

 The finished soup is indeed yummy. The rest of the family is not Paleo and they had pizza. I had the bowl of soup and it was awesome! I did not have yellow or white onions so I used red onions. I also did not have chives so I used green onions for a garnish. Not only was the soup very good, it was also filling as that is all I had and I felt quite satisfied. The flavor is quite complex with the amazing mixture of spices. I have enough soup to freeze for lunches to take to work.