Sweet Makes: Japanese Daikon Radish Pickles

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I have been having some serious cravings lately. One of them was one I hadn't had in probably 15 years: Japanese Daikon Radish Pickles! They have a very peculiar additive taste that cannot be matched by any ordinary pickle. When I was a little girl, we traveled to Seoul, Korea to visit my stepfather's family and we had these pickles upon arrival. ( and of course kimchi, YUM!) I was amazed at the sweet, salty, and crunchy taste these exotic little unassuming pickles held.

If you are headed to a BBQ or picnic make a batch of these and people will think you are the missing talented spawn of Martha Stewart or that you've been reading Saveur for years. Amazingly enough, they are super simple ( and CHEAP! ) to make....

Japanese Daikon Radish Pickles 

*Now where do you find these lovely radishes? Local natural food store or an asian market. You may have to ask. Look for ones that are completely white in color and are firm and not rubbery. They run around $2 a pound.

2  Large Daikon Radishes
1 Cup Rice Wine vinegar ( plain)
2 TBSP Sesame seeds
2 heaping TBSP white Sugar
optional: Feel free to infuse any citrus or herbs in as well, I enjoy mine plain)

Wash and peel the skin from your radishes with a potato peeler. Slice thinly into rounds or sticks. Pile them into a big mason jar and prepare your pickling juice in a separate bowl. Whisk well and then pour into the jar. Be sure to allow your pickles to sit in the mixture for at least 24 hours. Turn the pickle jar upside-down frequently to allow all the pickles to steep.  Pickles can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.

Serve with sandwiches, rice, or eat right out of the jar!

Homemade Butter and Sweet n' Sneaky Pudding

I had lofty craft goals for this long weekend but alas a cold has taken me down. I haven't been sick in so long that I honest to goodness thought I was having an allergic reaction to a cookie last night. Silly me. It came on so sudden and I had some difficulty breathing.  Thank goodness I didn't call 911. Whew!

In any case, I did have some dear friends over last night for dinner. At the last minute I decided to run to the store for salad fixings and decided to buy some heavy whipping cream for butter. Mind you, I have never made butter in my life but I have always been intrigued since seeing this. WOW. Homemade butter is MIND BLOWINGLY good.

Homemade Garlic & Herb Butter

2 cups heavy whipping cream 

1 1/2 tsp salt 

1tsp dried herbs ( I used Herbs to Provence) 

1 garlic clove ( I used two but I suggest one) 

Pour cream into food processor or food chopper and blend for 8 minutes. Add garlic clove and herbs and pulse again. Pour out excess liquid and blend again. Store in airtight container. 

My little Giraffe has a thing for chocolate pudding. While on a non-eating binge he refused to eat anything but pudding so, I had to become inventive. Cabot sells a wonderful vanilla greek yogurt that is so creamy you'd swear it was vanilla pudding and it has 18grams of protein! I often add chia seeds for added nutrients as they are a magical food. Super high in omegas, protein and fiber. We purchase ours from Navitas at Wholefoods. They are also great in muffins and other baked goods. 

Sweet & Sneaky Pudding 

1 cup Cabot Vanilla Greek Yogurt 

1 heaping tablespoon All Natural Kozy Shack Pudding 

Optional: 1/2 tsp chia seeds 

Combine together and serve! 

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Toddler Meal: Baby Cube Pops

So our baby cubes have been sitting in the cabinet all sad. A little too small for snacks now but still useful. Alas, baby cube pops! Grab some popsicle sticks and place two on each side to hold the middle sick. I made Strawberry yogurt pops for my little dude.

Give them a try today!

Toddler Meal: Healthy FroYo Pops

Happy almost 4th! My son recently figured out that mommy was consuming massive amounts of popsicles due to the heat and finally asked for some. I hesitated although they were healthy i.e. no HFCS they did contain quite a bit of sugar. The devil's food. So I decided to whip up some of my own. You'll thank me later...

Healthy FroYo Pops

1/2 to 1 cup organic plain yogurt ( ours was farm fresh! Try to use plain or you will be adding more sugar!)

1/2 to 1 cup organic lemonade (try Newman's Own Organics )

Popsicle Molds ( I purchased mine at Target for $2.50. They are perfect toddler size! If you don't have molds and must have pops now use dixie cups and popsicle sticks)

It couldn't be simpler. Pour ingredients into a container mix and pour into pop molds. Put them in the freezer and Volia!

Depending on how many molds you are filling you can decrease or increase the amount of yogurt to lemonade ratio. You want the mixture to be watery in consistency. To easily remove pops from mold run under the tap for 30 seconds.

Tip: Add blueberries, strawberries, raspberries or try limeade for a twist. You can even sub the apple juice for the lemonade. The possibilities are endless!