I don't have any creme fraiche
I don't have any creme fraiche
Similar to sour cream but not quite as thick, French crème fraîche is a heavy cream slightly soured with a bacterial culture. (It's much better than it sounds.)
If you don't have crème fraîche, you could use sour cream. But if you have the time, why not make your own? Mix 1 tablespoon of buttermilk with 1 cup of heavy cream and let it sit for a day in a warm spot (about 80 degrees). The bacteria in the buttermilk will keep the cream from going bad. After 24 hours or you've got your crème fraîche. Put it in the fridge, where it will keep for a week.
How to cut a carrot on the bias
How to cut a carrot on the bias
When you prep carrots and other vegetables for dishes where their form really stands out -- like salads and stir-fries -- it's nice to cut them on the bias. Cutting this way increases the surface area of each slice, makes a thinner cut easier and just looks better.
To cut a carrot on the bias, chop off and discard the the root and stem, then slice the carrot at a sharp angle. Hold it firm against the cutting board for stability with one hand but keep your fingers tucked under and away from the blade.
Recipe: Carrot Mint Salad (Cookthink)
Recipe: Carrot Salad With Ginger Miso Vinaigrette (Cookthink)
what you should know
The carrot is the Emmylou Harris of vegetables, best known for backing harmonies but really deserving of more attention for the solo work.
To wit, look up carrot in the index of most cookbooks and you'll find plenty of dishes that have carrot in them. What you won't find a lot of are carrot recipes -- recipes with "carrot" in the title.
Which is a shame: this orange root's sweet, earthy flavor and year-round availability should elevate it well beyond its role as a staple base vegetable. (For what it's worth, the carrot is Britain's third favorite vegetable.)
stick with sticks Unless you're into watery, processed nubs, avoid so-called baby carrots. Get fresh and slender carrots when you can, as they tend to be the tastiest. If you buy larger, older carrots, peel them and cut out their musty, woody core. Got a bunch of carrots that have gone soft? Revive them in an ice bath before using them.
what's up, doc? Carrots are rich in beta carotene, an orange pigment that gives the carrot its color. The body converts carotene to Vitamin A, a nutrient important for vision and bone growth. On the advice of the family doctor, Chip's father-in-law used to eat one carrot a day. After work. Reading the paper. With a martini.
roots Seventy years ago, Dorothea Lange spent time in and around Holtville, California, the "Carrot Capital of the World". Her photos from the area are worth looking at every now and then when you're feeling insufficiently thankful.
what you need
Do you Y peel or swivel?
Do you dump chopped vegetables right from the cutting board into the pan (and, like Chip, end up spilling them all over the stove)? Why not use a pastry scraper to transport them? Or you could use these cool melamine bowls to store the prepped veggies in until you're ready use them.
We're in prime carrot-planting season. If you've got a small patch of earth somewhere -- even a bare spot of the flower garden will do -- pick out some seeds and grow your own. If you're new to gardening, consult either Louise Rotte's Carrots Love Tomatoes or Sally Jean Cunningham's Great Gardening Companions.
Greatest carrot moment in the history of movies? In Gone with the Wind, when Scarlett rips a carrot from the earth and says, "...As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again!"
what you do
Glazed carrots shine in contrast alongside a good steak. They shine as bright on their own. Even as dessert.
Let's say you've got only 20 minutes to prepare something filling for a vegetarian dropping by for an impromptu dinner: consider this citrus-thyme couscous with peas and carrots.
Same situation but it's a carnivore? Try this linguine with andouille, carrot and tarragon.
Carrots add sweetness and texture to black bean burritos with cilantro.
With so many variations, carrot salad never gets old: a basic carrot-mint salad, a grated carrot and celeriac salad, a Thai carrot-cucumber salad.
Could you use a muffin?
what you should know
Crisp, earthy radishes grow underground before being dug up by their (also edible) leaves.
Raw, this root vegetable is pungent and peppery. To temper radishes, simply sauté, steam or braise them.
spring and summer Dainty fairweather radishes like the Cherry Belle or French Breakfast come in shades of pink, red, purple and white. (Some even come inside-out: white-skinned and pink-hearted.)
fall and winter Common is Eastern Europe, the black radish has rough, dark skin, bright, white flesh and a bite almost as sharp as horseradish. Another cool-weather radish, daikon, is carrot-shaped and parsnip-colored, but tastes like a summer radish.
morning cup Skip the O.J. and load up on radishes -- a great source of vitamin C.
divine Radishes were so prized in ancient Greece that worshipers left tiny gold models of the root as offerings to Apollo.
root vs. beer While true radish-lovers may have been lured to this 19th-century radish feast by the roots themselves, we suspect that most people were there for the beer.
what you need
Jane Grigson will provide you with answers to all your lingering questions about radishes (and any other salad ingredient) in her Vegetable Book.
What can a radish teach you about life and living it? Find out in this enlightening book by a Zen monk.
Have you noticed a crop of radish earrings? You can thank Harry Potter for that.
what you do
Give radishes an Italian twist by wrapping them in prosciutto.
A pickled radish salad is mighty refreshing alongside a rich, meaty skirt steak.
Creamy avocado balances the peppery bite of the radish in this colorful salad.
Glazed red pearl onions and pink-and-white radishes make a nice companion for a roasted bird.
Juicy beef, crisp romaine, crumbly cheese and crunchy radishes -- it's the perfect taco.
Roast veal next to radishes for a hearty dinner of tender meat and juicy vegetables.
Featured: The classic French combination of radishes and butter may strike you as odd, but after a bite you'll see why its balance of crunchy, sharp, salty and buttery flavors works so well.
Find more radish recipes at Cookthink.com. And if you haven't yet signed up for a free account at Cookthink, do it now!
