Dehydrated Daikon Radish

Organic Daikon Radishes (a superfood, powerhouse of goodness) are sold in bundles of either 2-3 in our grocery stores, and each one can be up to 15 inches long. 

I only need about a 1/2 cup of the radish, when I make kimchi for ourselves.

It got me thinking.

I could freeze the rest for meals, or I could dehydrate the extra.

I used my handheld spiralizer and spiralized the extra daikon radishes.  I then placed those into they dehydrator (you get a lot, but it will dry up to almost nothing).

I will store the dehydrated daikon radishes until the next time I want to make kimchi, and simply break up the dehydrated radishes, and re-hydrate them.  

Easy, makes the most of our purchase with buying daikon radishes, and we don't have to eat it for days fresh.  However, I did find a recipe that uses daikon radish, that I do want to eventually try.   By the way, diced daikon radish goes well in soups and stews (and can be swapped for potatoes in soups).

I also want to upgrade my spiralizer to something that works a bit more efficient than my itty bitty hand twist one.

Yes, I wanted to plant these radishes in the garden the last few years, but we did not have the space, and you can see they grow very deep roots.

Dehydrated Daikon Radish  ©  May 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Cold Weather ~ Baked Perch ~ Homemade Kimchi (update)

My goodness!  It's 13°F this morning.  Spring can't make up it's mind around here.  I have the newly purchased tulips and hyacinths (in pots) indoors for now.  I had high hopes to plant them by now.

I am praying this early cold spell in April does not kill my wild violet harvest, or fruit tree blossoms.  I have yet to see one asparagus up either.  It was up much earlier last Spring.

A new recipe tried.  Baked Perch.  Recipe is from allrecipes, but I adapted organic/non-gmo ingredients.  Perch (lake perch from our state) was gifted to us, and instead of frying it this time (vs. beef tallow), I baked it.  In the past I have baked walleye and it turned out delicious.

By the way, in the past I have baked walleye, and it was very good.  I did read the recipe reviews. Some people used panko instead of crushed saltines, some used all grated parmesan cheese.  I found organic/non-gmo saltines, but I'm thinking all parmesan cheese would be healthier and delicious.  Just my thoughts on this.

Note to self:  dry more herb garden oregano this summer

Homemade tarter sauce using home canned sweet pickle relish.

The results?  Well, we both said we liked it, but a thicker fish would be better for baking, like walleye or cod.  It was good, and obviously healthier, but for perch we feel it's better fried.

You most likely could bake any white fish with their recipe (I would think).

I am fairly certain, my husband will insist the next batch of perch be fried in beef tallow.  It's a lighter coating to the fish than the baked, but that's just our reviews on baking vs. frying perch.

Note:  Reheated leftovers in an air fryer make this a more crispy coating and delicious.   I have yet to try it reheated in the oven.

I forgot to give you an update on the homemade kimchi (fermented vegetables).

The recipe for kimchi is found in this book (which I own, but your local library may have it too).

I tasted it as is, and then we strained any liquid, added a bit of mayo to make up a "slaw" and it was very good.  By itself, it is a bit spicy, but overall, we will be making this recipe again for a good healthy addition to our meals.

Cold Weather ~ Baked Perch ~ Homemade Kimchi (update) ©  April 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Mud Season

 March is what we call our "mud" season.  Everything is thawing, or there is rain and flooding, and sometimes a snow shower in the mix.  Mud.  We get lots and lots of of a muddy mess, which prevents any or all outdoor work or play (unless we find paved hiking/walking trails).

Mud season can feel unending and arduous, but also inspiring as the warmer/sunny weather arrives.

Monday - 13°F windchill in the morning

(I attempted to sit in the sunshine for a hot minute, and the clouds moved in of course)

Tuesday - 36°F windwill in the am.  High for the day was 60°F (insert smiling face), but we had am rain.

Wednesday - 53°F (windchill of 48°F), rain

Today?  - 37°F Snow!  

Nothing new going on.  We are patiently waiting for spring to stay put.  If you remember, we were trying to get an online appointment for new tires last weekend?

Well, my husband actually got an appointment made over the phone, and drove there after work to the said appointment.  When he got there, the employee told him he could not and would not put new tires on the vehicle, that we had an appointment for.

After much discussion, my frustrated husband got him to do the job.  The employee literally told my husband that whoever was on the phone that day, should have never agreed to the work to be done.  Needless to say, my husband drove home with new tires.

On the home front . . .

I got two more wire shelves purged, lined, and re-organized.  I cut more pool noodle pieces to place inside my tall boots (it's a cheap way to keep them upright and looking nice).  I have yet to find tall enough storage bags for a few pairs of tall dress/casual boots (that do not have boxes).

I got the one corner kitchen cupboard cleaned, lined and re-organized.

The donation box is filling up much, much slower now, which means I'm much closer to being 100% organized (in the house anyway, the garage is another story).

What's Cooking?

I finally got around to making kimchi for us.  I have no experience with this, and no advice, so I used a recipe from a book I own.  I'll let you know if we like it or not.

Outdoor fun . . .

Despite rain here again, I managed to find a window of time to roll out the coop cleaning tools and muck the stinky winter chicken coop.  The ladies are in pure heaven again, and I got outside.

R & R time . . .

Current book.  I bought this book almost 2 years ago, at an antique store, and while on a weekend getaway.  It is starting out rather mundane and slow.  I sure hope it gets better.  I had shoved it into a living room end table drawer, and completely forgot about it.  I guess I had high ambitions to sit in the living room and read maybe?  Either way, it's on top of the stack right now.

Current progress on the "blind" date with a puzzle.  It's been a doozy of a puzzle.  Pieces are not uniform, It's hard to find the edge pieces, and there are too many of the same color in much of the puzzle.  It's been a challenge, and may be the last puzzle of the "winter" season for us.  My husband, who insisted we buy the "blind" 1000 piece puzzle date, has been of very little help with it too.

Mud Season  ©  March 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart