Here’s an event to celebrate with relish! July is Horseradish Month . We are growing our own in our garden next to the Armadillo!
Horseradish has been grown for 3,000 years, and was prized by both the ancient Egyptians and Greeks. Over the centuries it has been used as everything from a cough medicine to a love potion. While low on calories and fat, it’s famously big on flavour – and packed with valuable minerals and vitamins.
Nobody seems sure how this herb got its own special month, but it’s a great excuse to try some deliciously different horseradish recipes.
· Horseradish is still planted and harvested mostly by hand?
· Sales of bottled horseradish began in 1860, making it one of the first convenience foods?
· In the American South, horseradish was rubbed on the forehead to relieve headaches?
· Horseradish is added to some pickles to add firmness and “nip”.
· Before being named “horseradish,” the plant was known as “redcole” in England and as “stingnose” in some parts of the U.S.?
· Horseradish has only 2 calories a teaspoon, is low in sodium and provides dietary fiber? Typically it is also trans fat-free
· Researchers at M.I.T. claim that the enzyme “horseradish peroxidase” removes a number of pollutants from waste water?
· The most widely recognized horseradish fan in the world may be Dagwood Bumstead, who consumed it regularly in the popular comic strip, “Blondie,” by Dean Young and Stan Drake?
· Germans still brew horseradish schnapps . . . . Some also add it to their beer?
Al Weider earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records by tossing a horseradish root 80.5 feet to win the event.
Spicy Horseradish Guacamole
Number of Servings: 8
Ingredients:1 Lg. ripe avocado
5 roasted jalapenos, peeled and seeded
1 head roasted garlic
2 ½ tsp. prepared horseradish
Juice from ½ lime
¼ tsp. granulated sugar
Instructions:
To roast the jalapenos and garlic. Preheat oven to 425ºF. Roast jalapenos in oil and put on a foil-lined baking dish in the oven. Slice the bottom off the head of garlic. Drizzle with oil and wrap in foil. Place in oven with jalapenos. Roast for 20 – 25 minutes, turning jalapenos over once during roasting period. Leave garlic in oven for an additional 15 minutes. Remove jalapenos and place in a sealed container until cool enough to handle. Peel and seed jalapenos and place in a medium sized mixing bowl. Remove garlic from oven and squeeze the head, emptying the contents into the bowl with jalapenos. Slice avocado in half, remove seed and set aside. Use a spoon to remove the avocado meat from the peel and add it to the bowl along with the rest of ingredients. Use a fork or pastry cutter to smash ingredients together to desired consistency. Use as a dip for tortilla chips or veggies or as a spread for your beef or chicken sandwich.
It's the Bomb Horseradish Avocado Sauce
Number of Servings: 4-6
Ingredients:
1 Large Ripe avocado
1/2 Cup Sour cream
1 or 2 Tbsp. Hot horseradish, depending on your taste
1 Tbsp. Mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. Lemon juice
Salt (optional)
Instructions:
Place all ingredients in a bowl and blend until very creamy. Use over eggs, shrimp or w/chips dip, veggies or sandwich spread.
Smoky Hot Oyster Dip
Ingredients:
1 Dz. oysters on the half shell
2 Tbsp. horseradish
1/3 C. chipotle ketchup
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
½ half fresh lemon
2 Tbsp. beer
Instructions:
Arrange one dozen freshly shucked oysters on a bed of ice. Into a small dipping bowl, combine and mix horseradish, chipotle-ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, juice from half a lemon and then add beer. Season to taste with hot sauce (if you want it real fiery)!
