Someone's in the Kitchen (and at a concert!)

Happy Sunday!

Last night was Teddy's fifth spring concert with the University of Michigan Men's Glee Club. He sings bass. He is one of only three graduate students (out of 100 members) in Club. The concert was, as usual, spectacular. The men sang several new pieces specifically commissioned for UMMGC. Here is a photo of The Teds and me afterward!

Today after Mass I went grocery shopping to get some basic items, and while in the produce department I saw a horseradish root, which reminded me of a family story.

Many years ago my dad decided to make ground horseradish using roots from my late brother David's garden. He went through the process of peeling and dicing the root, and then put it in the blender along with vinegar. When he decided it was done, he opened the lid and took a huge whiff -- his head nearly exploded! Boy, that sure cleared out his sinuses! (Today my eyes were watering just putting my batch into a glass jar today -- I know better than to take a huge whiff!)

Here is a photo of my freshly ground horseradish. (The container below is tiny -- maybe 2 inches across, so this is NOT a huge bowl as it may appear!)

And here is the VERY BASIC recipe!

Fresh Ground Horseradish

• Fresh horseradish root
• White vinegar (1 cup vinegar to 2 cups diced horseradish root)
• Special tool: Blender or food processor

1. Peel the horseradish and dice it into 1/2-inch cubes. Measure the amount and then place in blender or food processor.
2. Add the correct amount of white vinegar. (My root yielded exactly 2 cups diced, so I added 1 cup of white vinegar.)
3. Process until it is completely pureed, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides.
4. Carefully open the blender/processor (remember, do NOT take a big whiff!), and put into glass jars and refrigerate.

I love horseradish in dressings, dips, cocktail sauce, homemade mustard, and on roast beef and ham. YUM!

'thann