{"id":9334,"date":"2012-03-29T06:16:09","date_gmt":"2012-03-29T13:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shescookin.com\/?p=9334"},"modified":"2013-04-08T06:11:43","modified_gmt":"2013-04-08T13:11:43","slug":"spring-radish-and-avocado-crostini","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shescookin.com\/spring-radish-and-avocado-crostini\/","title":{"rendered":"Spring Radish and Avocado Crostini"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Spring<\/a><\/p>\n

It’s time for another 5 Star Makeover Challenge! \u00a0This\u00a0month our ever-imaginative hosts decided to do something different and challenged us to have some fun with Junk Food<\/strong>! \u00a0The mission, put forth by our hosts: the lovely and talented Natasha of 5 Star Foodie <\/a>and \u00a0Laz, that vortex of creativity at Lazaro Cooks<\/a>, was to take our favorite Junk Food and transform it into a gourmet dish.<\/p>\n

I’ve never been a junk food junkie so it wasn’t difficult to decide what my junky ingredient would be: one of the convenience food reincarnations of the potato – French fries, waffle fries, or tater tots. When I splurge, it’s more often on fries than dessert and, back in the day, Carl’s Jr. waffle fries would occasionally get the better of me, so I went for the waffle fries.<\/p>\n

With a trip to Hong Kong approaching (we’re leaving tomorrow), I knew I would be a little crazed but didn’t want to miss this month’s challenge – it’s always so inspiring to see what everyone in this talented group creates and I thoroughly enjoy participating. But, things got really crazy this past weekend when all of a sudden we found THE house we’ve been waiting for. We’ve been looking for the past year, but hadn’t seen one that was near the beach, met our criteria AND was in our price range – until Saturday…<\/p>\n

That started a whirlwind chain of events: we \u00a0met with our realtor Sunday morning, made an offer, after a few days of nail-biting – our offer was accepted, and now our house is on the market – just like that! So, not only am I\u00a0packing a suitcase, this trip might take two suitcases, but frantically preparing to have our house shown while we are in Hong Kong. Fun times! I think I need some waffle fries \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

\"Spring<\/a><\/p>\n

But, no excuses here, after a visit to SoCo Farmers Market <\/a>on Saturday with The Ardent Epicure<\/a>, I was armed with a painter’s palette of produce including my muse: multi-colored organic radishes – crimson, white, black and purple; ready to put some healthy on those waffle fries! My process is similar to “stream of consciousness” writing – the components just sort of come together as I’m working. I was pleased with the outcome: crunchy, slightly salty waffle fry crostini topped with lush, creamy avocado pesto, thin wafers of crisp radish and sweet notes of apple-y Star fruit. The Za’atar seasoning adds a subtle Middle Eastern flavor along with a dash of heat from Harissa; all together, a bright springtime appetizer with a hint of exotic. College Girl made several trips to the kitchen, in the end, she and her friend polished off nearly a dozen – all the validation I need \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

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