You may know that I watch a lot of food-related television. Now in the past, I'd watch because it was fun to see how things were put together and see how something can be transformed from boring vegetable to delish sidedish. But in the past 2 years or so, I've really started applying what I saw on those shows to what I do at home. I've picked up a lot when I wasn't even trying. And now I'm learning that some things I assumed would be difficult really aren't. I can handle spices and fresh ginger and baking my own bread, who knew?
Where's this all going, and where the hell are the parsnips, you're asking? Well, it starts in the grocery store last week. There have been a few things I've been looking for recently and have been unable to find. One of which is celery root necessary for a salad I'd made. Suddenly after looking for a few weeks, it shows up in the organic section. While I was back there, I noticed the parsnips sitting next to it. If you've been paying attention to any cooking show (Top Chef, Iron Chef, Food Network Star, etc.) I know that you've seen at least one parsnip side dish, whether it's pureed, mashed, or whipped. It's become the new risotto or potato. It's hip. And more importantly, it seemed easy enough to make. Or so my memory told me. So, I picked up like 3, telling myself I was going to make them. I finally got around to it Sunday night, and after googling a few recipes, I realized that most called for butter and some sort of dairy. That I could handle. After boiling them, I mashed them up with some left over half and half and some butter. I added a dash of salt and was in heaven. I'm not a huge fan of carrots (a statement I ironically told my mother the day before), but man did these rock. They smelt like carrots, but didn't taste like them. They were almost creamier (not due to the half and half...*rolls eyes*) and sweeter. So good.
That's my experiment, and one I'll be repeating this weekend. Maybe I'll mix up how I make them. Especially now that I have a vegetable peeler to deal with them. (Yes, I've survived to the age of 26 without one. I peel potatoes by hand...and don't eat carrots!) I'll try to remember to take a picture before I devour them this time :)
Where's this all going, and where the hell are the parsnips, you're asking? Well, it starts in the grocery store last week. There have been a few things I've been looking for recently and have been unable to find. One of which is celery root necessary for a salad I'd made. Suddenly after looking for a few weeks, it shows up in the organic section. While I was back there, I noticed the parsnips sitting next to it. If you've been paying attention to any cooking show (Top Chef, Iron Chef, Food Network Star, etc.) I know that you've seen at least one parsnip side dish, whether it's pureed, mashed, or whipped. It's become the new risotto or potato. It's hip. And more importantly, it seemed easy enough to make. Or so my memory told me. So, I picked up like 3, telling myself I was going to make them. I finally got around to it Sunday night, and after googling a few recipes, I realized that most called for butter and some sort of dairy. That I could handle. After boiling them, I mashed them up with some left over half and half and some butter. I added a dash of salt and was in heaven. I'm not a huge fan of carrots (a statement I ironically told my mother the day before), but man did these rock. They smelt like carrots, but didn't taste like them. They were almost creamier (not due to the half and half...*rolls eyes*) and sweeter. So good.
That's my experiment, and one I'll be repeating this weekend. Maybe I'll mix up how I make them. Especially now that I have a vegetable peeler to deal with them. (Yes, I've survived to the age of 26 without one. I peel potatoes by hand...and don't eat carrots!) I'll try to remember to take a picture before I devour them this time :)
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