Thayer in the Kitchen

I loved this Rachael Ray recipe for Red Cabbage soup!  It was so hearty and filled with so many good winter vegetables.  It helps if you have a hand chopper to chop up the vegetables and a food processor to slice the cabbage. 2 tablespoons olive oil or sunflower oil 2 tablespoons butter 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped 1 parsnip, peeled and chopped 3 ribs celery with leafy tops, chopped 1 leek, quartered lengthwise, cleaned and chopped (I forgot to buy a leek and substituted 1/2 chopped red onion--worked fine) 1 large firm apple, such as Honeycrisp or Gala, peeled and diced Salt and pepper ½ teaspoon whole allspice 1 teaspoon juniper berries (I didn't have any, so I skipped them) 1 teaspoon cumin, ground or seed 1 teaspoon celery seed 1 teaspoon caraway, seed  1 tablespoon paprika 2 large fresh bay leaves or dry if fresh isn't available 1 small red cabbage, quartered, cored and very thinly sliced 2 tablespoons light-brown sugar 2 tablespoons sherry o...

This is a great winter comfort food recipe for a combination of mashed potatoes and parsnips with some tasty additions. Its a really easy recipe with a great return on your investment of time. 1 1/2# pototes, peeled or not as you prefer (6 small) 1# parsnips (3 medium), peeled and cut into chuncks 1/2 cup 1/2 & 1/2 or milk 3 tablspoons butter 1/2 cup sour cream (optional, but tasty) 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese 4 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled 2 tablespoons chopped chives (or parsley if chives are not available) Salt and pepper to taste Place potatoes and parsnips in a large pot. Cover with salted water and cook until fork tender. Drain. Add half-and-half and the butter to the pot and stir until butter is melted. Return hot drained potatoes and parsnips to the pot and mash, leaving some small chunks for texture. Stir in Cheddar cheese, bacon, and chives. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Adapted from About.com Home Cooking

This is a recipe I found on the Blue Moon Community Farm website.  Most of us that belong to CSA farms typically find ourselves with lots of root vegetables at this time of the year.  Roasted root vegetables are great, but I'm always looking for other ideas as well.  This isn't a recipe that can be prepared very quickly unless you spread it out over two nights.  I made a couple of adaptations to the recipe and can report that it is delicous.  Really what takes the most time is prepping the vegetables.  Filling •6 cups water or chicken browth •2 tablespoons chicken bouillon base (if you used water) •7 Cups Root vegetables (potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, winter radishes, rutabaga, carrots, winter squash, parsnips) •1 ounces dried mushrooms, rinsed •3 tablespoons butter •2 cups chopped onions (really!)  I'm sure you could also use a combination of onions & leeks 1/2 # coarsley sliced fresh mushrooms •4 large garlic cloves, cho...

It must seem as though we eat a lot of soups (we do), but I think its a great thing to do with winter storage vegetables in particular. This one helped use not only some of our parsnips but our apples too. It is seasoned with Indian flavors which both of us are very fond of. 2 tablespoons butter 1 lb parsnip, thinly sliced 1 lb apple, peeled, cored, & sliced 1 medium onion, diced 1 teaspoon brown sugar 2 teaspoons curry powder 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon ground coriander 1/2 teaspoon cardamom seed 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 2 garlic cloves, minced 4 cups chicken stock 1/2-1 cup cream (or fat-free 1/2 & 1/2) salt and pepper parsley Melt the butter, add the parsnips, apples, onions and sugar. Sauté till soft. Add the curry powder, spices and garlic and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring well. Pour in the stock slowly, stirring until well mixed. Cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes, until the parsnips are tender. Taste for seasoning. Blend with a hand b...

I found this recipe in Farmer John's Cookbook and adapted it slightly. I had never considered eating parsnips raw, but decided to give this salad a try. I took it to a potluck and asked the guests to try to guess what the vegetable was--it took them about 10 guesses. Parsnip & Apple Slaw with Creamy Parsley Dressing Dressing 1/2 sour cream 2 tablespoons minced onion (red or yellow) 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste ground pepper 3-4 medium parsnips, peeled and coarsely grated (a food processor is the easiest way to do this) 2 medium apples (unpeeled) cored and finely diced 1/4 cup dried cranberries 1/4 cup pine nuts or slivered almonds Combine the ingredients for the dressing and stir well. Mix in the parsnips, apples and cranberries. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Toast the nuts lightly, being careful not to burn them. When you're ready to serve the salad, taste to see if it needs an...

This soup may sound a little strange but its delicious. I had to do some adapting (how unusual is that!). The original recipe called for smoked cod. I'm not sure where you can get that but its not easily acquired around Madison Wisconsin. The fish store didn't have fresh cod either. You don't want to use Atlantic cod anyway because its not on the sustainable seafood guide. Pacific cod is fine but the fish monger didn't have it yesterday. Any mild white fish would work fine. According to the source recipe, "A wonderful New England creation, merging the sweetness of parsnips with smoky cod. Good fish alternatives include haddock, pollack, cusk, or whiting. Smoked haddock and smoked pollack are good substitutes for the smoked cod. Use 1 1/2 pounds fresh cod alone if no lightly smoked fish is available. Serve with hot, crusty bread and garnish with fresh chives." Fish & Parsnip Chowder 1 pound fish fillets (I used trout and had to remove the skin), cut ...

My husband prefers the addition of parsnips to potato pancakes and thinks they make a very tasty combination. Potato Parsnip Latkes 1 large potato (8 to 10 oz), unpeeled 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 2 medium parsnips (1 lb total), peeled and coarsely grated 1 medium onion (about 1/2 cup), grated 1/4 cup bread crumbs 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives (optional) 1 teaspoon baking powder 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper Canola oil as needed Accompaniment: applesauce and/or sour cream Preheat oven to 450°F Coarsely grate potatoes into a bowl. Add lemon juice and toss to combine. Place potato on towel, then gather up corners to form a sack and twist tightly to wring out as much liquid as possible. Stir potato together with parsnips, bread crumbs, eggs, chives, baking powder, salt, and pepper until combined well. Drizzle baking sheets with vegetable oil or spray with nonstick spray. Fill a 1/4-cup measure with latke mixt...

The first recipe is from a Harmony Valley Farms newsletter. Parsnip, Potato & Squash Puree with Nutmeg 8-10 oz potatoes, peeled (about 2 large or 4 medium) 1 small-medium festival squash 4-6 medium parsnips (about 6-8 oz) 1 tsp kosher salt 1-2 Tbsp butter Nutmeg First, roast the squash whole. Lately this is how I've been handling winter squash that I'm going to puree. I roast them in a 400 degree oven until tender. Then cut in half and scrape out the seeds. For more details on this method, check out this blog: http://upacreekwithoutapatl.blogspot.com/2006/10/roasting-and-pureeing-butternut-squash.html Cut potatoes and parsnips into 1-inch pieces. Combine vegetables in a saucepan with garlic, salt, and enough water to almost cover. Simmer, partly covered, until vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes. Set aside 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Pour contents of pan into a colander to drain. Transfer to a mixing bowl and add the cooked squash. Using a potato masher, make a fairly sm...