I feel that parsnips are really an underrated vegetable. I can’t remember anyone ever mentioning to me that their favorite vegetable was the parsnip. I have to say that until recently, I probably fell into that camp. It’s not that I hated parsnips or anything, but they were an afterthought than a main idea. A couple of weeks with a bounty of parsnips in our CSA (community supported agriculture) farm share has changed my mind. Parsnips are delicious. They are nutty and sweet without being all cloying like the carrot. I’ve made it a point to come up with a few meals that make the parsnip the star.

For one such meal, I decided to make some Creamy Parsnip Soup.  I used my standard ‘No-Cream Creamy Soup’ recipe, which actually uses cashews as the creamy base, and it came out scrumptiously! Paired along with a simple spinach salad, it made an absolutely perfect dinner for the mister and I.

‘Creamy’ Parsnip Soup

2 tablespoons of butter or oil
3-4 shallots, chopped
4-5 parsnips, coarsely chopped (and peeled too)
1 potato, also coarsely chopped and peeled. gold or red potatoes are best, I think
4 cups of vegetable stock
1/2 cup of raw cashews
1/4 cup of water
1/4 cup of raw almonds, sliced and toasted
salt & white pepper to taste

1. Saute the shallots in the butter (or oil) until soft and fragrant.

2. Add the parsnips & potato and cook until almost tender. Do not brown them though!

3. Add the vegetable stock, cover and continue to cook until the vegetables are soft.

4. In the meantime, add the cashews to a food processor and chop until fine. Add the water to make a paste. The consistency should be like hummus. Add more water if you need to.  Set aside.

5. Once the parsnip mixture is soft, add it to either a  food processor or blender. Carefully blend until smooth.

6. Add the cashew mixture and blend until incorporated.

7. Voila! Serve topped with some toasted almonds.

We have been inundated with cucumbers….both from my garden and from our CSA farm share. We have Kirby, English, Japanese and regular ole Garden varieties. We eat cucumbers every day, sometimes twice a day, in an endless arrangement of salads or just sliced on their own. Last night, I decided to make refrigerator pickles to deal with the latest influx from the farm share.

Refrigerator pickles are way easier to make than their canned counterparts.  There’s no special equipment, sterilizing jars or brining to mess with. They are lightly pickled cucumbers and not preserved, so they won’t last for months in your cupboard, but are super easy to make and will last for about a week or two in your fridge…that is if they aren’t eaten up before then.

I didn’t really follow a recipe, but there are plenty out there if you want to look for one. Here is what I did. This is per jar.

Refrigerator Pickles

Ingredients:

2 Kirby cucumbers, quartered
white vinegar
1 teaspoon rainbow peppercorns
1 teaspoon dill (I used dill weed, since it was all I had. I think dill seed would work better or fresh springs of dill)
1 teaspoon coriander seed
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup of white onion, sliced thinly
1-2 teaspoons of sugar

How-to:

1. Pour your spices & sugar  into the jar
2. Add sliced cucumbers and onion
3. Pour vinegar to cover the spices, cucumbers and onion.
4. Put on  lid and shake well to mix.
5. Refrigerate for 12-24 hours before eating. Will keep in the fridge for about 1-2 weeks.

You can experiment with different vinegars. I like rice wine vinegar a lot for pickling, because it is a little milder and slightly sweet. White vinegar definitely makes pickles with the most bite.  You can also experiment with spices. Add more garlic for super garlicky ones or use completely different spices for different flavors. Celery Seed, turmeric, bay leaf, red pepper flakes, cilantro, mustard seed & curry are all popular spices to use. In addition, you can pickle lots of other vegetable this way too. Carrots, green beans, zucchini, radishes, cauliflower, green tomatoes, other types of beans, beets, cabbage, peppers and more or any mixture of vegetables will work. My grandmother used to pickle just about any vegetable that came into the house in the summer from the garden!

For Father’s Day, I made Peach Stuffed French Toast as a special treat for my better half. He took one bite of it and said, “Yea, you can make this for me again.”  And I will.

Don’t be intimated by the list of ingredients. I just broke it up to make it more organized. This is easy to make folks and really super impressive to those who don’t know how easy it is to make!

Peach Stuffed French Toast

Ingredients for the French Toast:

1 loaf of Italian bread, cut into 1/2″ - 3/4 ” slices.
1/2 cup of cream
2 tablespoons of honey
4 eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Ingredients for the Peach Stuffing:

2 cups of diced peaches
2-3 tablespoons of honey
1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/4 cup hot water–not boiling water

Ingredients for the Creamy Filling:

8 ounces of creme fraiche
lemon zest to taste
2 1/2 tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

How to make:

1. Put honey in a mixing bowl add the hot water. Do not use boiling water. Stir until blended and then add the diced peaches. Set aside for a little bit,  you want the peaches to soften a little bit and the syrup to thicken.

2. Whip the creme fraiche,  lemon zest , sugar & vanilla together. Then add cinnamon and whip so it doesn’t clump. Place the creme fraiche mixture back in the fridge for at least 1/2 hour or until it hardens again.

3. Whip the eggs and cream together. Add honey and whip again. Then add the cinnamon. Pour into a shallow dish and dredge your bread slices on both sides. Let the bread get soppy.  Place in a skillet and cook until browned on both sides.

4. To assemble…Place one slice of French Toast on a plate, spread on some of the creme fraiche filling, spoon some of the peaches over that and top with another slice of French Toast. Top with some more peaches and homemade whipped cream.

Don’t eat too much!

We finally bought a grill after years and years of not having one and I’ve been on a grilling spree  If I can’t grill it, I don’t want to make it.

Last week, I experimented with grilling tofu. I tried different marinades and grilling techniques and I came up with several winners, but the Grilled Lemon Oregano Tofu was the definite #1. It’s so simple and fresh too.

Grilled Lemon Oregano Tofu

Ingredients:

1 8 ounce package of extra firm tofu
3 lemons, juiced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
3 tablespoons of fresh oregano, chopped
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons of olive oil (plus oil to brush on the grill and tofu)
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

How to make:

1. drain tofu and press the extra water out by squeezing the block between your hands. Too much water will make the tofu crumble on the grill.
2. Cube tofu into 1 inch x 2 inch cubes. Cubes work better than slices.
3. Whisk all the other ingredients together to combine and pour into a small shallow baking dish.
4. Place the tofu cubes in the marinade so that they are covered. Marinate for at least an hour. More is better if you have enough time.
5. If your tofu isn’t covered by the marinade turn them halfway through the marinating process.
6. To grill, coat your grill lightly with olive oil. Tofu sticks very easily. I brush on some olive oil before I light the grill.
7. Brush your cubed tofu lightly with olive oil and place on the grill. Medium to low heat.
8. Grill on each side for about 5 minutes.

I served my grilled tofu with Cous Cous and Grilled Insalata Caprese. Will share those recipes later.

This is refreshing and yummy!

Mojito Limeade

Ingredients:

2-3 leaves of fresh mint
1  lime, juiced
2 teaspoons honey
2 tablespoons hot water
ice and cold water

How to make:

1. Add mint leaves to a glass and crush with a wooden spoon to release minty goodness.
2. Add honey and hot water.  Mix well to incorporate the honey. Then add the lime juice and mix again.
3. Add ice and cold water and stir well. Drink and enjoy!

I saw this story on npr.org last week about updating the grilled cheese sandwich, something that I’ve already done here, and it reminded that I’ve been wanting  to do the same for Macaroni & Cheese, but I’d like your help. Plus, this sounds like a fantastic excuse to have a contest as well, don’t ya think?!

So, submit your best non-traditional Mac & Cheese recipe and you could win a prize! Depending on how many recipes I receive, I will either test them all out or just pick the ones that stand out. Whichever the case, three will be chosen for inclusion in a poll and the readers will decide the winner. Sound like fun? Awesome.

Here’s what you could win!

Apron from Able Mable
Tea towels from LAMA Designs
Printable recipe cards from Stephanie Fizer
Recipe cards from My Zoetrope
Cards from The Owls Nest
Child’s apron from Wendi Gratz

How to enter?

Send me an email with your recipe. If it’s original, then fantastic. If it’s not, please let me know where you found it, so I can give credit (I will be sharing selected recipes). I will collect entries for 2 weeks (until(June 4th) and will post the poll after I’ve had time to evaluate all the recipes.  More details will be coming about the poll. All are encouraged to enter. Foodies and non-foodies alike! Also, this challenge is open to international entrants as well.

***Please note, this contest was canceled.

What’s for lunch? Well, I had a Dagwood Vegetable Sandwich with a Berry Banana Smoothie. Oh so, yummy.

Dagwood Vegetable Sandwich

Ingredients:

Dijon mustard
red onion, sliced
radish, sliced
red pepper, matchsticks
carrot, grated
tomato, sliced
mesclun lettuce
feta, sliced
avocado, sliced
rye bread
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

How to make:

Just stack, slice in half and eat!

Berry Banana Smoothie

Ingredients:

frozen strawberries, raspberries and blueberries
banana
Greek yogurt, plain
honey
soy milk

How to make:

Combine in the blender until smooth.

This is the best guacamole in the world, really. It’s chunky and garlicky and a little bit spicy. It’s adapted from John Robbins‘ recipe in May All Be Fed: Diet For a New World, one of the best vegan cookbooks around. My copy is truly falling apart.

The Best Guacamole in the World

Ingredients:

3 avocados, coarsely chopped
1/2 white onion, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1 rib celery with leaves, chopped
1 small jalapeno, finely chopped
1 tomato, chopped
2  tablespoons of fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

How to make:

Mix all ingredients together and serve. Make sure to leave it chunky, it’s better that way. Easy peesy!

Okay, it’s Saturday night  and after a long day of working in the yard and running errands you are just chillin’ with your best homey (my hubby in my case). You both decide you want Sangria, but you didn’t really plan ahead and you don’t have all the ingredients or the time to let it sit in the fridge overnight. So, what do you do?

Well, you do what I did on Saturday night and you wing it with what you got…and in my case that wasn’t a lot. I did have some decent wine to use though…Tempranillo, which is a popular Spanish varietal. It worked to make this sorry woman’s Sangria not seem so sorry, but you could use any old red wine you happen to have.

Lazy Saturday Sangria (really lazy and last minute)

Ingredients:

2 cups of red wine
1 cup OJ
1 cup pomegranate  juice
1 lime, juiced
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons of honey

How to make:

1. Mix the honey and the warm water. Add it to a pitcher and then add all the other ingredients.

2. Mix well, pour over ice and enjoy.

I like my mac & cheese lumpy and not creamy or at least that’s how I like my traditional regular ole mac & cheese. I also like my asparagus any way you want to cook…except with pork fat my dear mother-in-law.

Lumpy Bumpy Macaroni & Cheese

Ingredients:

2 cups of macaroni noodles, uncooked
2 cups of shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
2 1/2 cups of skim milk
1/4 cup of butter, melted
1/4 cup of white whole wheat flour
1/4 cup of breadcrumbs

How to make:

1. Make your macaroni noodles.
2. Mix cooked noodles, melted butter and flour in a casserole dish.
3. Stir in the shredded cheese.
4. Add the milk and stir. Salt & pepper to taste.
5. Bake on 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
6. Top with breadcrumbs and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Grilled Asparagus

Ingredients:

3 cloves of garlic.,crushed
3-4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 bunch of fresh asparagus

How to make:

1. Mix oil and crushed garlic in a shallow bowl.
2. Coat asparagus with the oil and garlic and place it on the your grill. Watch out for splattering.
3. Cook on each side for about 2-5 minutes depending on your grill. Indoor electric grills (which is what I used) do not get as hot as outdoor gas grills, so adjust the cooking time.