Cukes and sneeps
In Gourmet:
Now, you cynical lot may be wondering, who would describe a cucumber as “transcendent” under any circumstances?
and in the Seattle Times:
Parsnips — when prime time is past, purée is the perfect solution
There’s no reason to remove the woody core as long as you pass the purée through a sieve. Coring parsnips is a big pain. Also, cream is awesome.
Related posts:
Comment by Constance
Kind words butter no parsnips. Where does that expression come from? There is no mention of puréeing.
Posted on January 5, 2009 at 8:02 pm
Comment by Laurie
“That’s not buttering any parsnips,” said Randy, using one of Cuffy’s pet expressions.
(Spiderweb for Two by Elizabeth Enright)
Posted on January 5, 2009 at 8:21 pm
Comment by Dawn
I enjoyed cooked cucumber at Lark last summer and was so intrigued that I went home and cooked up a batch with my CSA cucumbers. They were pretty tasty!
Posted on January 6, 2009 at 10:03 am
Comment by ts
There are frozen dumplings at the inexpensive Asian markets - Viet Wah for example - filled with cucumbers and pork. These are our current favorite for a quick supper, souped or sauced with homemade stock.
Posted on January 6, 2009 at 10:10 am
Comment by mamster
Good to know, ts.
Posted on January 6, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Comment by Nutrionista
We have apple corers, pineapple corers, mango corers… so I guess I need to get to work on a one-step, one-handed parsnip corer.
Changing gears… stopped to actually read the labels at the grocer the other day, and next to the parsnips were the “turnups.”
Not a hand-lettered sign, either, but a printed label.
Posted on January 7, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Comment by Wendy
I was actually inspired to buy some parsnips yesterday. I’m looking forward to trying them—I’ve never cooked them, and have almost never eaten them. This is our CSA’s annual two-week vacation, so I try to use it to buy things the CSA doesn’t give us. You guys are doing CSA this winter, aren’t you? How’s it going?
Posted on January 7, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Comment by mamster
It’s okay. It’s a hybrid CSA with a few products from the actual farm and other stuff like mangoes. But there’s a web interface for specifying stuff you want and deleting mangoes. The price is reasonable, considering it’s 100% organic.
Frequent deliveries of potatoes and sweet potatoes have not led me to love either.
I was going to say, “How can your CSA not give you parsnips?” but I don’t think we’ve gotten any either.
Posted on January 8, 2009 at 4:54 am
Comment by Wendy
The tasty varieties of potatoes are some of our favorite things from the CSA. I mostly make either mashed potatoes or leek-and-potato soup from them, because they’re too tasty to use for anything else. Sometimes roasted potatoes, although then I have to cook something else, too, which I generally don’t want to do.
Ours (http://www.terrafirmafarm) doesn’t tend to grow anything too far outside the mainstream, and I’d reckon parsnips are there. I also don’t know whether parsnips would grow well on the farm, how well they store, or any of the other myriad reasons we might not get them (I’m always fascinated when our newsletter contains an essay about how they choose what they do and don’t put in the boxes). Every year when cooking greens season starts, for instance, they print a message that says “we know a lot of you don’t like kale, but…”
Posted on January 8, 2009 at 7:30 am
Comment by mamster
Do you get frost, Wendy? Parsnips grow well basically anywhere there is frost.
The best potatoes we’ve gotten from our CSA were some red fingerlings actually grown on the farm, and we ate them all on fondue night, which I will post about soon. I do not like mashed potatoes, but Laurie does, so I make them sometimes.
Posted on January 8, 2009 at 8:08 am
Comment by Wendy
None of the CSAs around here seem to grow them, so I’m guessing it doesn’t get cold enough for long enough (it seems like they want 2-4 weeks of freezing temps). I am bad and did not notice where the parsnips I bought at the co-op came from. We will eat them tonight. Do you keep them in the refrigerator? I left them out overnight and they got a little shriveled… I sort of remember Laurie buying a parsnip once that was covered with a thick coating of wax (what did you buy that parsnip for?), so maybe they’re more delicate than they look?
Posted on January 8, 2009 at 8:50 am
Comment by mamster
They are delicate. They keep best in a bag in the fridge. Any past-their-prime parsnips should be pureed.
Posted on January 8, 2009 at 9:20 am