Comments on: Cukes and sneeps

By: mamster

mamster — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:20:33 +0000

They are delicate. They keep best in a bag in the fridge. Any past-their-prime parsnips should be pureed.

By: Wendy

Wendy — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:50:09 +0000

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?

By: mamster

mamster — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:08:00 +0000

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.

By: Wendy

Wendy — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:30:41 +0000

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…”

By: mamster

mamster — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:54:56 +0000

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.

By: Wendy

Wendy — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 01:44:35 +0000

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?

By: Nutrionista

Nutrionista — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 22:48:58 +0000

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.

By: mamster

mamster — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:43:19 +0000

Good to know, ts.

By: ts

ts — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:10:15 +0000

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.

By: Dawn

Dawn — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:03:58 +0000

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!