Wednesday, November 28, 2007

real food

Real Parsnips, not the plastic looking, clean, uniform stuff the supermarkets flog us. and sprouts so fresh you can crunch them raw. (the parsnips are about a foot long)
my stoney soil always seems to produce very 'leggy' parsnips and carrots. no prizes for being pretty but they always taste fabulous.

15 comments:

Wildside said...

I like real food! Especially when fresh from the garden. Am a little unsure about the brussel sprouts and parsnip though -- never grown them!

Hear what you say about "no prizes for being pretty but they always taste fabulous" -- homegrown, always satisfying and more nutritious, to boot!

Anonymous said...

There is nothing better than eating food that you have grown, whatever it looks like!
Sara from farmingfriends

Gary said...

Great photos Claire. Two interesting things to tell you.

1. Thanks for showing me the webcam in Nelson BC - I have a link on my blog now.

3. I would love your kayak! Here's a link to give you a sense of paddling on this lake kayak Kootenay Lake

3. I just got my first delivery from a company here that delivers organic produce to your door once a week - mostly grown in the region. I'm excited to start cooking!
Endless Harvest

Guess that was 3 things....

grannyfiddler said...

your parsnips look like they might don hiking boots and a hat, and take a long, leggy walk!

my Norwegian granny used to serve the most delicious parsnips... baked, i think, with a scrumptious cheese sauce poured over them just before serving...

it's -30 C here today... if i had brussel's sprouts, the poor things would be frozen solid. yours are making my mouth water.

peppylady (Dora) said...

Parsnips are great to eat.

clairesgarden said...

Wildside, they seem to be a very traditional thing here, people always have them at christmas.
Sara, once it was chopped and cooked it looked even better!
Gary, I'll let my friends know about the local food. I really wanted to get out and kayak on the lake, maybe next time.
Grannyfidler, well I cut the legs off and ate them. can't imagine what its like to be so cold.
Dora, I like them baked, roasted, steamed, boiled, whole or mashed, great made into soup too. or curry, they're a great winter food.

Unknown said...

Those are fine looking veggies, indeed! Where do you suppose people got the notion that food had to look 'perfect' in order to be good??? I think a lot of it comes from processors and grocers wanting things that look perfect (and keep forever, of course) hence we have those bland, red, plastic looking globes known as 'tomatoes' that the stores keep most of the year, and watery boring iceberg lettuce, and apples that might be shiny and red but are pulpy and tasteless....
Your foods look lovely. I love both parsnips and brussels sprouts; we had the former in a stew yesterday along with turnip, carrot, onion, celery, potatoes (none of it grown in MY yard, but all but the celery locally grown). Yummy!

tlchang said...

I've never grown parsnips before. It looks like you eat them all ways. Do you spice them in any particular fashion? Or are they kind of like a potato that you can combine with nearly any taste?

clairesgarden said...

Jodi, can't stand iceberg letuce! I still have a few straggly lettuce, its gone slightly bitter but I'm eating it till its gone, the rest of the salad is from the store though.
Tara, parsnips are quite spicy on their own so add a lot of flavour to stews, they go great with curry or just with butter.

kate said...

Your parsnips look great ... and probably taste much better than what we have here. I find those really big parsnips lacking in flavour.

clairesgarden said...

Kate, these had lots of flavour, and peeled they were almost pure white.

Michael said...

Claire - it's so sad seeing your boat up for sale... Have you read Barbara Kingsolver's book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle? If not, look for it. You'd love it! It's all about growing your own, locally, in a non-chemical way.

clairesgarden said...

Michael, its been a good boat but I need something with a bit more spread. . .
will look up that book, you can never have too many gardening books.

Jim said...

That "Real Food" of yours looks absolutely delicious.

Parsnips and Brussels Sprouts, YUM!

Dan said...

Ah, I see what you mean about forking! A lot bigger than ours though. :-)