I like parsnips. Here's wikipedia's parsnip page (nutritional info about halfway down). I don't have them often because sometimes they're in the store I go to, sometimes not. Usually now when they are, they're not loose in a bin for selecting one or two, but only packaged up, 3 or 4 to a bag too heavily printed on for seeing whether they're bruised or or whatnot. But parsnips are so durable that a bagful is usually fine, just some scrubbing or a bit of peeling to make ready for the pot, and the spares refrigerate nicely quite a while, even uncooked.
For a good 35 years, I only knew parsnip as flavoring in chicken soup. It never showed up as a veg on the plate or even in soupbowl at the table of any branch of my family or anyone else's I knew. Then after I joined the local Scottish society's country-dance (i.e., contra-dance) group, we were performing guests at an another Scottish society's annual dinner; and on the little printed menus the entree's side dish was stated as "Neeps & Tatties" (also haggis, which turned out to be —on this occasion— very similar to kishkeh, just with oatmeal rather than potato, and a bit of mint in). I asked my dance friends what "Neeps & Tatties" meant. They said, "parsnips and potatoes, or potatoes and turnips, boiled up diced or shredded." As it turned out, shredded parsnips and potatoes, emphasis parsnips. Loved it!
That was my first taste of parsnip with meat (a slice of mutton and another of beef) and since then I've had the pleasure of putting parsnips in both poultry and meat recipes (the parsnips well-boiled or very-long-baked for friendliness with human digestion). Upon inquiry, I've been told that the phrase is neeps first when the neeps are parsneeps, because they need to go into the pot first, and tatties added rather later, being quicker cooked, whereas neeps when turneeps go into the pot after the tatties, and likewise after in the phrasing ("tatties & neeps"). Some folk enjoy turnips thin-sliced raw, a taste and texture much like radish. (This is not recommended with parsnips!)
I'm also quite fond of ginger-ale, and as a kid, I thought canned pears the most delicious treat ever! So for years I've saved from a magazine this 15-minute ""Ginger Ale"" recipe that I've never used because... no juicer!
2 medium parsnips 2 medium pears (cored)
1-inch-thick slice of fresh ginger 16 oz. chilled club soda or similar
Juice the parsnips, pears and ginger. Divide among 4 serving glasses. Add
carbonated water. Stir right before serving. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Let me know how it turns out, if you try it! :)
Last minute note: i've kinda wrecked my left hip & leg again doing minor chore in non-optimal position, so i may be to&from from desk/computer this evening, depending on the pain.
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Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share part of the evening around a virtual kitchen table with kossacks who are caring and supportive of one another. So bring your stories, jokes, photos, funny pics, music, and interesting videos, as well as links—including quotations—to diaries, news stories, and books that you think this community would appreciate. Readers may notice that most who post diaries and comments in this series already know one another to some degree, but newcomers should not feel excluded. We welcome guests at our kitchen table, and hope to make some new friends as well.
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