Parsley Root discovered in Winter Farm Share Week 2

Parsley Root was the mystery in this week’s Winter Vegetarian Pilot Farm Share from Fresh Fork Market so I did a little googling. Food52 was very informative on how to store it as well as linking to some recipes. That’s the fun of Farm Share – getting vegetables I’m not familiar with, then learning about them and sharing it here. I found a bunch of recipes on Mariquita.com and a video for roasting Parsley Root from the Martha Stewart show in 2010 that looks really good. We also received Turnips which I’m learning to cook as well. Since I fix a lot of soups in the Fall and Winter, I think these more unusual-to-me-vegetables will land in those pots.

This week our small Vegetarian farm share included (top featured photo)…

Apple Cider – 1/2 gallon
Broccoli – 1 head
Butternut Squash – 1
Acorn Squash – 2
Parsley Root and Tops – 2
Turnips with tops – 1 bunch
Collard Greens – 1 small bunch
Vegetarian Lasagna (without pasta)
Flat Rock Cheese
Beets – without tops
Potatoes – Yukon Gold – 3 lbs
Carrots – 1 pound

My half of the Vegetarian small share this week (above photo) and what’s left since Friday, November 13…

Apple Cider – 1/4 gallon – we don’t drink this fast enough so I have to remember it’s in the refrigerator.
Broccoli – 1 medium sized head – we ate the whole thing! We did have help as I stir-fried it with peppers, onions and garlic for a potluck, then the next night we ate the last part of the bunch with mushrooms, garlic and onions — yummy! I liked it better with mushrooms.
Butternut Squash – 1 – gave this to mom since I’ve been stockpiling them
Acorn Squash – 1 – anxious to try this as I don’t think I’ve ever cooked one before
Parsley Root and tops – 1 – an adventure waiting to happen!
Turnips with tops – 1/2 bunch = 2 – I think we’ll use these in some chicken soup I’m making with the leftover chicken from potluck Sunday night.
Collard Greens – 1/2 small bunch – these are a lot smaller than previous bunches so I wonder if they’re more tender when smaller?
Vegetarian Lasagna (without pasta) – this is a prepared entree and it was delicious!
Flat Rock Cheese – storing to try later – we also got some Veggie Jack as a replacement for a previous week
Beets – without tops – first time we’ve received some without tops that had been stored. They look a bit darker from storage.
Potatoes – Yukon Gold – 1.5 lbs – these are gorgeous – ate some of mom’s half at the potluck. Delicious!
Carrots – 1/2 pound – these landed in the vegetable bin with the stock of carrots I’m collecting. We’ve eaten quite a few so I bought some in addition to what we’re getting in the farm share. Note to self — eat carrots faster or stop buying them! (seriously — fresh carrots are so good that I can’t help myself!)

RESULTS…

We traveled for several days last week so there wasn’t a lot of cooking going on. My husband is a veteran so we enjoyed some veteran discounts in West Virgina — more about our trip on the blog this week.

I didn’t pick up our half of this week’s share until Saturday from my mom, so I’ve barely had time to sort through it to decide what I’m doing with it all. This was one of the easier weeks for mom to pick up the share as a lot of it didn’t have to be stored in the refrigerator until I could pick up my half.

I did freeze 3 quart bags of Broccoli and 2 quart bags of Cauliflower last week before we left. I blanched them for 3 minutes, then ice bathed them to stop the cooking process before bagging them for the freezer. I also froze several quart size bags of peppers which I did not blanch. I never blanch peppers as I like to just toss them frozen into whatever I’m making, so I just chop and freeze them.

I’ve been enjoying all the fresh Apples. They seem so much sweeter and more tender than those I get at the grocery. I’ve been testing the theory that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” because they calm my sweet tooth. I took several with us on our trip. That’s the way I make sure we get plenty of fruit because apples are so easy to travel with at this time of year. I just put them in paper lunch bags after thoroughly washing them and then they’re ready for a snack when we stop at the rest areas. We usually travel with Bananas but I found the Apples much easier and they don’t attract gnats.

Friday pick-up worked great this past week for mom so I’m going to try it this week and see how I like it.

So far, I’m really loving this Vegetarian Pilot. I’m especially enjoying the prepared entree idea. We had our half of the Vegetarian Lasagna this week and the sauce as well as the vegetables were quite tasty. I thought I would miss the pasta but I didn’t miss it at all. I felt that this version was much lighter, and even though it has some cheese in it, I didn’t feel that I was pushing the fat levels too high for my restrictions. It’s nice to have something already prepared for one night a week and not feel like I’m cheating!

Only one more week of Winter Share pick-up in a row and then we’ll switch to every other week to work around the holidays. That will give us a chance to eat all the carrots and potatoes we’ve stockpiled! Guess what I’m taking for Thanksgiving dinner? HA!

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