Food Thursday: 10.11.12

My thoughts are all about vegetables this month since I am on the meat wagon.  Or is that 'off the wagon'.  Well I am on the wagon for alcohol, so I guess the same is true for the meat.  I'm getting confused.  I need a brain colonic I suppose.  Let's take a look at what I'll be cooking with in this fall.

I do loves me my veggies and in the fall months a whole new pallet comes around in the markets.  Sure.  Much of this stuff is available year round, but the fresh local stuff is a cut above and will certainly elevate your plate to new heights.  Here are a few items that I will be using more of and loving every biteful in these cooler temps.

Do you know my friend, parsnip?  If not, you should.  Parsnips totally rock.  I also just found out recently that they are also called parsley root.  Parsnips may look like carrots, but taste nothing like them.  To me, they are reminiscent of celery root.  If you haven't met my friend celery root, you should.  But that is another entry.  I feel parsnips are best when roasted.  They get like candy.  So sweet and caramelized, I could eat them by the bushel.  To roast them, simply cut them into as identical bite-sized pieces as possible and place them in a zip-top bag with some olive oil, garlic salt and pepper.  Roast them in a 450 degree oven for 40 minutes or so, or until they are golden brown and delicious.  Be sure to turn them occasionally.   Dark brown good. Black, baaad.  These are on every holiday table for me.  They are that good.

Sweet potatoes are a staple in our household.  We tend to eat more of them in the fall however.  I guess orange food is meant for autumn.  Except for oranges.  And Carrots.  I mean oranges are more summer.  Okay.  Forget the orange thing.  I have to work that theory out yet.  Growing up I never liked these things.  But as I got older, just like Brussels sprouts and asparagus, I learned to love them.  Tab is also a sweet tater freak, so early on in our relationship we ate tons of them.  You can roast them just like the parsnips, or a simple tasty method is to just steam 3/4" cubes until tender and toss with a TINY bit of EVOO, garlic salt and pepper.  These are so much better than white potatoes (which I also love), due to their lower glycemic index.  Oh.  By the way?  These are NOT yams.  In this country we may call them yams, but yams they ain't.  Yams aren't really indigenous to North America, mostly on the African continent.  What you can call them is deeeelicious.

Squashes are also of a sweeter taste, so I guess there is a theme here.  I so enjoy butternut, acorn and kabocha.  I wrote a lot about kabocha in the early months of this blog and I think it is time to get back into the kabocha state of mind.  All three of these yellow/orange squashes roast up the same way the previous paragraphs describe, and steaming also does justice to them.  And yes.  You guessed it.  EVOO also fits into the pattern, but perhaps a smattering of maple syrup, buttery spread and cayenne over the top is more your thing. They are all easy to prepare and go well with most meat dishes or simply on their own.

The veggies I write of here are just a few of my favorites.  Maybe it is my child-like sensibility that likes the sweeter things in life.  And that is a great point to make.  Get your kids to like these.  How better to get kids to eat vegetables than to have them taste like candy?  Try several attempts if the first few times do not succeed.  Studies show that it can take the human palate 12-15 times to learn to like something new and with the nutrients these things pack in, it is worth the time to have them in your family's mealtime rotation.

Cya next time,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Nature's Path Peanut Butter granola isn't all that peanut buttery, but it was good with bananas and almond milk.  If Elvis were alive today, and maybe he is, he'd love this breakfast.
Lunch ~ A Greek salad that was overly dressed.  No worries though.  I didn't eat much of the salad itself.  The accoutrements were more than enough and very good on their own.  Olives, stuffed grape leaves, anchovies and a couple wedges of pita made for a great lunch.
Dinner ~ 3 oz. of whole grain pasta with a diced up veggie burger, white beans and marinara.  Not one of my better ideas, but not terrible either.
Exercise ~ none