One of the first "odd" vegetables I remember getting was parsnips. 2 pounds of parsnips that week.
I am sure that I have heard of parsnips before, but I certainly had no image in my mind of what a parsnip really was.
In case you wonder, a parsnip is sort of like a white carrot. It looks pretty much like a carrot (only white) and it tastes pretty carroty. Except much stronger. I think gamey is a term reserved for meat (like buffalo is supposed to be like beef only more gamey). I think a parsnip is like a carrot, only more gamey.
With our weekly delivery of produce, we get a little newsletter. This one told me that parsnips can be eaten raw or cooked. They are often mashed into potatoes, and used in soups and salads.
Raw? I thought? And like a carrot? So I tried one. I scrubbed it and bit into it. Not bad. I sat down and at just about all of it... until I couldn't stand another bite. Just too strong.
Well, it occurred to me that if it was like a carrot in so many ways, maybe I could make carrot muffins out of it. I was about to get out my carrot cake recipe, when my next thought was to google a recipe for parsnip muffins. I found a GREAT one! It calls for plain yogurt, which makes the muffins light and fluffy. I made the mistake of putting one extra parsnip in, more than was called for, though. (After all, I had two damn pounds of the suckers to use up!) The muffins ended up a little too parsnip-y (although my opinion is tainted by already being tired of parsnips in the first place).
The final result: I liked the muffins (but I also try not to eat many carbs, so I only ate one or 2 of 2 dozen), my kids refused to eat them. Then, they went bad and we threw the rest away. Was it a success? I have to say it was a very tentative success. The final result was a tasty, light, fluffy muffin. But, we threw away a lot of food.
In case you are interested, here is the recipe. Good luck and enjoy!
