Eats/Reads

This is a Gordon Ramsey recipe which I altered slightly. Was looking for something to use up the carrot and squash from the farmer's market - it was delicious! The original recipe called for one red chili. I left that out because I thought the 2-year-old wouldn't go for it. Instead the adults added sriracha at the table. Also, when eating the leftovers, I added one thigh of chicken, shredded, because I wanted something more meaty at that meal. 1 onion, chopped 2 garlic cloves, chopped 2 Tbsp olive oil 2 large carrots, peeled 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and deseeded Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 tsp dried thyme (optional: 1 fresh chili, seeded and chopped, or 1/4 tsp dried crushed chillies) 750ml chicken or vegetable stock 75g dried spaghetti or small pasta shells 250 ml milk Freshly grated Parmesan, to serve Saute the onion and garlic in the oil over a medium heat for 5-7 minutes until soft. Chop the carrots and butternut squash into small cubes and add to t...

I found this recipe online to use up the carrots and parsnips from the farmers' market. Thought the husband would think it too sweet and want to add chili sauce while the daughter would love it. Turned out the husband loved it (without chili sauce) and the daughter was not too keen. Ah well. The original recipe called for 1 Tbsp (instead of 1 tsp) curry powder but I cut down to accommodate the toddler - fat lot of good that did me. In any case, it was easy and tasty (I recommend serving with sriracha) and used up the root veg perfectly. 2 Tbsp oil, chopped in chunks 1 onion 450g parsnips, peeled and chopped in chunks 225 g carrots, peeled and chopped in chunks 350 ml vegetable stock 300 ml milk salt & pepper Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the vegetables. Stir and cook for a few mins until they start to soften. Add the curry powder and cook, stirring, for a min. Stir in the stock & milk. Bring to the boil then reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cook for 15-20 mins until ve...

In the quest to consume root veg, I tried this soup recipe and was pleased by the results. I added more ginger and garlic than it called for, and it could have had even more. But it was nice, especially with a dollop of Greek yogurt. 1 tablespoon oil 1 cup chopped onion 2 lbs root veg, chopped (I used 1 lb beets, 1/2 lb carrots, 1/2 lb swede) 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced 2 large garlic cloves, minced 6 cups stock (I used chicken) 1 teaspoon grated orange rind About 1 teaspoon salt Freshly-ground black pepper Sour cream or yogurt In large soup pot, heat the oil. Saute the onion until it is translucent. Add the carrots, ginger, and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add beets and other root veg and water or stock. Simmer the soup, covered, for 50 minutes. Add orange rind, and stir well. Puree the soup in batches (I used blender). Then season with salt and pepper. Garnish with dollop of sour cream or yogurt.

This was an attempt to cook all of the parsnips and carrots we've been hoarding from our veg box - we had nearly three weeks' worth on hand! On that count, it succeeded. On the tasty count, it was pretty good. The gravy/broth was nice but there wasn't enough of it. And it was a little too sweet for my tastebuds. So... next time add more water as it cooks. And use fewer parsnips and carrots, and instead add some potatoes, and some frozen peas at the end for greenness. Might try substituting beer for wine to make it less sweet. As for all those parsnips and carrots, next time they stack up, try to make a dedicated soup for them which can handle their sweetness (I'm imagining ginger and curry spices will be needed). Also: The meat was good but I'm not convinced we need to dust it with flour before cooking - doing away with that step might make this recipe even easier. All our parsnips All our carrots 4 small onions, quartered 650g stew beef Olive oil Butter Thyme Orega...

We get an organic veg box and around this time of year we always end up with a fridge drawer full of parsnips. So last night we made curried parsnip chips. How: Washed, peeled and chopped them into chip-size sticks. Mixed them with olive oil and a tsp or so of curry powder. Baked at 200C (fan oven) for 30 mins. Made dipping sauce with yogurt, curry powder and lemon. Result: Tasty chips but some burnt. Dipping sauce OK but left something to be desired. Next time: Cut chips into more even sizes, or watch more closely for little ones burning and remove from oven. Do some recipe research for ideas on how to make dipping sauce better (we did this recipe before, following a recipe online, and the results were much better).