Creamy Parsnip Split Pea Soup

I've gone on a complete split pea binge. I have been making it (or reheating it if I have left overs) every day for the last two weeks, no joke. (This lady needs her protein) I get home, grab what ever veggies I see first in the fridge, a few jars of some spices, the giant jar of dried peas, and make quick work of lunch. Chop chop, dump, splash, stir. I am a soup (stews and bisques too) master. Soup for lunch. Right in all ways and just needs to happen.

Sometimes I'll make soup and it's just good soup.  Sometimes it will end up being really good .This soup, well this soup is really freaking awesome and is my new go to for split peas. Thick and creamy, mildly sweet from the parsnips and ginger, but mellow at the same time. Add a little or a lot of pepper (lots of pepper here) and you got yourself perfection.

Soup that warms you up from the inside out and leaves you happy and full.

Split pea for life!

The stuff. Dried split peas, parsnips, a carrot, and onion, some Italian seasoning, ground ginger, bay leaves, and salt and pepper. Also need water.

Chop the veggies. Smaller chunks are good, but don't worry to much, it's all getting blended up anyway.

Now toss all those veggies into a big heavy bottom pot and mix in all the spices. Stick o stove with a splash of water and turn up the heat to give the veggies and spices a few minutes alone to active all the goodness.

Once the smell hits you nose and the veggies look like they need some water, dump in the split peas and add enough water to completely cover everything plus a few extra inches. Bring the pot to a boil then turn down to low, stick a lid on pot, and let cook. Check an stir every 10 minutes or so. If it starts to look dry, add in another few cups of water.

Peas are soft, veggies are cooked and now soup is almost ready to go.

Just blend it until smooth. Take liberty hear and smooth it as much or as little as you like. Also if you want to thin it out, just add more water. Want to thicken it up, just cook for a little while longer. ( spit pea is so easy).

And that is it.

You know what to do from here.

Soup time!

Stay warm and have a great weekend.

-C

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Creamy Parsnip Split Pea Soup

makes a large pot of soup that will feed 4-6

• 1 pound dried split peas
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1 large carrot
• 1 pound (about 4-5) parsnips
• 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning*
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and pepper
• water

*Note. Italian seasoning is pretty basic and you probably have it, but if not you can make your own by mixing equal parts thyme, oregano, basil, and rosemary.

Start by rough chopping all the veggies and placing them in a large heavy bottom pot. Mix in the spices and bay leaves. Stick on the stove with a splash of water and cook for a few minutes to let the spices ans veggies heat up and smell all nice. Add in peas and enough water to completely cover everything in the pot plus a few inches. Bring to a boil, them turn heat to low, cover pot, and let cook for about 1/2 hour-45 minutes, checking and stir ever 10 minutes. If the soup seems to get too dry, just add in a few extra cups of water.

Once the veggies and peas are soft, turn heat off and using the blending device of your choice, blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste and eat hot but watch your tongue.

Parsnip Snickerdoodles

After spending a good few hours driving around to different stores with the mr looking at all sorts of appliances mostly stove, all I wanted to do was bash my head against a dish washer. But then I would have to choose one to bash against and I can't seem to do that.  Agh, I hate shopping, especially for something that I really need and cost a lot of money and I don't want to screw up.

It's all about the stove, the main tool in the kitchen. I want it to be awesome, pretty, super functional. It needs to be able to not break (I break ovens) when I crank the heat way up. I don't want or need anything fancy like infer red censors or a led touch pad(that is just more things for me to break), I just want a simple, easy to clean, power house that will do my bidding and not look like shit. Oh, and not be a million bucks.  And that there lies the problem. Those un-fussy powerful ovens are the super duper expensive ones. Yup. I am all over the place with this and it's got me overwhelmed. To top it all of, there is a deadline. The stove needs to bought and in the house but the end of next week.

What I am hoping for now is that appliance fairy from the super duper expensive oven store comes by my house and drops me a stove for the reason none other then I want it. Mahaha. Dreams.

When the shopping trip ended the mr dropped me off at home to do a few things while he went back to the house and painted trim. My plan was to sort through bills, research ovens some more( so much researching) and clean the car(its stinks). As soon as I walked into the house I realized something. I haven't been home at this time in like a month. There is sunlight, I can open the door cause it's warm out, and I just didn't really give a crap about doing anything. I took a look around my tiny loft and with my tiny kitchen and tiny oven. My tiny oven, no fancy, no gadgets, not even very powerful, but has baked and roasted and boiled so so many things. That's when I decided that I wasn't going to do anything that I came home to do, I was just going to bake something, spend a little more time in my tiny, one wall kitchen. And so that's what I did. Parsnip snickerdoodles. The idea popped into my head a few weeks back and I just so happened to have a few parsnips left in the fridge (I was saving them for my dinner but I figured the mr deserved cookies), so there really was no question. I was making cookies. After the past few weeks I think we all need to bake some mother F-ing cookies.

Cookies came out fantastic, the house smelled amazing, and I got to just chill for a bit, not thinking about new ovens or bills or money, just watching the cookies bake. It was nice.

The stuff. Gonna need a parsnip or two along with some flour, sugar, coconut oil, salt, baking soda, vanilla extract, cream of tarter, and cinnamon.

First thing is to soften the parsnip. Chop it up and place into a pot with about and inch of water and steam until fork tender. Once done, toss into a food processor to puree it all up.

Parsnip puree for the cookies ans enough left over for a quick snack.

The measured puree goes back into processor with sugar, vanilla, and coconut oi and get pulsed all together until combined.

Then the rest of the dry ingredients go in.

Pulsed until a nice dough forms.

A ball of cookie dough awaiting a cinnamon sugar bath.

Make little balls of dough them coat them in the cinnamon sugar and place on a cookie sheet.

I give the cookies each a little squish with my fingers cause thy are not going to spread much.

And into the oven they go.

Minutes later and out they come.  Cinnamon sugar Parsnip goodness.

Nothing beats not doing the things that need to be done them baking a pile of cookies.

-C

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Parsnip Snickerdoodles

makes 2 dozen

• 1 large or 2 small parsnips (1/2 cup pureed parsnip )
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tarter
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Grab parsnips, chop into chunks andtoss into a pot with about an inch of water. Stick on stove on high until water boils then down to a simmer with a lid on pot until the parsnip chunks are fork tender.

Dump cooked parsnips into food processor and blend until smooth. Scoop out puree, measure a 1/2 cup (any extra is a snack) and add it back to processor. Add in coconut oil, sugar and vanilla and pulse until combined. Add in the cream of tarter, baking soda, salt, and flour and pulse it all together until a a dough forms. Dump dough onto counter and bring together.

Preheat oven to 350.

iI a small bowl, mix together the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar with the cinnamon. Take small lumps of the dough and roll into balls. Roll the balls all up in the cinnamon sugar mixture and place onto a baking sheet with a little space between them. With your hand or a fork if you want,  smoosh the cookie somewhat flat. When the sheet is full, place into oven to bake. Cookie should take about 9-10 minutes or until slightly rised and the bottom is a light golden brown.

Remove cookie from oven, place on a rack to cool, then you know, eat them.

Veggie Bean Wonder Waffles!! (Vegan and Gluten Free)

Guess what guys ….I got myself a sick vintage waffle/ griddle iron. I couldn't be more thrilled!!! I found this thing at the local recycled goods store the other day, along with a very beautiful old white pyrex mixing bowl. It was one of my best thrift store scores! (Checking out the inventory and the condition of all the old things that day, I would say an old lady had just died and all her perfectly keep, mint condition kitchen stuff had just been donated.  But it's cool, cause I get the feeling that she was at least 90, with a big loving family, and was happy until the day she died. And I am sure she would be pleased that I have taken over the waffle maker. Thanks old lady!)

 And now I am pretty sure that  everything I make for the next week will be cooked on said waffle/griddle. I am serious, I already have a list of things to try and cook on it; cookies, biscuits, granola bars, potatoes, fruit, some type of pasta situations…. the list of possibilities is endless and I bet that at least 1/2 of these things will be totally awesome and amazing.

But first thing first. I need to make dinner.

So waffles for dinner!! 

Note. These waffles are completely 100% fantastic for any meal you want to make them for. They consist of nothing more then beans, a shit ton of veggies, and just a bit of cornmeal. But don't let that fool you because they are super packed full of so much flavor, have a really soft tender inside, with a nice crispy outside and are so super pretty. They are wonderful! The stuff. First, we got a big old pile of shredded up veggies which include; carrot, beet, sweet potato, onion, parsnip, celeriac, and a little bit of kale.  A we got a bowl of rinsed and strained white beans, a little bit of cornmeal and salt, pepper, and garlic powder. 

The makings of something amazing!Before you do anything. get your waffle iron out and preheat it. 

While thats going on, take you beans,  add 3/4 cup water and puree until smooth with whatever blending device want to like to use. (I used my hand blender…less to clean)Now collect all the shredded veggies and dump into a big bowl with the bean puree, the spices and the cornmeal. Mix until combined. The batter should be thick, but not dry. If its seems to wet, add more corn meal, or too dry, add a little more water.

Note how my batter turned a magical pink… I love beets, they make everything pretty! And check out that bowl!When your waffle iron is preheated, oil it if needed (if your not sure, add a little oil just to really make sure your waffles don't stick) and take appropriate size spoonfuls of the batter and stick on iron. Close it and wait…..My iron has a little light that turns on when the waffles are done cooking, so I waited patiently (ok iI did open it a few time) until light tuned on and removed the perfectly cooked waffles.

Did I mention how awesome my new/old vintage iron is?

SO AWESOME!!

I made a little gaucamole and gave the mister and little bowl of plain Greek yogurt with lemon juice, but feel free to top, drizzle, or dump whatever you want onto these beauties… 

Happy waffle Wednesday!!!

-C

Veggie Bean Wonder Waffles

Makes 8-10 waffles (in my iron) feeds 2-3 peeps

• 1 small carrot shredded
• 1 small parsnip shredded
• 1/2 a small celeriac root
• 1 small beet shredded
• 2 kale leaves chopped into tiny bits
• 1/2 an onion, shredded
• 1/2 a small sweet potato shredded
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 2 cups(or 1 can) cooked, rinsed and strained white beans
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• teaspoon each salt and pepper
• oil for iron(if needed)

Note on veggies… I used what I had in the fridge and shredded, it came to about 3 cups. If you don't have these specific veggies or only want to use a few.. go for it. Just make sure to have 3 cups of whatever veggies you use.

Take you beans and blend them up with whatever device you would like to use. Once creamy, add to a bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Stir until combined.

Once the waffle iron is preheated, oil it( if needed) and place the recommended amount of batter right on it there. Close and cook until golden brown and waffly.

Serve on a plate with topping of your choice, A few suggestions.. Guacamole, salsa, hummus, mustard, greek yogurt… anything that tastes good to you.

Eat as breakfast, lunch or dinner...

Fork into face

Parsnip Thyme and Turmeric Soup

 I'll let you know now, I am a make and eat soup all year long person. I can think of few things better then sitting outside, basking in the sun, hopefully with a light wind, a book in hand, enjoying a nice big cup of some good homemade soup. (Doesn't that sound so freaking lovely?) This soup right here is perfect for just that. Parsnips are the best, kind of like a big white sweet, yet starchy carrots. And cooked together with a little bit of light and lemony thyme, rich earthy turmeric and a couple more chopped veggie….. you got yourself a nice thick and fragrant bowl of happiness that fills you up without weighing you down. It's food you can eat that fills you up, leaves you feeling cozy, yet still wanting to hop on a bike or lace up the running shoes.  Hearty without the feeling of all the heaviness.

A perfect soup for spring! (or summer, winter, or fall)

The stuff. Parsnips, carrots, onion and garlic. Thyme and turmeric, salt and pepper. the tinniest bit of oil and water (water not shown)Chop all the veggies and the garlic, drizzle a dutch oven or a pot with oil, toss in the veggies. Add the turmeric, the thyme, and 1/2 cup of water. Sweet sweating the veggies. Turn pot on medium and cook until the water completely cooks out. When the veggies start to brown and stick to the pot, deglaze with water. Give a good stir and keep cooking. Repeat the deglazing process until the veggies are super soft and ready to blend. (I did this 4 times.. it only took 10 minutes)Add enough water to cover the cooked veggies. And now blend the heck out of it.. Go as smooth or chunky as you want. I blended as smooth as I could get with this crappy immersion blender. (Blender on loan until I finally decide on, and buy a new one)And there you have it. Scoop into bowls, add lots of cracked black pepper, and go to town. I made enough to save a bowl for later…  it didn't last for later. 

Soup so good. 

-C

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Parsnip Thyme and Turmeric Soup 

• 4 large parsnips
• 2 carrots
• 1 whole onion
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 2 teaspoons thyme
• 2 teaspoons turmeric 
• salt and pepper
• olive oil
• water

Dice up the parsnips, carrots, garlic and onion and place into a large dutch oven or pot. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil,  sprinkle on the spices, salt and pepper and add about 1/2 cup of water. Turn heat on medium and start cooking down the veggies. Once the water evaporates and the veggies start to caramelize, deglaze pot with about a 1/2 cup of water. Give pot a stir, and continue to cook until water evaporates.  Repeat this 2-3 more times until the veggies are super soft and fragrant. 

When the  veggies are ready, add enough water to the pot to submerge the veggies. Bust out the immersion blender or dump into a blending device and blend until smooth (or the consistency that you want) Have a cup of water ready to thin out if needed. When blended, taste for salt and pepper, add more if you want, and cook on low heat until you are ready to serve.

Garnish with a lot of good cracked pepper

Eat from a vessel, use a spoon

Parsnip and Carrot Fries with Smokey Sriracha sauce

     Before we get to the fries, I just want to mention that  yesterday was one of those fantastic winter days that reminds me why I love living in Vermont.  Pretty white snow everywhere, the sun was out, and 20 degrees without a gust of wind. The trash dog an I were even able to go for a little hike.  It was so nice and soooo sooo needed!  Anyways, the other day as me, my sister and the mister where putting together  one more piece of Ikea furniture, (I am the master at Ikea assembling!)  a little runs into the room and presents the mister with a Dominos pizza. Yup, a whole pizza just for him. Why you might ask? Well I guess my sister was  delivered the wrong pizza and the place didn't want it back and she didn't want it, so she gave it to him.

A whole pizza to himself. I didn't mind too much..he was just going to be eating it for lunch and dinner until it was out of the fridge. But for dinner I did want him to eat something of the vegetable matter that didn't come out of a box. I was going to make him a big salad, but then realized that would mean sharing the last of the greens that I had for MY dinner and I was not about to do that, so I made him parsnip and carrot fries instead. No biggy, just some slicing, a little tossing and a bit of time in the old oven. And I figured I might as well make a nice sauce for those fries because I be so very nice.

The biggest problem that I ran into when I made these fries was that I didn't make enough, so you should probably make twice as many as you think you will eat. If you end up not eating them all (which you probably will), well then you now have a great start for a soup or a nice addition to a salad. Either way, you will eat them because they are amazing and addicting… and as healthy as can be!

The carrots and the parsnips are all sliced up into big matchsticks and ready to be baked to crispy browned perfection.  I added the oil to the pan to toss the fries in and then sprinkled with a fair amount of salt and pepper.  If you don't have and or want to use a cast iron pan, a baking sheet works just the same.

   Oh saucy sauce stuff. Tomato puree, sriracha, and yellow mustard. Add a little bit of honey to lighten it up (can use brown sugar if keeping it vegan), a splash of apple cider vinegar and a couple minced cloves of garlic. Topped off with the smokey delightful spice of cumin. I cold eat this on everything…and I kind of did. 

All mixed up in an oven safe dish, I stuck it into the oven for a about 8 minutes until it got a little bubbly, just to let all the flavors fuse together…

Fries are done, Sauce is ready. Served in super cute tea cups.(from now on I want to serve everything in tea cups.) A perfect side dish, snack, or even a light meal.  It lead the mister to ask the question...What pizza? 

Happy Day!

-C

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Parsnip and Carrot Fries with Smokey Sriracha Sauce

The Stuff

For the Fries

• 2 large parsnips
• 2 large carrot
• salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon oil

For the Sauce

• 1 tablespoon Sriracha
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• 2 tablespoon tomato puree (or 1 tablespoon tomato paste and 1 tablespoon water)
• 2 cloves or garlic
• 1 teaspoon honey or brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• a splash of apple cider vinegar
• a pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 425.

Wash and trim carrots and parsnips and cut into large matchsticks (any shape is good, just make them all uniform) Toss with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on cast iron pan or baking sheet and stick in oven for 30 or so minutes, and rotating after about 20. The fries are done when  crispy and brown.

For the sauce. Mince garlic and add to all the sauce ingredients in an oven safe bowl. stick into oven for about 8 minutes until slightly bubbly and hot.

Dip fries in sauce