Parsnips and Scarlet Cauliflower

Parsnips look, smell and taste a bit like a carrot crossed with parsley. I was until today a parsnips virgin cooking wise. I found this recipe on Epicurious but it had too much butter and milk and I didn't have any Brussel sprouts. I did have scarlet cauliflower, roasted garlic and roasted garlic oil. I boiled chunks of parsnips (I scraped off the skin rather then peeling.) Then I mashed the parsnips with the oil and garlic. I pulled the bit of scarlet cauliflower into pieces and sauteed it in butter and then mixed the two together. Pretty and good for you.

The parsnips and cauliflower came from Orchard Farms at the Santa Rosa Farmers Market

Drinking Meyer lemon drops made lemons from a neighbors tree.

Purple Sprouting Broccoli

Ken from Orchard Farms recommended it for the intense flavor and short season.
I tried a taste of it raw to gauge the flavor -always a good way to start with something new. There is very little waste, the slender stems and tender leaves are all edible.
For my first dish- I sauteed a bit with butter, lemon and anchovy paste. Mighty fine! Clearn by snipping off the very tip of the end of the stalk and chop the rest into 1/2 inch pieces. Using a saute pan, heat over low heat about 1 tablespoon of butter (or live oil) add the chopped broccoli. When the broccoli turns bright green add the juice of 1/2 a meyer lemon and 1/2 a teaspoon of anchovy sauce. Mix together until the broccoli is well coated.

Santa Rosa Farmer's Market March 4

The Wednesday Santa Rosa Market was fun. I asked Ken what was new and different and he pointed to the sprouting purple broccoli. Ken the owner of Orchard Farms, Sebastopol said it's the best flavor of the broccoli. It takes a year to come to harvest and the season is short, about six weeks. It is a lovely color.

The Wednesday Market is filled with friendly vendors and staff. I got a picture of the Samosa lady visiting with the volunteer handing out coupons for seniors. If you are over 60, the Santa Rosa Farmers Market gives you $2.00 in market dollars on Wednesdays only.

The hummus guy is a Wednesday market regular with lots of samples and discounts if you are buying more than one item. He had a wide variety of flavored hummus, olives, marinated tofu, and whole wheat and white bread pitas.
707 855 5372 Hummus Guy

One more salsify dish....

Salsify and escarole frittata ...

Salsify --salsifying

Once again Orchard Farms had salsify and I've had it three ways so far....
First I cleaned it and parboiled it. It's really good sauteed in a bit of butter and perserved meyer lemon peel. It's also excellent with chicken stir fry seasoned with worchestshire sauce and chili sauce. But my favorite so far --the salsify croquette with bluecheese --mashed 3 parts salsify with 1 part blue cheese and coated in some sort of crumb or flour and sauteed...yummmy!

Romanesco Cauliflower

I recently had uttapam at Dosa Restaurant in San Francisco.

The challenge to make uttapam at home. It's not difficult but there is a lot of time involved soaking and fermenting. There was a beautiful romanesco cauliflower from Orchard Farms at the Santa Rosa Farmers Market.

I made uttapam stuffed with romanesco --pretty good. Of course romanesco can be used in any cauliflower recipe. I also had it simply steamed with a bit of cheddar cheese and a splash of Pavone sage vinegar I think I am officially a sage vinegar addict. I spent the weekend figuring out sage vinegar cocktails --hmmm bloody mary!

Some romanesco facts

A bunch of cauliflower recipes

Broccoli Rabe ..the mustard family and Pavone Sage Vinegar

No excuses for eating not seasonally and locally along the Russian River in Sonoma County, California. A big bowl of broccoli rabe from Orchard Farms -purchased at the Wednesday Santa Rosa Farmers Market and seasoned with Pavone Sage Vinegar (pineapple sage grown along the Russian River in Forestville.)

As a member of the Brassica (cole) family, broccoli rabe's kin include cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kohlrabi, Chinese cabbage, rutabaga, turnips and broccoli. Actually, broccoli rabe and broccoli are more like distant cousins many times removed. At harvest time, the only physical resemblance between the two is the unopened broccoli-like buds that form on broccoli rabe. It's closely related to the turnip and often referred to as a turnip green. It's also referred to as a member of the mustard family, which all Brassica are.

To make matters more confusing, broccoli rabe, like an aunt who marries often, has several monikers. This peppery plant is also called broccoli raab, rapini, rappa, Italian turnip, fall and spring rabe and broccoli de rape, among many others. Confusion arises when Italian sprouting broccoli is referred to as broccoli rabe. The Italians introduced broccoli to the United States almost 100 years ago, and sprouting broccoli (Brassica oleracea) is simply broccoli to us here.

I met Jane and Don Pavone mixing up a new batch of their award winning vinegar. They are a welcome addition to the Russian River artisan food community. Their vinegar won a gold medal at this year's Harvest Fair.

I sauteed the broccoli rabe and added some cooked cannellini beans and finished it with sage vinegar. Add a soft cooked egg and it could be the West County version of salad lyonnaise. Salad Guernnaise perhaps :)))

The PavoneSonoma web site offers interesting serving and recipe suggestions for vinegars as does this article from the LA Times

wine recommendation for the broccoli rabe: a pinot grigio is a good choice

The sage vinegar is also a good ingredient to use in cocktails

A sage vinegar Bloody Mary sounds great to me!

Burdock Root

I'm trying to add new vegetables to my diet. So far Orchard Farms does the best job of bringing unusual and not widely available items to the Santa Rosa Farmers Market. Last week purple kohlrabi and this week burdock root. Looks pretty homely but it actually fairly easy to prepare. The skin is thin and scrapes right off. Raw it tastes like raw turnip or a very mild radish. Cooked it is sweet kind of like a parsnip.

I diced the burdock root and used it in a stir fry with brussel sprouts flavored with soy, thai fish sauce and sour orange juice. Pretty darn good. I shredded some and added it to a cole slaw --tangy. I also used the shreds in a simple pickle -water and vinegar boiled and then poured over the shreds. Wine Recommendations: Sancerre or Reisling


Nutritional Highlights
Burdock can be termed a health food simply by virtue of its high fiber and low calorie content. It is also a very good source of potassium and a moderate source of iron and calcium. (In 1/2 cup of the fresh root there are 180 mg of phosphorus, 50 mg of calcium, 58 mg of phosphorus, 1.4 mg of iron, 0.03 mg of thiamine and 0.05 mg of riboflavin.) But perhaps the most unique aspect of the root is its very high amount of inulin, a naturally occuring phytochemical that mimics the actions of insulin. According to one source, from 27% to 45% of the root is inulin and some people have found it an effective food to control hypo-glycemia and pre-diabetes conditions.


Medicinal Value
Burdock is a root that is found in Europe in Asia. It has many medicinal qualities and has been used in many herbal remedies. The root is sweet to the taste and has a gummy consistency. Traditionally, burdock has been used as a remedy for measles, arthritis, tonsillitis, viruses like colds, throat pain, and as a diuretic. In modern times, burdock is also used in oncology and to treat many other serious health problems


Two recipes
burdock pickle

Kimpira Gobo