Visit my new blog to read about what
helps to (a) prevent and (b) treat or alleviate migraines.It's an interactive site for people to share
what works for them and to ask questions of each other.I will post information regularly.Please meet me there if you are troubled by
migraines.
Rooty
vegetables in the spring? Well, actually, yes.They winter over in these parts (Massachusetts,
New York) and
when their growers pull them up in early spring they are so sweet it's hard to
believe they aren't dessert!However,
the bigger ones will have a woody core, which you might want to discard.
Those
of you who are Dylan Tomas fans may remember from "A Child's Christmas in Wales" that
Auntie Hannah got into the parsnip wine.No need to go to Wales;
you can make it right at home from the recipe at: http://scorpius.spaceports.com/~goodwine/parsnipwine.htm
Somewhat
surprisingly, another use for parsnips is treating angina.Angelica, the carrot family which includes
parsnips, offers compounds that act like calcium channel blockers, drugs which
are prescribed to reduce blood pressure.For this reason, James Duke (The Green Pharmacy, Rodale Press,
1997) recommends drinking a cocktail of juiced vegetables from the angelica
family: carrots, celery, fennel, parsley, and parsnips.
What
else, besides the joy of all that sweetness, would you want to eat parsnips
for? Muscle cramps: they provide a nice dose of potassium.
Recipe of the Month
Ingredients:
Parsnips --
about 2 lbs
1 Pear,
skinned, cored, and chopped into eights (optional)
Ginger root
chopped very fine -- about one "thumb"
1 tablespoon
of butter, olive, or coconut oil
Potato masher
Yogurt with or
without a pinch of salt in it, served on top.
Directions:
Wash and chop
the parsnips, and the pear, if you include one.Boil them in not much water (stirring occasionally so all pieces get
time in the water) for five-10 minutes until they are tender.Turn off the heat, drain off excess water and
reserve it to add back in if your mash wants lubricating.Then add the finely chopped ginger and the
butter or oil.Mash them all up together
with your masher.Some people use a
blender, but I don't like the Gerber effect and prefer this coarse apple sauce
consistency.The only salt I add is a
pinch to the yogurt topping.