PARSNIPS and what we do with them!!

This is the first year that I have managed to grow parsnips. Most of the french will say you cannot do it...in fact our neighbour didnt even know what one was even when I showed them...they say it is too dry here. Usually its because anything that needs too much watering is a no no for the french!

Last year after planting the seeds we were rewarded with ...NOTHING! The ants had carried them all away.
This year I tried again...I had planted two rows beside the carrots. Only half a row managed to survive but at least it was some success!! Its the first time I have grown parsnips. The good thing about growing different veg is that its always a challenge to find the best uses for it. I have only  had parsnips roasted as part of a Sunday dinner so it has been good to try some other recipes.

 

The first thing I did was blanche and freeze a supply for the winter casseroles.

The following are the best recipes I came across...not all for preserving, some are for instant eating!!

 

CURRIED PARSNIP MASH

Cooke 1kg of chopped parsnip in some butter for about 2 mins. Add some milk, boil then simmer for 15 mins till cooked. Add 1 tbsp curry powder and 2 tablespoons of honey and mash!

 

PARSNIP HASH BROWNS

 

Grate 450g of peeled waxy potatoes along with 359g of peeled parsnips. Squeeze the liquid out of them by placing between a clean teatowel. Stir in a small chopped onion, a crushed clove of garlic and 1 egg.

At this point the recipe said divide into flat cakes and fry. Let me tell you...its does not bind together well enough to do that. I have one of these contraptions that you put rice or potato into then squeeze down with a lid bit  to serve nicely on the plate...they call them presentation circles here..you can see it in the following picture.

it worked perfectly. Put in about one and a half tablespoons of mixture..squeeze it down. Once you take the contraption off you can then flatten them a little.

Fry them slwoly in a little oil in a frying pan till nicely browned on both sides. Drain on kitchen paper.They can be frozen for later use....wrap individually in foil then put in a plastic bag. When you take them out of the freezer place them on a baking tray...drizzle with a little oil and heat for 10- 15 mins on a low heat.

 

 

PARSNIP RELISH

 

Cook 1lb of parsnips in half a cup of stock. for about 15 mins. Add half a cup of wine vinegar, 6 cloves of chopped garlic, 1 tsp each of cinnamon and cumin and lemon rind. Quarter teaspoon of cayenne pepper. Simmer it all together for 10 mins then pot in sterilized heated jars.

 

Of course you can make a variety of soups but I thought these recipes were a nice change from the usual soups and stews.

 

HAPPY PARSNIPING

 

 

 

 

 

WINTER PREPARATIONS IN FRANCE

We are almost in the middle of October and I have today been out in a short sleeved t shirt...it is gloriously sunny, blue skies and no wind. However, the local shops have removed all signs of summer...no more bbqs, garden furniture or summer wear....its heaters, logs and insulation!
Its time to prepare for Winter.....
If you believe its warm here during Winter then you are seriously wrong.....ok..yes its warmer than the Uk and much drier..but you still need some heating!!!
Our first winter here was a bit of a shock...we thought two wood burning stoves would heat the whole house...Wrong!.....add into the factor we had big holes in the windows and doors, we are fairly open plan and had no insulation in any of the roofs...its was seriously colder than expected. We spent a lot of time staying under the bedcovers ( total embarresment when the Mayors wife called at 11am one morning with a cake to welcome us to the village ) or huddled around the stove wearing as many items of clothing as possible or drinking copious amounts of red wine and then saying....Its not really cold at all is it? Some days it was actually warmer outside than in the house.
Needless to say we are better prepared now....windows replaced, insulation in and some electric heating added where necessary.
We now have a combination of heating...underfloor electric in the living areas that is thermostatically controlled so will only come on when needed...woodburners and some moveable electric and petrol heaters. In this way we do not pay to heat the whole of the house...it isnt needed in spare rooms and the mobile heaters just provide instant heat where needed.
The wood burners are our main source of heat and now we are well insulated and they work brilliantly.

Our main wood supply are oak logs..we but them by the stere (about a cubic metre) and at the minute they are 67 euros a stere. It all depends on how bad the weather is as to how much we use. Our french neighbour whose house is badly insulated and non double glazed used 9 steres last year!!!!Considering we had the mildest winter we have known, that is a lot...we used only 3.
However we do supplement our firewood with anything we can find.
During the summer we collect kindling when we are out on our walks. Sometimes we find large branches and all kinds of wood suitable for burning.Pine cones are also good for starting your fire...although they do soot up your chimney..as do all pine woods.
We also make paper briquettes...our neighbours give us their old papers instead of taking them to the recycling. At first they thought we actually wanted to read the french newspapers...mmmm....howevcr now they know our french isnt actually that good!!!

 

 

 

The briquettes need to be really dry so making them in the summer gives them plenty  of time to dry out for the winter.  Some people only burn this kind  of log but it creates a lot of ash and burns very quickly...so we find a combination is the best idea. One of our burners is a multifuel burner so thats fine but it would create too much of a "bed"of ash  in a woodburner making it less efficient.

So we have logs that we need to buy but we have free twigs, branches, cones and briquettes. However this is not the only free source of fuel. At the end of the grape picking season the Vignerons clear some of their fields of old vines. As long as you ask permission from the owner you can help yourself to these. They burn through fairly quickly..but they provide a good heat and most of all they are FREE!!!!

 

I think in the UK people are  so used to central heating that they  feel the need to have it on more and more to keep warm. I find most English homes now very stuffy and overheated. It is also bizarre to go into homes where people have their heating on full blast but are walking round in vest and t shirts......yet complain about the cost of heating the home!!!!

 

KEEP WARM AND HAPPY