RSBC Challenge! Week 3: Curried Parsnip Puffs

Now the moment you have all been waiting for! This weeks food challenge was...parsnips. Parsnips! Yes, I know what you are thinking, "Who eats parsnips?". I was intrigued. I have never eaten or cooked with parsnips. I decided in order to make something with parsnips, I better learn all I can about them. (By "learn all I can" I mean look them up on Wikipedia). I learned that parsnips are thought to have first been used in the Mediterranean and later spread throughout Europe. Sadly, today parsnips are rarely consumed. Luckily they are not hard to find at the store. They are cheap and taste like a strong carrot. I think you will enjoy them. So without further ado here is the recipe.

Curried Parsnip Puffs

4 medium parsnips

olive oil

2 T onion, diced

2 garlic cloves

salt

1/4 to 1/2 t curry powder (to taste)

1 to 2 t half and half

scant 1/4 cup slivered almonds

one sheet puff pastry dough

one egg (optional)

Preheat oven to 450 F. Peal, core and cut the parsnips in pieces. Align pieces on a roasting pan and sprinkle with olive oil. Stir to coat. Roast for 10 minutes or until soft and toasted. Cook time will depend on the thickness of the pieces. Reduce heat to 375 F. While roasting the parsnips, dice the onions and garlic and saute. Combine roasted parsnips, onion, garlic, salt, and curry in food processor. Pulse until well mixed, but still a little chunky, adding half and half gradually until moist. Toast almonds and stir into mixture. Cut puff pastry dough into squares. Place a small amount of the parsnip mixture on each square. Fold over and squish edges together with a fork. Arrange on roasting pan and wipe with egg. Bake until golden brown, around 15 minutes. Dipping sauce : I chose to use a dried red pepper duck sauce but I think a yogurt/cilantro/lime sauce would also be great.

Exercise update: R: 4 B: 30.5 S: 0.7 Med Prom Dancing: 2 hours

RSBC Challenge! Week 2: Kale and Roasted Vegetable Soup

The challenge for this week (details) was to make a dish with kale. Once again the first thing that came to mind was a Brazilian dish called couve (pronouned co-vee). It is made by cutting the kale into long strips and sauteing it with oil, onion, garlic and salt. Then it is served along side the famous black bean stew, Feijoada (fage-wada). But since that is only a side dish we decided we better come up with something else.

Our final product was a soup concoction made using all the vegetables we found in our fridge (you can put in whatever you have). Drumroll please....

Kale and Roasted Vegetable Soup

2 carrots

1 red potato

1/2 green pepper

1 onion

1/2 acorn squash

1 tomato

2 celery stalks

3 garlic cloves

4 mushrooms

olive oil

salt and pepper

6 cups chicken broth

4 cups kale

2 bay leaves

1 1/2 tsp tarragon

3/4 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 c fresh parsley

1/2 c uncooked barley

sausage

Preheat oven to 425 F. Cut all the vegetables into chunks and place on a greased roasting pan. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and olive oil, stir to coat evenly. Roast the vegetables for 30 minutes or until roastie-toastie, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven and combine vegetables, chicken broth, chopped kale and spices in a large pot . Use a little of the chicken broth to remove any of the residual roasted goodness left on the pan. Simmer until kale is tender. While it simmers, cook the barley according to the directions on the package and saute the sausage in seperate pans. Add cooked sausage and barley. Serve with really good bread. Enjoy!

20 miles biking, 0.7 miles swimming, Justin needs to work on the running...he was studying for a test last week.

RSBC Challenge! Week 1: Mousse de Abacate

This month Justin and I are taking part in the second annual Run Swim Bike Cook Challenge (Check out the link for the rules, and feel free to join in!). We decided we are too busy/out of shape to do the entire "Ironman Triathlon" individually, so we created our own "team" division (we're hoping to take first). I'm doing the biking and baking. Justin gets stuck running and swimming. I might help a little on the swimming...

This week's baking challenge was to create a dessert using avocado. When I saw the challenge, I was excited because I didn't have to wrack my brain too hard for a recipe idea. I spent 18 months living in Brazil as a missionary, and in Brazil, avocados are always dessert!

One of my favorite desserts in Brazil was mousse (pronounced Moo-See). They make their mousse from all kinds of fruits, and interestingly enough, even avocados. It is a simple and tasty snack. I decided to put a twist to Brazilian mousse and this is what I came up with:

Mousse de Abacate

(Avocado Mousse)

4 ripe, medium sized avocados

1 can sweetened condensed milk

4 small limes, juice and zest

Put all ingredients in blender, blend on low until smooth. Refrigerate. Serve chilled, sprinkle with extra lime zest for garnish.

As with all Brazilian mousses, it has a creamy smooth texture and is very rich. You only need a small serving to be satisfied. I served mine with almond shortbread cookies I made from Betty Crocker's 1963 classic Cooky Book. The flavors complemented each other nicely. One week down, a lot of miles to go!