Back with brownies

My counters are filthy, my sink is full of dirty dishes, I haven't posted in a year (?) and I took this poorly composed picture with my iPhone. 

There. All of my reasons to hold off on posting this.

But, I haven't posted in a year, and I really want to start again. I am still trying to figure out in what kind of capacity I want our newest addition to be featured, so I won't hit on that yet. 

But, I have been thinking and talking and talking and talking about homemade brownies lately and wanted to share my favorite recipe. Despite trying different types of "favorites" from my favorite blogs, I ended up going back to an old standby in my recipe book; the brownie recipe that I use to make brownie cupcakes, only to find that even in a bar form, this is an amazing recipe! 

For those of you that still use and love the boxes...they're great, right? But let me just make the case for homemade, from-scratch brownies for you.

They are: 

easy

quick (I would contend that they are almost as quick as the box mix)

made with pantry staples

so, so tasty

So, without further ado:

My Favorite Brownies

yield: 1-8"x8" pan 

4oz dark chocolate*

1 stick unsalted butter

1 c (8oz) firmly packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 t vanilla extract

1/2 t kosher salt

1/2 c (2.7oz) all purpose flour

1/2 c chocolate chips** (optional)

Preheat oven to 350° (325° if you have a convection oven)

1. Using a serrated knife, chop the chocolate

2. Over a pan of simmering water, melt chocolate and butter in a heat-proof bowl while stirring

3. Whisk the sugar, then the eggs, and finally, the vanilla and salt in to the chocolate and butter

4. Using a rubber spatula, fold in flour and chocolate chips. 

5. Grease and line an 8"x8" pan with a strip of parchment paper that covers the bottom and goes up two sides then grease the parchment

6. Pour batter in the pan, smooth, and bake for 20-30 minutes

7. Pull from the oven when a toothpick comes out allllmost clean (there will be just a few crumbs that stick) and allow to cool in the pan for 20 minutes before pulling them out with the help of the parchment handles

*Use a good quality here with a high cocoa content -- but, you don't have to break the bank; my go-to baking chocolate is the 72% dark chocolate pound plus bar from Trader Joe's. You can't beat $7.99 for 17.6 oz of chocolate.

**Mint chocolate chips is a favorite to add in our household.

Shrimp Dumplings

Dumplings (or potstickers, depending on how you cook them) are one of my absolute favorite made-in-mass meals. If you happen to have a lovely chest freezer (or any freezer, really) in your basement -- like we do -- they make a great, quick weeknight meal after an initial time investment.

On a different but related note, the vegetarian/pescetarian (including fish) diet is going well. I'm not sure how long it's been, but I suppose it's a good thing that I'm not feeling the need to count the days. And we are cheating a bit; since we eat out so rarely, we are allowing ourselves meat when at a restaurant.

*Side note: I never really explained my reasons for moving to a more plant-based diet but it's really as simple as wanting to get back to the veggie-full diet (that included meat but was mostly veggie-centric) that we enjoyed while living in France. Not only are we consuming less saturated fat but we'll also be saving a few bucks with the switch.

For the most part though, when the craving for meat hits, fish has been a satisfying alternative.

So, when the urge hit last week, I started researching common shrimp dumpling recipes. I also pulled some prior dumpling knowledge from our Chinese friend Chen (which you can read a bit about here and here) and made this recipe up after a quick trip to our favorite Asian grocery.

Shrimp Potstickers

Yield: about 50

2 c thinly sliced green cabbage (about ¼ head)

1 T salt

1” chunk of ginger cut into 4 pieces

4 chinese leeks (or 1 large normal leek) cut into chunks

½ lb raw shrimp

3 T light soy sauce

1 T rice wine

1 t toasted sesame oil

1 egg white

1 package dumpling wrappers (found in any Asian market freezer section)

1. Allow wrappers to thaw for 40 mins at room temp.
2. Place green cabbage in colander over a bowl or the sink and mix with the salt.
3. Allow cabbage to release it’s excess water for 15-30 mins then place the salted cabbage in an old dish towel or rag and squeeze out as much water as possible.
4. In a food processor pulse the ginger until it is finely minced. Add in the leeks and pulsed until finely chopped. Then add in the salted and squeezed cabbage, shrimp, soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil and the egg white and pulse until the shrimp is chopped up but still in pea-sized pieces.
5. Fill wrappers and freeze (photo tutorial below) or cook as desired. You can either boil them (for 3 minutes), steam them (for 10 minutes), or cook them potsticker style (place in a saute pan over medium high heat with 1 T oil and cook for 2 minutes until brown, add 1/4 c of water, cover pan tightly, reduce heat to low and steam for 5 minutes). 

Yum.


And now


How to: Crimped Dumplings

1. Lay wrapper on a dry, clean surface

2. Brush the outside edge of the wrapper with water and fill with approximately 1 T of filling

3. Bring up two sides and firmly press to attach the dough

4. Move to one side and crimp over one side of the dough

5. Moving towards the edge, do two more crimps for a total of 3 per side

 6. Move to the opposite side and make three more crimps

7. Admire your handiwork

8. Line a sheet pan or cookie sheet with a silicon baking mat or parchment paper, line up the finished dumplings and freeze for an hour(unless you're going to cook them all up) on the pan then move them to a resealable freezer bag.

And stay tuned for a Pinterest inspired demo of this vintage vanity.

It involves the purchase of multiple power tools. Fun!

Vegetarian Yum: Super Slaw

I mentioned in my last post that Michael and I have decided that -- in an attempt to get back to our more veggie-focused diet from our time in Metz -- we will be eating (mostly) vegetarian for the near future. 

Over the years we have accumulated quite the collection of favorite recipes and I'd like to spotlight a few. Even though most of you, my dear readers, are not vegetarian, many of these recipes would be great as BBQ side-dishes, lunches, or Friday night dinners (for those Catholics in the audience). 

*Side note: this is also a great chance for me to play around with the settings on our fun, new DSLR!

My current obsession is more of a side-dish:

It's Super Slaw (I don't get the name either) from one of my favorite recipe websites, Epicurious. Super slaw has been my go-to lunch along with a big glass of milk the past few days. 

I spent a long time searching for this particular Asian-inspired peanut dressing recipe and even then, I have to make a few alterations: I usually use just a splash more vinegar than the recipe calls for and if I have some on hand, I tend to add in a bit of finely-minced jalapeño pepper. 

I throw in whatever raw veggies on hand (today I happened to have some Chinese cabbage as opposed to the red and green called for) and next week I'm hoping to make it up to the Asian market for some fresh egg noodles for a cold past and cabbage slaw. 

Really, this dressing is to die for. 

Enjoy!

Things My Dad Taught Me: Part I of Many

 Pickled Eggs (and Beets)

1. Hardboil and peel eggs

2. Add to large jar

 3. Cook beets and cut into pieces (reserve cooking liquid)

4. Make pickle liquid (Equal parts cooking liquid and cider vinegar; salt, sugar and pepper to taste)

5. Add liquid to jar and sit on your hands for at least two days before devouring

*My dad is currently on vacation in Alaska with my Mom, brother, sister-in-law and nieces and I feel like giving away one of his secrets is a passive-aggressive way of showing my extreme jealousy.

A Few Things

1. We have a roof turbine vent in our new apartment and while I appreciate the fact that our attic will not be acquiring any mold while it is spinning, I find it cruel. Why the anger at an inanimate piece of aluminum, you ask? I greatly dislike the roof turbine vent because when it spins in the wind, it sounds remarkably like dog tags clinking when a dog is licking itself. This sound makes me sad because not only does it remind me of my loyal Mocha (pictured above...probably after a dip in the pond, with my nephew Noah) who passed away at age 18 this past October, but it also reminds me daily that we cannot have a dog in this apartment. We can have a cat. And we will have a cat just as soon as we have some money to pay for one. But everyone knows there is a loyalty to a dog's manner that cannot be reproduced by a cat (not that a cat would care enough to try). Being around our family dogs, Rascal and Malina, during our month-long intermission at home made me realize just how much I had been missing dogs in my life. So, since we are in this apartment (which I love aside from the dog thing) for the next 15 months, we will get a cat, we will love said cat, and I will try like hell to make some friends with dogs -- because dogs are just something I need in my life.

*The link above is meant solely to show you what the heck I'm talking about, not to advertise in any way.  In fact, I suggest that you don't buy a roof turbine vent because it will sound like a dog licking itself and it will make you sad.

2. I experienced my first tornado sirens on Sunday night. The sirens and the accompanying winds were terrifying. I'm a northeastern girl, I don't like Tornadoes!

3. I love to knit. I love to knit just to knit. I have no pattern for what I'm doing now, just throwing in random cable stitches here and there. And I don't know if I will even keep this. I may just rip it up but at least I have something to do with my hands.

4. Eggplant Parmesan is one of my favorite meals of all time. It is time consuming but oh so good, and the leftovers are just as delicious, if not more delicious.

5. I miss you all!

Last Sunday

Sorry for the delay readers -- I do not intend to give up on blogging now that we are no longer "Metzing Around" but if you are a Facebook friend, you are well aware of our travel troubles when returning to the US (3 flights in 3 days but more on that later) and I just now am feeling settled and calm enough to sit down and look through all these pictures.

Our last Sunday was spent again in Nancy with our blogging/real-life friends Megan and Joe. Not only were we anxious to see them one last time before moving back but we also had a home-goods delivery to make.

Pre-departure, we made a giant list of all the things we had accumulated after 1.5 years in this tiny apartment and put them up for grabs. And since Megan and Joe are car-less and live 45 minutes away, we offered to drive them to Nancy in return for a fun evening at their place. 

When we arrived, Megan was ready for the delivery with crust and batter for the scrumptious French burnt cheesecake, Tourteau Fromagé (which we mentioned here awhile back) to throw in their newly acquired oven.

We had a wonderfully light and very french meal complete with chewy bread, smoked salmon dip, ratatouille, the tourteau fromagé (isn't that a great cross section shot? we were seriously impressed that our little toaster oven managed to burn the top!) and a batch of Alton Brown's amazing brownies. And wine. Of course, there was wine.

And after another enjoyably long evening of chatting and reveling in how many strange things we have in common, we took our parting photos...

...and reluctantly headed home one last time (which turned out to not be the last time since I somehow ended up with their apartment keys in my pocket and had to run back the next day to return them).

And to make the night even sweeter, a few days later they were kind enough to send on a pdf file filled with all their favorite things and suggestions on Saint Louis where we will be residing in the near future. Here's hoping the we end up somewhere close to these wonderful new friends.

Thanksgiving, Extended Edition

The wonderfully welcomed view that we woke up to on Thanksgiving morning

I heard that Wellsboro woke up to the same view, it made me feel closer to home which is also a good thing on Thanksgiving day. 

 Thanksgiving Day, American-style fun at GTL

Full on tackle football

Thankfully it was too muddy and slippery for many big hits, mostly people were just sliding into each other and the snow and mud made for a softer landing. 

I can't wait to do that laundry!

I was unaware that Michael had been home until I walked into the bathroom to find this. He was kind enough to rinse it all out and hang it to dry at least.

 We enjoyed an excellent, as usual, meal at GTL complete with plenty of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes along with many, many interesting dishes from any number of cuisines. After dinner was the "talent" segment. The blurry picture above is of Katrina and Jessie (hope I'm spelling that right) during their "GTL Ballad: 21 going on 22". It was a hysterical re-mix of the ever popular "16 going on 17" from the The Sound of Music that confronted the trials and tribulations of being a GTL scholar. 

After their little ditty...we performed. Well, not Michael and I; any of you that know Michael know that he wouldn't be caught dead on a stage performing. No, the day before the dinner our friend Peter asked me if I would be willing to do a song with him and I agreed...reluctantly. We practiced all that afternoon and ran through the song a few times with the mic that day. I would be lying if I didn't tell you that I was incredibly nervous, but that's what happens when you haven't been on a stage in nearly 7 years I suppose. I'm even nervous about posting this...my hands are sweating. But, here you have it. Peter and I singing "Baby, It's Cold Outside".

Oh, and if anyone with any power at GTL is reading this, please do not hold the performance portion after dinner, I thought I was going to explode. Oh, and a big thanks to Michael for putting up with hearing this song on constant repeat for 24 hours and for recording the song.

On Saturday we got a little out of order (you'll see why later); we made ourselves some yummy eggnog (for the record, eggnog with cognac=amazing!) and lit up our little palm tree thing.

Since we'll be leaving in a mere 2.5 weeks, it'll have to suffice until we can get home to enjoy our parents' full-sized Christmas trees.  

We struggled for a long time that night to come up with something to make for dinner. We ended up settling on an epicurious recipe for Veal Cacciatore mainly because we have a lot of polenta in our pantry to use up in the next few weeks. On top of everything else, I feel like our time in France has opened up my eyes to new meats that I never really considered eating in the states and veal is certainly at the top. Veal has always had a bad rep in the stated because of some particular farms that were confining and abusing the animals and the market has never really returned. Here in Europe however, people care about their food in a way I have never seen before (OK, the Culinary Institute of America did have a high respect for food). There are very strict regulations in place for animal treatment and food safety and everywhere you look, there are these incredible looking, incredible tasting meats readily available in the supermarket (rabbit, quail, guinea fowl, lamb, veal, horse even?) and you know that it didn't live in the horrible conditions that we see in US factory farms. Sorry to get up on my soapbox but in short, if you have access to humanely kept veal, it is a delicious, lean, and tender meat, and it was oh so yummy in this particular dish.

Despite our wonderful Thanksgiving meal at GTL, I felt that I had missed out. I missed stuffing myself with stuffing and potatoes and lots of gravy. I missed the leftovers. So, Michael being the wonderful husband that he is, agreed to help me make a second Thanksgiving feast just for the two of us. 

And because there was only two of us, and because I frequent the food section of the New York Times all too often, we decided to try a new turkey breast method and recipe. The turkey breast is first brined overnight then it is tightly wrapped in seran wrap and tin foil before being effectively steamed in a low oven until the internal temperature is 135°.

I can't even being to describe how strange the turkey breast looked and felt after coming out of the oven. 

 

Seriously, it was gross!

The turkey turned out to be delicious although we weren't too sure about the honey and roasted garlic glaze that went on at the very end, it never really set and although it tasted delicious it was just kind of slimey. On the whole though, we loved the steaming  method and plan to use it again but perhaps with a different glaze at the end.

The meal was rounded out with a green bean casserole and stuffing (both from The Pioneer Woman blog, her food always looks amazing), basic mashed potatoes, gravy and my family's uncooked cranberry relish kicked up a notch (1 bag cranberries, 1 entire orange (skin and all), 1-1" piece of ginger and 3/4 c sugar blended in the food processor until finely chopped). Oh, and we drank one last bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau for the year with the meal. Really, everything turned out perfectly and even though we've done our first "married" Thanksgivings at GTL, it was really nice to have a night and the dinner just to ourselves.

Less than 3 weeks people...!

Mangé à Notre Maison: Beef and Lentil Stew

Never did I expect that moving to France would turn me on to lentils. I guess I had no clue just how popular they are here. And their popularity makes them, as is to be expected, cheap. We bought a bag for a Lentil Curry and have been experimenting since to use up the bag. For us, this particular resulting recipe was both delicious and cheap although I'm coming to the unfortunate realization that wine will no longer be the same price as water once we move back to the US.

Beef and Lentil Stew
yield: 4 main course servings

1 T olive oil
1 lb chunk stewing beef
2 c red wine
1 c beef broth (or water will do)
1 onion, sliced into 8 wedges with the root holding together
2 carrots, cut into large, 1" chunks
1 c mushrooms, rubbed with a dry paper towel to clean
1 c lentils
1 T honey
salt
pepper


how to:

1. liberally salt and pepper the meat on all sides
2. heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat until the oil is hot and glistening
3. add meat to the hot oil and allow meat to take on a dark brown sear, turning to get all sides
4. add the red wine and broth to the pot, being sure to scrape up all of the brown bits (fond) from the pan
5. add in the remaining ingredients, season to taste with salt and pepper and bring to a boil
6. turn the heat down to a simmer and cover the pot
7. allow the stew to simmer on the stove for 1.5-2 hours, the meat should be tender and show no resistance when pierced with a fork and the lentils should be tender

Sunday Brunchisode

boo for crappy, indoor food pictures

We're always looking for yummy, Sunday brunch options. Not that we don't take our time making meals throughout the week but late Sunday morning always has a nice, relaxed atmousphere that allows us to spend a calm time sipping tea and making a yummy plate of something good together. Not to mention, I can only bring myself to eat something sweet for breakfast maybe once per week, so Michael must jump at the chance to have something other Nutella filled cereal (not that he doesn't love that).

Yesterday we grabbed a peach yesterday at the store in anticipation of today's brunch then today I found this great pancake recipe using yogurt (which worked because I had yogurt and not buttermilk laying around, not because I am becoming a health nut, no offense to those health nuts out there, you know I love you!) which we added almond flour to because we have an abundance left over from our Epiphany cake and with just over 3 months left here (eek!) we need to figure out how to use it up! And while I'm probably not in time for the east coasters who read this blog, perhaps a Labor Day breakfast is in order.


Almond flour pancakes with blackberry peach syrup
yeild: 2 servings 

the syrup:


2 peaches (any stone fruit can be used)
1/3 c water
1 T sugar
2 T blackberry jam (or any flavor that floats your boat)
1 t lemon juice
spalsh of vanilla

how to: 

1. remove the pit of the peaches, slice them into 1/4 inch slices lengthwise then once through the middle width wise to make bite-sized pieces
2. combine the sugar, water, peaches and jam in a pan and place over medium heat, stir the pot occasionally and allow to cook for 5-10 minutes until the juice has a light syrup consistency
3. turn off the heat and mix in the lemon juice and vanilla
4. set fruit aside

the pancakes:
3/4 c flour
1/2 c almond flour (if you don't have any, add in an extra 1/4 c flour)
3/4 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/8 t salt
3/4 c yogurt
3/4 c milk


how to:

1. preheat oven to 200°F
2. mix all dry ingredients in a bowl and form a well in the middle of the bowl
3. add the yogurt and milk to the middle of the well and using a whisk, mix the batter together until it is no longer lumpy 
4. heat a non-stick skillet (non-stick is very important if you use the almond flour, which tends to stick to the pan, if no almond flour, you should be good with a normal pan) and add a little butter to coat the pan (or oil or margarine, whatever floats your boat)
5. once the foaming in the butter has subsided, add 1/4 c of the batter
6. once bubbles in the middle of the pancake begin to burst and remain crevices, flip the pancake
7. allow the pancake to brown on the other side then place it in the oven to stay warm
8. repeat with the remaining batter, being sure to add in a little extra butter as needed
9. re-warm the syrup quickly then serve

back in the land of the living

Phew!

What a crazy few weeks we've had. I feel like we've fallen off the face of the planet and are finally back from our outer-space excursion. Before our trip to Lyon 2 weeks ago I started a new, every-day, English teaching job (yay!). Then, the weekend after our trip (when I intended to get the blog post out) we lost internet for 4 days, 4 DAYS! I felt like I was back in the dark ages. At least I in got a lot of much-needed reading time. And this week has marked the end of the 2010 GTL summer session. Students have been banging on our door at all hours asking for cleaning supplies, laundry tokens and dropping off their keys. I am pleased to announce that the last of the summer students are gone as of this afternoon and now begins the monotonous project of lugging GTL issued stuff (pots, dishes, pillows, etc.) back over to campus and performing room-by-room check-outs with our very animated dorm manager, Fabrice.

But despite how hectic the past few weeks have been we have still managed to eat well. I can't imagine that any of you would accept anything less of us.

Duck à l'Orange and wild mushroom rice -- a favorite that will certainly be brought back to the states

Korean Chicken tacos and Spanish rice -- it was quite a melting-pot dinner

Our friend Chen joined us one night for some yummy Pasta Carbonara

The next night we indulged our cravings from some Wiener schnitzel and sauteed spaetzle...sadly, I think that recipe may be one of Paula Dean's healthier recipes.

 Despite the lousy picture, this "steak house meal" was scrumptious although confusing. I don't know if it's a regional thing but neither Michael nor I had ever seen creamed spinach and steak marketed as a traditional "steak house dinner", granted, neither of us have spent much time (or money) in steak houses. Either way, we added a yummy baked sweet potato and gobbled it all up.

This was yesterday's "oh crap, we have no food in the house" concoction: 

tuna melt surprise

yield: 2 servings

1 can whole tuna

2T Crème Fraîche or Sour Cream

1T horseradish

1 small shallot, minced

1/2 t salt

1/4 t pepper

1/4 c sauteed mushrooms (optional, we just happened to have them in the fridge from the previous night)

2 pieces of bread

1/2 c shredded cheese (we had gouda and asiago, but anything melty works)

1. Pre-heat broiler in your oven
2. Mix tuna, sour cream, horseradish, shallot, salt, pepper and muchrooms in a bowl then divide and spread on top of bread pieces.
3. Sprinkle cheese on top, place on a tray and place under the broiler until the cheese is brown and bubbly.
4. Enjoy

____________________________________________________________________________________
Edit: Contrary to what might be said below, this post was in fact written by Lauren.

Mangé à Notre Maison: Cold Summer Borscht

After my sister, Borscht is my favorite thing that came out of my parents' 3 week long stay in Russia. And while I love, love, LOVE the hardy, beefy version that was served to them by their host, I really only ever want to eat that when it's cold and snowy. I suppose that's why the recipe comes form Siberia.

But it's not cold and snowy at the moment, it's 90º and sunny. So here's my light (and vegetarian) summer version of their Birobidzhan Borscht.

Summer Borscht

yield: 6 bowls 

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 T vegetable oil

4 c vegetable stock

2 c water

1 3/4 lb raw beets, peeled, halved, then sliced into thin half moons

1 garlic clove, mashed with a pinch of salt

2 T tomato paste

2 t apple cider vinegar

Salt and black pepper to taste

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium/low heat and add in the onions. Stir the onions occasionally until they have softened and are translucent (no browning).
2. Add the stock, water, beets, garlic clove and tomato paste to the pot and stir to incorporate the garlic and tomato paste.
3. Simmer the soup until the beets are tender* but not falling apart, 30-45 minutes.
4. Add in the cider vinegar then taste and season as needed with salt and black pepper.
5. Eat the soup warm or chilled overnight with a dollop of sour cream (or crème fraîche, if you happen to live in France), chopped chives and more fresh black pepper.

* If you would like this soup to be even more quick cooking, you could  grate the beets.

Minty Lemonade

Walking around the grocery store the other day I noticed some Minute Maid lemonade with a hint of mint and though to myself, "Well, isn't that a good idea?". "Lemonade" as we Americains know it does not really exist here in France. What does exist is delicious, don't get me wrong; Loriana is the major producer (which can be bought in US supermarkets) of what is essentially sparkly water with a hint of lemon, which I love at times but doesn't hit the spot and cool you off quite like the intense lemony jolt of lemonade back home (Newman's Own, anyone? Yum!). Anyway, here is the rundown, without pictures (you try taking a pretty drink picture without ice!), on how to make this refreshing summer drink with a twist!

Minty Lemonade

1 part lemon juice 

1 part mint simple syrup (instructions below)

2 parts water

Mix together and chill. 

Mint Simple Syrup

1 part sugar

1 part water

1 handful of mint leaves

Mix everything together in either a sauce pan or a microwave safe measuring cup, making sure to "muddle" the mint in with the sugar a bit just to break it up. Bring to a boil and mix together to dissolve all the sugar. Strain out the mint leaves before using in the lemonade.

 

If you want some hard numbers to go by, here's an example for a recycled 2L jug:

2 cups lemon juice

2 cups simple syrup (1 1/3 c sugar and 1 1/3 c water and the mint)

4 cups water

And at the suggestion of a friend, we've using this [yummy on it's own] lemonade as a mixer with gin. Talk about beating the 96º heat!

Mangé a Notre Maison: Silky Veggie Soup

As is the case every summer, I have begun to crave veggies. Especially the veggies that come out of my Dad's huge garden, but considering we are currently 3,868 miles from my dad's garden, and the fact that it's too early in the season to really eat anything from his garden (my stomach doesn't often listen to reason), I am forced to buy my vegetables from Grand Frais, which is a horrible, horrible grocery store. No, just kidding. Going to Grand Frais is like walking into a Trader Joe's sized store only the entire center is filled--filled with about four times the produce section of a normal grocery store. And all the produce is beautiful! And exotic. We've tried some of the strangest fruits and vegetables from that place. I really need to get some pictures sometime.

Anyway, to go along with my veggie craving kick, I decided the other day that our normal cornichon, saucisson sandwich was just too heavy for the nice, warm weather we had been having (it was nice, now it's just disgusting), so I picked up these:

With no idea of what I was going to do with them.

But our many times of making potato leek soup inspired me to just slice them all up,

Throw them in a pot, cover them with water,

Let them simmer until they're good and tender,

Purée them with the stick blender,

Throw in a handful of parsley (which could have been done earlier, if I had been gifted with the trait of foresight) and purée some more,

Add in about 1/2c of cream (ours was more liken 1/2 &1/2 but heavy cream would do just great...probably better, in fact), season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper,

And serve. And in the case of really hot weather (like what we're experiencing now), this soup could be made with vegetable or chicken stock in place of the water, slightly over-salted (flavor is lost when food is chilled), and served as a cold soup.

Here are some rough amounts to go by if you care to duplicate* the deliciousness:

Silky Veggie Soup

yield: 4 bowls

2 turnips

1 small zucchini

1/2 head of cabbage (any kind will do)
1 onion

1 qt water (or stock)

1 sprig parsley leaves

1/2 c cream

1. Peel the turnips and slice all vegetables into 1/4inch slices.
2. Place vegetables into large sauce pan and cover with water (or stock), if needed, use more that given amount. 
3. Bring pot to a boil then turn down to a simmer.
4. Allow vegetables to simmer for 45min-1hr, or until very tender.
5. Add parsley to pot and blend. This can either be accomplished with a stick blender, in a stand blender (do small batches and be careful!), or if you'd prefer a chunkier style, with a potato masher. 
6. Stir in the cream and salt and pepper to taste.

*really, this general idea could be used almost any vegetable you can find, so feel free to substitute away, although this particular mixture did make a great flavored soup