Winter Vegetables

It's hard to believe that somewhere under the massive piles of snow in my garden lies the potential for those succulent summer herbs and vegetables that we all love, but for now we can still enjoy great produce. You know, all the second cousins to our warm weather favorites. The homely vegetables that sit around on the grocers' shelves while most people settle for the horror of canned green beans or corn.

Plain and simple root vegetables, for instance. Last week I brought home a bag of parsnips. Now I grew up eating parsnips, turnips, rutabaga, and beets. My Mom grew up on a farm and knew how to take advantage of the variety of the garden. (Sure, she probably cooked them a little longer than necessary, but that's another matter.) My husband, on the other hand, was raised with a limited exposure to---well let's be honest, all food types in general. If Stoffer's couldn't plop it on a sectioned foil tray, it probably wasn't going to get served at their table.

But now he's lived with me for the last twenty-six years, so he's used to having things like parsnips on the menu. He may not always be so enthusiastic, but I'm going to brag that more times than not, I have a happy customer in the end. This time I tried Roasted Parsnips from a recipe on the Simply Recipes site. I cheated a little and threw in a few julienned carrots as well, and they were delicious. The horseradish is definitely the secret.

Cauliflower is also plentiful this time of year. I'm the one who tends to resist throwing this stuff in the cart. Come on, it's albino broccoli! Why not get the green, too? White vegetables aren't all that appealing to me.

I had seen a recipe for Roasted Cauliflower Soup that inspired me to try once again, and I'm so glad that I did. This recipe is easy and delicious. If this doesn't scream winter comfort, nothing does. Usually I ignore a recipe that calls for heavy cream. Trust me, you don't need it. I added a little half and half, but milk would work, too.

I snapped a few pictures of the roasting process of the recipe and meant to get one of the final product, but we ate it too fast. It was gone before I could dig out the camera. I thought about frying up a little bacon as a garnish. I still think that would be great. Instead, we drizzled a little balsamic glaze across the top, and mmmm, mmmm, mmm. This and fresh bread out of the oven and you've got yourself a meal.

And last but not least is the lowly cabbage. Boiled, fried, raw. We've done it all. It had been many years, however, since I had made sauerkraut. Truth be told, I never made it; I helped when my grandparents put up jars and jars of it when I was younger.

This winter I decided to give it a try for myself after having eaten fresh sauerkraut in Germany over the summer. That sauerkraut was the sauerkraut of my youth and had little in common with the stuff we've been eating since. Don't get me wrong, I love just about any sauerkraut, but this was incredible.

I had no intentions of making gallons of the stuff, so I looked for a small batch recipe online and came across directions for Sauerkraut in a Mason Jar. I started mine several weeks ago, and I think we're finally ready for a taste. A good Reuben should be the perfect test. Corned beef and Swiss are on the grocery list.