I have mentioned before that we were planing to order biological produce online. We are actually doing that and it’s awesome, because once a week we receive this surprise box with local, seasonal produce. Not only does it taste great, but it forces us to try produce we don’t even know the name of (because I hate wasting food). After a Romanesco broccoli, that we call “fractal broccoli” for obvious reasons, last week we received a huge amount of celery and three endives. We could add celery to soups, but I hate the taste when it’s baked. Now, mind you, those bio celery sticks can not be compared with the huge ones of the super market that are like a bunch of strings glued together. No. The bio celery sticks were small and tender with a great color and a subtle aroma. As for the endives, they looked exactly like the regular ones from the grocery store. I bought endives once and tried to roast them. I must have done it all wrong, because they tasted worse than over-boiled Brussels sprouts. By the way, what’s up with Belgium and all those strange vegetable varieties? (I love you, Belgium).

So I decided to try out both the endives and the celery sticks raw. And here is what I came up with:

Fresher than toothpaste.

Ingredients

• 2 Belgian endives
• 9-10 celery stalks
• a cup of white (or should I say green?) grapes, cut in half
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Juice of one lemon
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Wash all the vegetables really really well.
• Finely chop the endives and the celery stalks. You can keep some of the celery leaves as well, if they are tender.
• In a big bowl mix the chopped vegetables with the grapes, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.
• Chill for 10 minutes in the fridge
• Enjoy!

Now, this week the surprise was parsnips. I ‘ve had parsnips before, in those bags of vegetable chips that you can get at the health food store. I liked the taste but I didn’t feel like thinly slicing and frying the two parsnips of the package, so I decided to roast them instead, like you do with sweet potatoes or carrots. Here is how they turned out:

Yummy!

Ingredients

• 2 parsnips
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Enough salt to sprinkle on all the parsnip fries
• Some mustard or other sauce to dip your fries in (optional, obviously)

Instructions

• Preheat your oven at 200 C.
• Cut the parsnips in French fries shape. Or dice them. Whatever, as long as the pieces are of similar size.
• In a bowl mix the fries with the olive oil and massage them.
• Spread the fries on a baking pan and sprinkle with salt.
• Bake for about 30 minutes at 200 C.
• Toss the fries and bake for another 5-10 minutes at 250 C.
• Enjoy with or without sauce. They taste amazing.

Now go find some crazy vegetables and explore their potential!