Simple Dinner....

After a long day spent at the zoo, I didn't really feel like making anything too fancy last night (not that I ever make anything fancy). I had a bunch of turnips, a bag of parsnips in the fridge and a package of Flax Seed Tempeh (I've become an omega-3 fiend) that I've been wanting to fry up, so I decided to do roasted roots and fried tempeh meal.

The roasted root veggies was easy. Here's what I did:

Ingredients

3 large parsnips
a dozen or so turnips
2 Tbs. of olive oil
1 Tbs. of tarragon
salt and pepper to taste.

1. I pre-heated the oven to 425 degrees
2. peeled, washed and rinsed the turnips and parsnips and cut them into about 1/2" cubes.
3. I tossed the cubes in a bowl with the olive oil and tarragon.
4. Then I popped them in the oven and baked them for 45 mins.
5. I mixed around every 15 mins just to get even browning.
6. After their done, add all the salt and pepper you like. I tend to add saly and pepper after the fact, since everyone in my household has different threshholds for sodium and not all like pepper.

For the tempeh, I prepared it differently than usual. I decided to steam it for 10 mins., first. Apparently, doing so, opens the pores in the tempeh to allow flavors to soak in. This makes sense. I've always been more of a tempeh person than a tofu person, but I have noticed that no matter how long you marinate tempeh the flavors tend to never penetrate the surface, like tofu. I marinated it briefly (about 15 mins) in a cup of water with a tbs. of garlic, a tbs. of coriander, and a tbs. of bragg's liquid aminos. I threw it on the cast-iron skillet and fried it in a little canola oil for about 10-15 mins on each side. The cast-iron skillet will let you know when one side is done, because it lifts easily.

The verdict:

I'm a late comer to parsnips. My uncle introduced me to it last year. The way he prepared it tasted like a slightly spicy carrot. I've been using them off and on since then. Though, I can't decide if I really like them or not. They've got a strange flavor where they can't seem to decide whether they want to be sweet or bitter. The sweetness tends to win out, but halfway through a parsnip dish I always find myself forcing it down after a usually delightful start. This time was no exception. I enjoyed the roasted roots initially, but lost interest about half way through. I've come to the conclusion, that I'll stick to sweet potatoes and white potatoes if I'm craving a root and only pick up parsnips and turnips when the price is good. That said, if you like these root vegetables you'll probably like this dish since roasting veggies always makes them taste better.

I thoroughly enjoyed the tempeh. The flavor was subtle, but tasty. I'll definitely use the same method again.

Hooray, I found another use for our cast-iron skillet (it's still worthless to cook potatoes in).