It’s cold outside and the garden leftovers are in storage – I hope! What can you do with these leftovers? Well, they’re perfect for seasonal feasts. Use cold storage root vegetables from local farms or from your own garden to add some warmth, color, and delicious carbohydrates to your festive feasts.
Use Parsnips to Create Sweet Seasonal Recipes
Looking for something sweet? Parsnips are a surprisingly sweet root vegetable and they actually taste better when they’re in the ground as it becomes frosty. Store them in the ground until it gets really cold, then cook them and mash the parsnips with winter spices like nutmeg and cinnamon. Add butter, and they’re almost dessert.
Colorful Carrots Make Seasonal Dinners Delicious
Carrots are the popular cousin of the parsnip. For effect, add carrots in all colors, from white to red to purple. They’re delicious steamed or fresh, or chop them and bathe them in a salty vegetable broth overnight. Garnish the carrots with cashews the next day.
Celeriac is a Delicious Oddball Vegetable
What’s delicious, celery-like, and looks like a carbohydrate? Celery root is an oddball vegetable. It’s no looker: it’s round, hairy, and full of bumps. But celery root is delicious and makes a wonderful addition to seasonal stews. Try it in blended soups with potatoes to add a delicate celery flavor.
Turnips are a Seasonal Standby in Winter Recipes
What about the lowly turnip? These poor vegetables have a bad reputation, but they are easy to grow and taste wonderful after they have mellowed out in a stew for a while. Mix turnips with fruits like pears and apples to add a sweet flavor and more delicate texture to the vegetable.
Add Potatoes to Create a Winter Feast
Potatoes are a wonderful staple and they are easy to put into cold storage. There are so many potatoes to choose from, and most have much more delicate skins than the standard baking russet. My favorite recipe? Skin potatoes, cut them into tiny round nuggets and bake them in a bath of rosemary, sea salt, and butter. Yum!
While salads taste fresh and add crunch to seasonal dinners, there’s nothing that can beat a warm roasted vegetable. Warm food makes us feel at home as we celebrate with family and friends in the holiday season, and traditional or experimental recipes add spice to holiday feasts. Here’s to delicious Thanksgiving, Christmas, and holiday celebrations with the last of the garden produce!
