And throwing out food is a mortal sin as far as I am concerned.
So when the blessed Rototiller man tilled through my entire parsnip patch I rescued as many as I could.
"When life gives you lemons, make lemonaid."
Luckily, a visitor that day brought me an article in the newpaper about an unusual parsnip tea cake.
Without any hesitation the oven was turned on and parsnips were prepared.
There were enough rescued parsnips for 2 loaves of delicious spring cake.
The wonderful aromas filled the house with spring sweetness.
The consistancy of the cake is similar to banana bread and 10 times less calories.
INGREDIENTS
2 large eggs
Three-quarters cup extra-virgin olive oil (or try local sunflower oil)
One-half cup buttermilk or yogurt
1 3/4 cup sugar (I used a bit less and next time will sub in some maple syrup)
1 3/4 cups grated parsnip (about 3 medium, wash but no need to peel)
1 1/4 cups unbleached white flour
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg (preferably freshly grated)
1 cup chopped walnuts
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil or spray two 8-inch loaf pans. (I used 2 8-inch rounds instead.)
2. Whisk together eggs, oil, buttermilk, sugar and parsnip in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together white flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Using a large wooden spoon, mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Fold in walnuts, mixing until just combined. Do not overmix.
3. Pour cake batter into greased pans. Bake for about 45 minutes (35-40 for 8-inch round pans), or until a knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in pans, then remove and set on racks to cool completely.
Perfect with tea, coffee, milk or kefir. A conversation piece in its own right.
Moore to the story:
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20120226/GREEN01/120224020/Localvore-Rose-petal-dreams-parsnip-reality
Enjoy..and remember:
"When life gives you lemons, make parsnip cake!."
~
never heard of it , but it sounds good
ReplyDeleteBecause I can't eat potatoes, and badly wanted hash one night, I used parsnips as a substitute and it was wonderful!
ReplyDeleteCool about using them in a cake! I bet it was good.
I finally made this parsnip cake! It was a hit in our house. I love parsnips and so rarely cook with them, so when I saw this I knew I wanted to make it. I wrote about it in my weekly menu and shared your link (at the bottom of the post)! http://musingsofthemonroefamily.blogspot.com/2012/04/my-two-boys-i-absolutely-love-this.html
ReplyDelete