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What’s Cooking

by Jarrod Denson

The Root of It

If you’ve ever been intrigued by a twisted, gnarly root vegetable on display at the farmer’s market, this book is for you. From exotic Jerusalem artichokes and salsify to standards like sweet potato and parsnip (see recipe, below), Roots by Diane Morgan (Chronicle Books; $40, foreword by Deborah Madison), is a gorgeous homage to the the humble vegetables that grow underground and serves up delicious ways to cook them.

Ingredients

8 medium parsnips

1.5 lbs tender carrots

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp chopped fresh dill

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

2 tsp kosher or fine sea salt

Directions

1.Preheat over to 400 degrees.

2.Trim and peel the parsnips and carrots. Cut into sticks about 3 inches long by 1/2 inch wide and 1/2 inch thick.

3.In a large roasting pan or oven-to-table baking dish, toss parsnips and carrots with oil, dill, pepper, and salt. Roast, stirring once or twice, until vegetables are tender when pierced with a knife and lightly caramelized, about 45 minutes. Serve immediately, or cover and keep warm for up to 1 hour before serving. (The roasted vegetables can be made up to 1 day in advance, covered, and refrigerated.)


 

Food for Thought: Beyond Organic

If you don’t know about veganic farming and you are vegan, listen up. Veganic farming is organic, but here’s the difference: Organic farms eschew pesticides and chemical fertilizers, but they do often use animal byproducts like manure, bonemeal, and fishmeal as fertilizer. They may also find nonchemical ways to kill pests. In veganic farming, fertilizers include composted plant matter and seaweed, and farmers minimally work the soil, in order not to disturb underground insects and worms—though some will introduce “beneficial” insects who eat the crop-destroying critters. Look for this tasty veganic product: One Degree bread provides a QR code on each loaf that tells the back story on this delicious, grainy bread. onedegreeorganics.com


Snick Snack

These cute little biodegradable pouches are filled with certified organic, vegan, gluten-free, delicious non-GMO snacks, and they are a hit in our office, especially when we need a healthy boost around 4 pm. Choose from Utah cherries (the company is based in Park City, UT), California almonds, Pacific NW cranberries, and, our personal favorite, the Maple-Roasted cashews roasted in Maine maple syrup. With each purchase, Allgood Provisions donates to 1% to the Planet. $2.75 and up; allgoodprovisions.com


 

Organic Oprah

Now that we’ve all heard the news about Oprah’s move into organics, think about what a huge impact it could make. The OWN CEO’s organic ambassadorship could help Americans understand that we urgently need to change the way we grow, produce, process, manufacture, label, and consume food if we are going to beat back the obesity and diabetes epidemics and other health woes we are suffering as a nation. (If you are not up to speed, read our blog post on blog.organicspamagazine.com: “Oprah Makes Her Move Into Organic Food and Beauty.”)

 

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