Parsnips are Not Carrots

"PARSNIP"
Foodreference.com

"Parsnips look like a pale carrot and are actually a relative of the carrot, celeriac, and parsley root. Commonly found in Europe, this root vegetable arrived to the United States with the colonists. Popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries for its celery flavor and nutty fragrance, this vegetable was often used in recipes that called for caloric decadence.

"This Hardy root vegetable grows best in cool climate regions. Although it is a biennial plant, farmers cultivate it as an annual crop. Native to Europe and Asia, the plant was introduced to North America in the 17th century. It is grown for its white fleshy, sweet flavored and earthy tasting root.

"In most restaurants, parsnip is features as an exotic vegetable and made to purees, or roasted with other root vegetables. It tastes delightful when sliced thinly and deep fried as chips. Parsnips store well for months in a cool and dark place- the reason of its popularity for centuries...."

While reviewing recent posts on astronomy, Moore's law that isn't really a law, and a lake that's been buried for millions of years, it occurred to the Lemming that this blog has been strangely silent on the subject of parsnips. Which may be steamed, roasted, simmered, served whole, cut into bite-sized chunks, or pureed, which oddly enough has little to do with purity or peering.

For the Lemming, that's a fairly typical train of thought. "Train" may not be quite the right metaphor. Decades of undiagnosed ADHD-inattentive, heterodyning with a voracious appetite for knowledge, make it more like 'cascade of thought.' Which reminds the Lemming of Girl Genius, by Kaja and Phil Foglio, micro-reviewed August 20, 2009.

As for parsnips, there's a list of dietary information on that Foodreference.com page, for a half-cup serving. That much parsnip gives you a gram of protein, which is interesting: but no substitute for a nice juicy steak. Or even a grilled hamburger, in the Lemming's opinion. Which, along with LP gas and organic compounds found in the Murchison meteor (organics, not LP gas), is another topic. Several.

Related (as far as the Lemming is concerned) posts:

• "Triploblastic Animals Aren't Explosive: Or, Studying Really Old Mud"
  (December 7, 2010)
• "Brilliant, Talented, and On Medication"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (November 30, 2010)
• "Why is Everybody Ignoring Rutabagas?"
  (July 5, 2010)
• "Four Dimensions, 11 Dimensions, Cosmology and People"
  (March 23, 2010)
• "Epic Coffee: A Page from Girl Genius"
  (August 20, 2009)