Cookware, 23" of snow, and Potato Parsnip Soup

Well. Where should I begin?

We couldn't go to the farmers' market this weekend, on account of we had a blizzard. This is only an assumption, but I'm betting there was no Clark Park farmers' market this weekend. It was the second biggest snowstorm in Philadelphia's history. 23.2" of snow fell on the city starting around 1 a.m. Saturday and continuing through about 6 o'clock this morning.

Like all good citizens, we scurried out on Friday to gather in things we imagined we might need during the storm. Things like bread, potatoes, chocolate cookies, tofu, and wasabi peas.

We had a hunch there would be no farmers' market, but that was OK. We got potatoes, onions, and bread at a little store called Milk and Honey (ironic place for vegans to shop, but they do have good bread and limited fresh produce). At Fu-Wah, we got mushrooms and instant noodle soup. We still have good kale from last week. We still had some cauliflower and parsnips, and plenty of garlic.

One thing we forgot: Beer. So, we had to go out for that yesterday.

See what I mean? Probably no farmers' market.

Now, this is interesting. You know how, when I make blended soups (i.e. Indian Red Lentil or Potato-Leek), I always have to blend it in batches in my small blender (i.e. my smoothie maker)? And you know how I was saying I wanted to get an immersion blender?

So, on Friday, I went out onto the porch and there was a box addressed to me. It was a shipping box, like from Amazon, so no return address. I took it upstairs and opened it. It was a Cuisinart Immersion Blender. There was no name anywhere on it, on the packing slip or anything. I suspected my parents. Called my mom, she had no idea what I was talking about. Hmm. Must have been one of the sisters. So I was going to check, but I mentioned the gift on my other blog, and the sender claimed responsibility. Turns out to have been from a lovely friend named Jen, who knows the virtues of the immersion blender, because she also likes to make Indian Red Lentil Soup, and in fact, gave me a recipe for it a while back. (Remember?)

This blender is sweet. It comes with a chopper/mincer, and a whisk. This is it:



This is not the only recent addition to our kitchen.

*drumroll*

The old frying pan and saucepan are retired. After a long journey to Target on the 64 Bus on Wednesday, we are the very pleased owners of a cast iron skillet and a stainless steel saucepan with a glass lid (pictured above). I am thrilled with all of these new tools. Thrilled. Food tastes so much better cooked in cookware that doesn't interfere with it. This cast iron skillet is already the love of my life, and I expect us to get closer over the years.

OK, on to the soup. Using all of my new toys, I made the most delicious and filling soup this morning. It's a potato soup. I started with 12 small Yukon gold potatoes (very small, like golf balls). Cut them up and -- oh, also at Target we got two new, sharp knives, woohoo! -- put them in water in the stainless steel pan, to boil.

In the cast iron skillet, I poured a little olive oil and started heating the other ingredients for the soup: a yellow onion, two cloves of garlic, curly kale, cauliflower (about half of a smallish head), baby Portabella mushrooms (4-5), and the unexpected superstar of the soup... three parsnips. Parsnips taste like carrots, only stronger, with more bite. I had forgotten we had them, but I came across them and decided to add them, and I'm glad I did.

(kale, chopped, ready to add)

(everything together in the skillet - except the potatoes)

The potatoes had long since come to a boil and been turned down to simmer. When they were soft, I added the other ingredients, put the lid on it and let everything simmer together for a bit. For seasoning, I added salt, pepper, rosemary and parsley.

When I decided it was done... (I really don't know how long these things take... it's done when things seem soft enough and it tastes good... or however long it took me to feed the cats and make tea... if you need help timing it, you could call me and ask me to feed my cats and make tea, and I'll call you back when I'm done and you'll know it's time to take the soup off)... It was time to use my new toy. I didn't think to record this from the beginning, but here's how it works.

You want to be careful not to lift the blending part of the blender (the tip) above the surface (or even to the surface) of the soup. Submerge the tip of the blender and then turn it on, obviously. It's tricky because the blender pulls you more than you think it will. It seemed to keep suctioning to the bottom and I wasn't even supposed to really have it touching the bottom. Once, in trying to pull it up, I accidentally broke the surface, and the soup kind of exploded a little bit (no real damage done), and all the cats got interested and thought I was cooking something demonic on the stove. That's right, cats. That'll teach you.

I got the hang of immersion-blending after just a few moments, and it was super easy. After using the blender, you can remove the blending attachment (the other part is just the motor and you can attach the whisk or the chopper to it), and rinse it.



This soup was surprising and delicious. What made it surprising is that the strongest flavor was the parsnip. That's why I'm calling it potato parsnip soup. It gave the soup a crisp, fresh taste that perfectly offset the heavier, foodier, more wintry taste of potatoes.

We had it with slices of bread with Vegenaise, which we also stocked up on at Fu-Wah, in preparation for the blizzard.


The texture was airy and creamy and perfect. Much more inviting than a soup blended in a smoothie-maker. Because the soup contains kale and mushrooms, it's going to be a good source of protein and will fill you up. The kale and cauliflower and parsnips give you vitamin C, other vitamins, calcium, and other minerals.

Happy holidays, everyone!

If you have snow, enjoy it, and I hope something fun and useful turns up on your doorstep, too.