Sniff a rock and chase a bird

Do you ever start out with good intentions and then get sidetracked?  I do – too much.   It reminds me of the dogs, they sniff a rock or an interesting clump of grass, and a robin hops by and they’re off to who knows where. 

That happened to me the other day after digging the weekly allotment of roots.  Somewhere in the cobwebs of my mind, I could “see” a recipe I was looking for.  Not that I’m getting tired of eating these tender and sweet roots, I just wanted to try something different.  Sunday is my day to cook my Sunday Chicken for the week and sometimes I do get a little domestic once in awhile , and try to come up with something different.

 
Yumm – rutabaga pie!  Just kidding.

My favored Fannie Farmer cookbook is as full of the scraps and morsels of my life, as my mom’s cookbook.   Every time I get this down off the kitchen queen, I hold on tight, because you never know what might fall out.  So while searching for that elusive recipe I couldn’t resist chasing that proverbial bird. 

What did I find?  Carefully pressed four leaf clovers, all the clovers in my cookbooks could generate a post in themselves.  A love note from HD with a lilac sprig that he left on my windshield one day while I was at work.  It’s faded now, but the memory of finding it after I got in my car is still fragrant and sweet.  There is a International Harvester oil filter brochure?  A yellowed newspaper clipping of our neighbor showing off her prizewinning crocheted tablecloth.  That was a big deal – she won $1000.00, and that was a lot of money in 1971!  Also with her clipping is her mincemeat recipe that I use, she mailed it to me after she moved back to Idaho - I use it often, and seeing her handwriting takes me back to earlier times, and her wonderful stories of being a logging camp cook in the early 1900′s.  And, I would have to say my favorite find the other day was a picture of my dad holding me, he is standing near our buzz saw, so I imagine my mom took me outside and made him hold me for the picture.

OK – Memory Lane is closed, I did find the recipe I was looking for.  Parsnip Pie! 

I have to say I was never a fan of parsnips as a kid, my mom always fixed them with sugar and they were just too sweet for me.  But, I have been growing them for the milk cow, ever since I found a reference to parsnips in Feeds and Feeding.  Like partners in an arranged marriage, I have grown to love them for their low fertility requirements, ease of storage and tremendous output for the cow.   The dogs have been eating their fair share too, so that is just one more mark in the pro column for parsnips. 

I was skeptical about this recipe, because I wasn’t really looking for something to hide them in, the way poor old zucchini  gets morphed into everything.  I just wanted to make something that would showcase the distinctive flavor of a parsnip.  Of course, anything with pie crust gets my attention – so I thought Della could spare a few for my domestic experiment.

Aren’t they beautiful?

This pie is baked in a partially baked shell.  I made the pie crust first, while I was preparing the parsnips for the filling. 

Parsnip Pie and Sunday Chicken. 

Scrub parsnips and remove tops and roots.  I had just dug mine so they weren’t dry like you may encounter in the store, so if you need to – peel off the rough or dry spots.  Cut in matchsticks and parboil until fork tender. 

Sorry about the blurry picture – this was starting to smell good.   The seasoning is similar to pumpkin pie with the addition of orange zest.  We didn’t buy much citrus this winter, but I was saving some organic orange peels in the refrigerator to make Judy’s candied peels, so I zested some of those and I was in business.

PARSNIP PIE     
 

Pastry for 10″ pie
3 cups pureed, unseasoned parsnips
2 T butter
1/2 cup honey
2 T orange zest
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t mace
1/4 t allspice
1/4 t ground cloves
1 t lemon juice

Preheat oven to 425°F.  Prick the pie shell, and bake for 5 minutes.  Melt butter and honey and let cool.  Beat all ingredients until smooth and fill partially baked pie shell.  Lower heat to 375°F and bake for 50 -60 minutes or until filling is firm in the center.

We tasted this after it had cooled, and it was OK, with a mild and unusual taste.  BUT, the next morning it was perfect – the flavors had fused into a light, honeyed parsnip taste with just a hint of orange now and then.  It won’t replace pumpkin pie at our house, but the recipe is definitely a keeper.

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