parsnips

the order of events in cooking is to decide what to make, buy the ingredients, and then, you know, make it. which is exactly what happened with this parsnip soup. only there was a six week gap in between the purchasing of the parsnips and cooking of the soup, mostly because i ran away to missouri before my south american vacation that gave me the stomach flu.

and all i had in the fridge was an onion and tons of parsnips. i didn't think i wanted parsnip soup - ever - because it's one of those bland blended vegetable soups that are more like baby food than deliciousness. so i opened every cookbook i own looking for the recipe that got me to buy 2 bags of parsnips. and i knew it the moment i saw it:

1. brown an onion and tons of parsnips

2. add the spices and keep browning - coriander, cumin, turmeric, and cayenne

3. add 5 cups of water and some bouillon cubes

when it's all soft, add 2/3 c soymilk and blend.

that part's boring - i mean, not too shabby on the tastebuds, but not that awesome.

this is the awesome part:

julienne 2 cloves of garlic, and cook it along with 2 teaspoons of brown mustard seeds until it just starts to brown (it'll continue to brown after you take it off the heat, so be conservative.) the recipe has the spice mixture going as the garnish, but i just mixed it all in.

the brilliance of this soup is that the mustard seeds and crispy garlic add texture as well as amazing flavor. and, parsnips are one of those vegetables whose flavor is so great they're best left alone - the simplicity of the soup really highlights the delicious parsnipness.