Hi there! I’m Peggy, guest blogging for Jenny. I blog over at Local Nourishment, where I’m learning the art of Slow and SOLE food. Jenny’s on a beach eating tropical fruit with a cool coconut water in her hand right about now, and has asked me to guest blog a post. We had two inches of snow in our Southeastern U.S. state this week, but Jenny’s trip to the warm sands has made me yearn for salad.
For many seasonal eaters, the word “salad” takes a rest from our vocabulary when …

Fennel is a vegetable that I have learned to love over the years.   Its licorice-like flavor is unusual in a vegetable and took some getting used to for a person who really doesn’t care for licorice.   Now, however, I appreciate it and look forward to using the crisp bulb and feathery fronds in savory dishes.   It accompanies celery root marvelously well.
Family: Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) offers many varieties including wild versions.
Origin: Fennel is native to Europe and the Mediterranean, and it holds a dear place in Greek and …

Parsnips, like rutabegas and turnips, are underdogs of the vegetable world.   Everyone knows broccoli.   Everyone loves carrots.   Somehow reminiscent of times past, parsnips are largely forgotten on the modern table.   When you can drive to any grocery store and pick up hothouse tomatoes or Mexican zucchini in the depth of winter, why would you bother with this lonesome root vegetable that calls to mind a ghostly carrot?   If you’re committed to trying new vegetables and to eating seasonally in the way our ancestors did, it …