Twice is Nice

When the temperature dips, I go into hibernation mode. If I could not leave the house until May, I would. It's definitely a time when I cook at home more, and roasting is one of my favourite things to do. As they say, you just set it and forget it.

Last night, I tossed:

• 2 medium parsnips, cubed


• 1 pint grape tomatoes


• 1 pint cremini mushrooms


• 2 yellow bell peppers


• 6 shallots, halved


• 10 red new potatoes


• 10 white new potatoes


• 2 small heads of garlic


• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (marinated in green seasoning and balsamic figs & dates mustard)

in olive oil, juice of one lime, salt and pepper and put in a 375^°F oven for 90 minutes. To serve, I crumbled some goat cheese over the mix and dug in. For the leftovers, I already had something in mind.

Now, I'm not sure why I had it in my head that parsnips tasted more like turnips than carrots, even though they look like white carrots, but I was wrong. If possible, they have an even more intensely carrot taste than actual carrots - sweeter. I hate carrots. However, they do add a good flavour base to soups, which is what I whipped up tonight.

I simmered all the veg that was left over from last night in 1L of vegetable stock for about 20 minutes. Then I just puréed those in batches in the blender until smooth, adding milk to thin it out as necessary. I poured the purée back into the pot to reheat with hand shredded chicken breast and a can of lentils. Once in my bowl, I dropped in a generous chunk of goat cheese. I think for the next batch, I'll add in some finely chopped parsley too.

The soup really took on the flavour of the roasted garlic which, as we know, is one of the best defenses against cold season, and is super yummy. Served with a olive ciabatta bun, it was the perfect antidote to the lie the weather forecast for today turned out to be.