Nothing better on a cold rainy day than a bowl of hot soup.  Parsnips are one of my favorite winter vegetables, this is an easy fabulous recipe.

Parsnip Soup
1 stick butter
1 and ½ c. chopped onions
2 c. parsnip, peeled and sliced into 1 in. pieces.
2 c. cooked pumpkin or one 15oz can of raw pumpkin.
(You can use  4 cups parsnip but the soup will be very sweet)
Dash nutmeg (optional)
 Dollop of sour cream and chopped scallions or chives for garnish

Sauté chopped onions in butter on med-low heat in a covered pan until the onions are soft.  Add parsnips and continue to sauté in covered pan until really soft.  Process the cooked mixture in a food processor in batches adding beef bouillon to make the soup the right thickness for your taste. You can use any brand of bouillon, but the Better than Bouillon brand is the best - it’s in glass jars in the bouillon section of the grocery store. The vegetable base also works.  
Add a little nutmeg if desired and season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Add just a dollop of sour cream to bowls and add flavor and garnish with sprinkling of chopped scallion or chives. 

In our computerized, automated age, an article I just read about the British forced rhubarb business astonished me.  The heart of the industry is in Yorkshire where loam soil on a clay base makes for perfect rhubarb crowns. The process has changed little since Victorian times, when rhubarb's popularity was at it's peak, and farmers planted their crop in heated sheds with earth floors, and harvested by candle-light.  The local coal mines provided cheap fuel, waste effluence enriched the soil and, as "rhubarb loves soot", the crop thrived in the high levels of air pollution.

Forced rhubarb, with it's fabulous fushia pink stems, sherbert-tangy flavor and delicate texture, is the crème de la crème.  It sounds very different from the stringy, tannic, greenish stalks I grow in my garden.  However, forcing it is a really tedious labor of love.   First the roots, or crowns, are grown outside for at least two years.  Early in their third winter they are dug up after it has been cold enough to break their dormancy and planted in heated sheds.  All light is blocked off and in the dark warmth the shoots appear so quickly the sheaths around the buds can be heard gently popping.  Three weeks later they are ready for their first "pulling" or harvesting.  This in itself is quite an art.  The "pullers" carry cast iron stakes topped with a candle as electric light spoils the color of the stems, in the pale flickering light they have to navigate a sea of chartreuse-yellow leaves and pull only the stems that are as long as an arm while not damaging any of the plants.  It is said this arcane cold-dark-heat process was discovered by a gardener who threw an old crown on a stable muck pile.  The manure was hot and the plant was soon covered, until a couple of weeks later the startling pink stems were found and eaten by a stable boy.  

Great story, now I just have to seek some out here so I can make my annual rhubarb vodka recipe.  I was inspired by the most delicious rhubarb vodka I tasted at a pub in the Cotswolds - unfortunately it was made privately for them and not available commercially.  I've been trying ever since to replicate the taste.  Last year I added vanilla pods, but unlike the year before the rhubarb stems I used were green,  I think both the colour and flavour are better when fuchsia pink forced rhubarb is used.  This year I'm going to follow the advice we were given at Bovey Castle at their cider and sloe gin making course.  The secret seems to leave it in the vodka for 9 months to a year, not the couple of months I have been steeping it for.  Hard to wait that long!  

Rhubarb infused vodka
Bright pink rhubarb
Sugar
vodka
Large container with sealable lid
Wash the rhubarb and cut the sticks into equal-sized lengths.  Fill container at least 1/2 full.  According to most recipes you should pour sugar over and shake until the rhubarb is covered.  I find this is too sweet so just add sugar until it is about halfway up the rhubarb.  Add vodka to more than cover and shake.  Shake 1x a day for a week, 1x week for a month, 1x month for a year.  Drink!

Another cold day with flurries of snow and more snow forecast.  A good day for chocolate cake and a mug of tea.  This recipe is from Paula's kitchen and seems to be absurdly easy.

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake
Boil 1 c. water with 1 stick butter and 4 1oz. unsweetened chocolate.
Beat 2 eggs and 2 cups of sugar
Add 2 c. flour 
½ tsp salt
1 and ½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
½ c. sour cream

Grease and flour pan and bake 30 min. @ 350.

This was on a friend's fb post and sounds delicious.  The recipe is originally from Kutz & Kaminsky's "Elements of Taste" 

Slice two large onions, (Bombay or big onions if possible) and boil them down with two cups of red wine, and half a cup of red wine vinegar. Or cider or a subtle Chinese vinegar.  Just boil it down in a heavy bottomed pan. Keep adding little bits of Kithul treacle -- (or maple syrup) -- one table spoon at a time, as it boils down. When the liquid is nearly done -- add salt and pepper, fresh ground is best -- if you have a grinder, white pepper will give it a subtler heat than black--and you are ready to serve this on crackers. Pate or cold vegetables are great with this. It is the aroma of the vinigar that hits you first, and the tartness of the vinegar, on the tongue. It's soft, but there may be tiny crunch, and then the sweetness of onion lingers with the kithul. Yes, you'd want another bit.

A glorious sunrise over a friend's wildflower meadow. Wildflower meadows generally look best when situated in a semi-natural location, this one borders her lawn and lake and is glorious in the summer and a great haven for wildlife.  

In the oven is another member's recipe for French Toast for a crowd.  It seemed perfect for a cold wintery morning and is already filling the kitchen with delicious aromas. The recipe is below.  Enjoy!

Brunch French Toast 
Layer on bottom of 13x9 pan 4- 6 apples or pears (ripe) or if you love bananas you can use these sliced thinly, so that the bottom of the pan is totally covered
1/2 c. dried cranberries or raisins (optional) 
You can use dried mixed with fresh or canned fruit too-- just cover the bottom of the pan

Sprinkle 3/4 c. of brown sugar over the fruit.
Drizzle with ¼ c. of butter

Slice 1 Italian (or other white bread) loaf into 1 inch slices and use ¼+  c butter melted to brush one side of each slice.  If the bread is just plain white sliced bread from a loaf, you might want to use 2 layers of bread as one will be too thin. Arrange on top of the fruit.  Make sure that the bread covers the fruit completely by sticking small pieces into the spaces. The height of the bread should be at least 1 and ½ to 2 inches high. 

Mix 1 tea. cinnamon, 1 tea. of nutmeg, 1 TB vanilla, ¼ c. sugar with 3 cups of milk, and 6 eggs. 

Pour over bread. The liquid should just cover the bread. Let sit until bread soaks up egg and milk mixture. You can leave it in the refrigerator over night covered with aluminum foil. Bake for 40 minutes if at room temperature, but if you take it out of the refrigerator, cook it 50-60min or until it puffs up. Bake uncovered for the last 5min. of baking to brown slightly. 

Serve with real maple syrup and bon appetite!! 

Most of the statues are now buried under snow. When I saw this angel in an auctioneers catalog I thought it hideous, but when I saw him in his concrete flesh I fell in love and had to bid for him.  Surprisingly I was the only one so compelled. 

When we unloaded him from the truck he proved too awkward and heavy to move, so he stayed where they delivered him, under a Japanese Maple by the road -- to the consternation of a neighbor who stopped by to let us know that it was not suitable for the Main Line.

 In the summer ferns surround him and only his head can be seen from the road.  Now the snow has provided a covering a thick blanket that should satisfy even our most prudish neighbors.

It's too cold to do anything outside today.  A day to stay in the kitchen and cook, fill the house with heavenly scents.  This dish is to die for -- another winner from Paula's kitchen and perfect for such a frigid day.  She served it with polenta (or  grits) which was the perfect accompaniment.

Osso Bucco
Ingredients:
•Four 12-ounce veal shanks 
•Kosher salt 
•Freshly ground black pepper 
•vegetable oil 
•all-purpose flour 
•3 carrots, peeled and diced 
•3 celery ribs, diced 
•1 yellow onion, diced 
•6 garlic cloves, sliced 
•2 cup dry red wine 
•4 cups veal stock or chicken stock 
•2 cups canned plum tomatoes, drained and crushed 
•4 sprigs fresh thyme 
•2 sprig fresh rosemary 
•1 bay leaf 
optional
•1 tablespoon grated fresh horseradish (see Note) 
•2 tablespoons grated lemon zest 
•2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 
 
Preparation
1. Rinse the veal shanks of their salt and pat dry with paper towels. Wrap each veal shank once around the circumference so that it holds the bone and meat together in the center. Tie the twine with a good knot. Season the veal shanks with salt and pepper. 
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Meanwhile, put the flour in a shallow bowl, dredge the veal shanks in it, and pat off the excess. Brown the veal shanks in the hot oil for about 5 minutes on each side, or until browned on all sides. Remove from the pan and set aside. If the oil turns dark during the process, discard it and heat a fresh oil. 
3. Add the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic to the pan and cook over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the wine, bring to a boil, and cook for about 2 minutes, or until reduced by half. 
4. Add the stocks, tomatoes, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf to the pan. Return the veal shanks to the pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Once the liquid boils, cover, transfer to the oven, and cook for 2 1/2 hours, until the meat is fork tender and falling off the bones. 
5. To serve, cut and discard the twine, put a single osso buco (veal shank) in a bowl, and ladle about 3/4 cup of the sauce and vegetables over it. (If the sauce and the meat are not still warm, heat them together very gently over low heat for 8 to 10 minutes.) 
10. Garnish each osso buco with the fresh horseradish, lemon zest, and chopped parsley and season with pepper. 

Note: If you cannot find fresh horseradish, you can use prepared. It will taste stronger, so it’s a good idea to wrap the horseradish in a double thickness of cheesecloth and squeeze out the excess liquid. 

Stocked up at the farmers market in preparation for the next storm.  A large leg of lamb that should feed us for days the left-overs either eaten cold if we loose power or turned into a deliciously hot shepherds pie.

We've finished all the potatoes from the garden, but for this recipe any large scrubbed potatoes will do.  I don't bother to peel them, just cut them into chunks I can shove through the food processor attachment so they are sliced thickly.  Then place them into a roasting pan and drizzle olive oil over them before scattering over some lumps of butter and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper.

My oven is still temperamental, for a temperature of 450 I have to set it at 500 and watch closely.  The leg of lamb I pierce with the point of a sharp knife and then push into each hole a small sprig of rosemary from the plant I'm overwintering above the kitchen sink, and a slice of garlic.  Drizzle this with some more olive oil, grind over some salt and pepper and place the leg on one of the oven shelves with the roasting tin of potatoes directly underneath and leave to roast for about an hour.  I usually turn the oven down after 15 minutes or so, but if I forget it doesn't seem to make much difference.  The juices from the lamb drip over the potatoes below, soaking them in flavor and creating a wonderfully crunchy, soft dish.  I'm not sure if you need to serve anything else, but I always feel the need to add something green and my kids choice is always for peas.

The snow continued through the night, finally ending early this morning.  Luckily we have young adults back at home to start digging us out. 

It's a great day to stay inside and bake while watching the wind swirl the snow outside.  The fruit bowl had some eating apples and pears slightly past their prime.  I tried some recipes from "Rustic Fruit Desserts: Crumbles, Buckles, Cobblers, Pandowdies, and More" by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson.  I've had mixed results from this book -- the German Apple cake was a hit, the upside chocolate pear cake was deemed too chocolatey from even the chocoholics in the family.  When warm and smothered with vanilla icecream and whipped cream it was a hit.

I usually have some frozen puff pastry in the freezer, great for chicken pot pie or a fast tarte tatin which is the simplest desert to make with aging apples.  Preheat oven to 375.  While the pastry is thawing throw a stick of butter and cup of sugar (white or brown) in the bottom of a heavy cast iron skillet and cook gently over low heat, stirring until blended.  Cook until the sugar caramelizes.  While that's bubbling away peel the apples, core them and cut into quarters.  I usually use about 7, a mixture of Granny Smith, Gala, McIntosh works well and I squeeze a lemon over them to stop them from browning add flavor.  Take the caramel off the stove top and either arrange the apples carefully in the pan starting with the outside of the pan and working your way in.  Place them on their sides and overlap so you can fit as many as possible --  or chuck them carelessly over and push together to cover the bottom of the pan.  Place the puff pastry square over the apples and tuck the edges under sligjhtly along the inside of the pan.  Bake in the oven until the top of the crust is golden brown, about 30 minutes.  Remove from the oven, let it cool for about 10 minutes and hten place a plate on top of the pan and quickly flip it over so the Tarte Tatin drops down onto the plate.  The pan will be very hot still so use potholders.  Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.