Welcome Northside Parents Network Readers

Sheesh, a week since my last post. An entire week.

In my defense, it was a very busy week. Between catering Family Farmed Expo's launch party for 250, teaching three (count 'em, three) classes, jury duty, and a dead car battery to boot, I'm exhausted. Before I head to my chill-out Monday ("24," "Damages", and perhaps even an episode from 30something's second season, which arrived late last week from Amazon), I wanted to welcome new readers from the Northside Parents Network talk on "Solving the Puzzle of the Picky Eater." I promised you all my recipe for Parsnip-Fennel Puree, a delicious and familiar way to introduce less than familiar vegetables. This kid-friendly side dish can also become rather adult, topped with seared sea scallops and caramelized fennel.

Parsnip-Fennel Puree
Serves 4

½ pound parsnips
½ pound fennel
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste

Peel and trim parsnips. Cut into ½ inch chunks. Trim fennel by removing the hard core. Slice into ½ inch pieces. Retain about 2 tablespoons of the feather fronds for garnish. Combine the parsnips and fennel in a medium saucepan with lightly salted water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until tender, approximately 20 minutes. When the fennel and parsnip are tender when pierced with a knife, drain and puree in a food processor with the butter. The puree can be made one day ahead and reheated.

I'm completely pumped to announce that this recipe, along with that for Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes, are part of an upcoming cookbook on the fruits and vegetables grown in the White House garden, which will be published by Red Rock Press in May.