Whenever I see a parsnip recipe, they’re always pureed. If you’ve ever had a parsnip, they taste similar to a carrot without the sweetness. So why? Why would anyone ever puree it?! It doesn’t feel like winter here in New England (the cold weather hit a peak in October and that was that) but who could ever get sick of winter food…

2 large parsnips, skinned

3-4 tbs vegetable oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Slice your parsnips paper thin (or at least try to— no bigger than 1/4”!) and place as spread out on your cookie sheet as possible. Cover with pepper and bake for 10 minutes. Flip, and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and place chips on a paper-towel lined plate to soak away any extra oil. Salt while still warm!

NOTES: These were, very seriously, the absolute best. And the easiest!! I ate them right off the plate, but I can totally see these being an addition to the top of a steak (or seitan steak). Faaaaantastic. 

Baked goods in winter can be a little bit difficult; the fruits are pretty meh, everyone gets sick of chocolate after Christmas and Valentines Day, and if it weren’t for the bananas you saved in the freezer you’d really have nothing to bake with. WELL, I gave myself a mission— a quick bread that isn’t to heavy, rich, could be considered a dessert OR breakfast, and uses seasonal ingredients? Voila: chocolate chip bread.

2 c. all-purpose flour 

1/2 c. white sugar 

1/2 tsp. baking powder 

1/2 tbs. baking soda 

1/2 tsp. salt 

1 egg 

3/4 c. milk 

1/3 c. veggie oil 

1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together sugar, salt, egg, milk and oil until it’s well combined. Sift in flour, powder and soda and whisk. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour into a lined 9x5 loaf pan and bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes clean. 

NOTES: This was pretty ok! The consistency, IMO, was a little dense— I’d probably make muffins out of this batter next time. Still, it wasn’t too heavy and just the right amount of sweet to get me going in the morning. Next time, I’d add some cranberries and nuts! 

I have a longstanding history with cookies. I’ve always loved them; eating and cooking them, thinking of new ideas and brainstorming flavor combinations that I’d never heard of. It was startling to find that crackle cookies have been popular for years, yet I had never heard of them. After weeding through Martha Stewart’s website (and let me tell you, it was no picnic…. that woman has a HUGE recipe index), I think I found the best and easiest crackle recipe (and then added a few things of my own!). 

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. granulated sugar

½ c. unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

4 tbs unsalted vegan butter , softened (or regular butter)

1/2 c. applesauce or pureed tofu (or 2 eggs)

1 tsp. vanilla

4 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar 

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and spray a cookie sheet with oil. In a large bowl, whisk together granulated sugar, salt, butter, applesauce (or tofu!) and vanilla. Add in remaining ingredients and stir until totally combined. The mixture will be loose, so put it in the fridge for 2+ hours to harden. Once the mixture is nice and cool, scoop out bite sized portions roll in powdered sugar. Fill up your cookie sheet and cook for 10-12 minutes or until you see a good crackle on top of each cookie!! 

NOTES: I love these because not only are they easy, but they’re adorable and delicious! They’re also super light so I don’t feel terrible after eating a couple. My mixture ended up being really loose, so scooping and getting the powdered sugar to stay on when baking was a little difficult. I just made sure to really cake it on, and they ended up looking great! 

It’s really hard to believe that it’s citrus season. Technically there is no citrus season in New England, but the cheap oranges, lemons and limes coming in from Florida and California are a’plenty. Another little known fact: I kinda don’t like raw citrus anything! I don’t know what it is… maybe the fleshy/sour/bitter taste of them all. I really have to experiment with flavors before I find something satisfying.

If you’ve never worked with Kumquats before, you can eat them whole! Be careful— they have seeds. I threw them in a couple recipes this week and this was my favorite of the bunch! 

1 1/2 c. flour

1 c. wheat flour

3/4 c. raw sugar (or white, whatever you have)

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 c. veggie shortening

1/4 c. pureed tofu (or applesauce)

3 tbs. soy or almond milk

1 c. kumquats, chopped with seeds removed

Zest of half a grapefruit

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowlmix flours, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, stir together remaining ingredients. Pour into dry and stir. 

The mixture will be clumpy/shaggy. Roll out on a floured counter and cut into triangles. Brush on a little milk and sprinkle sugar on top of each scone. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the outside is golden! 

NOTES: I like scones because you can make them ahead of time! Pop unbaked scones in the refrigerator or freezer, then bake when needed. I’ve come to love the taste of grapefruit zest, far more than it’s interior; it’s intensely sweet and fragrant and I’d highly recommend trying it out whenever zest is needed in a recipe! I stress: when you’re using zest of any citrus, buy organic (take care of yourselves!).