Parsnip and pear soup on a cooler spring evening

One thing I love about spring is that you get lovely days that provide hope that summer is on the way - but you also get the cooler weather so that you can occasionally have your favourite winter dish.

Last night was one of the chillier nights and so I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to try out another parsnip soup. (Actually I had a parsnip to use up before going up to see the parents today). Nat and I really enjoyed the parsnip and pumpkin soup - but we didn't have any pumpkin - so I went looking for inspiration and I found this recipe created by Ricki at Diet, Dessert and Dogs.

I didn't have any leeks but I had everything else (really simple easy recipe so there wasn't much else to need which is good because our fridge is pretty empty of vegetables). I altered the recipe a little so, while staying faithful to Ricki's recipe mine is a little different. It was lovely - sweet but with the lovely parsnip flavour (you could taste it but it was not overpowering which was good). It reminded me a bit of applesauce in consistancy (not in a bad way) and I can now understand how parsnips can be used in desserts, like in this recipe at the Vegan Feast Kitchen.

Thanks Ricki for a great recipe.

Pear and Parsnip Soup
1 onion - diced
1 large parsnip - cubed
1 stick celery - chopped
4 small pears - peeled and cubed
1 litre vegetable stock (I cheated and used bullion)
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion in a little water or broth for about 5 mins. Over medium heat, add celery, parsnip and pear and saute for about 15 mins, stirring constantly. Add vegetable broth and simmer over low heat for a further 15 mins. Turn off the heat and let the soup cool a little before pureeing it using an immersion blender or in batches in a blender.
Serve hot - we served ours with crusty bread.


I am baking some gluten free goodies for our nephew's naming ceremony/birthday celebration. Stay tuned people as I just realised I have no gluten free flour... this could be interesting!!!

Iron Chef Challenge #2 - Pear walnut and banana muffins with walnut crumb topping

So I have a vegan potluck to go to today - and, as there are mountains of bananas in my fruit bowl I thought some banana muffins would go down pretty well. When I looked at some other vegan blogs I found this pretty awesome recipe at vegan visitor.

But then this morning when I woke up and started checking my blog reader I saw that the Iron Chef Challenge for week 2 of Vegan Mofo used the ingredients pears and nuts. Now pears are becoming quite expensive here (as it is now spring in Aussie) but I did have two pears in the fruit bowl. As I needed to get cooking straight away so I could get to the potluck on time, I decided to create a pear and banana muffin and use the crumb topping from vegan visitors muffins.

The muffins were a BIG hit - everyone thought they were moist and the crumb topping really went well. I did have issues keeping the walnuts from falling off the top - maybe I need to press them down more firmly next time.

Pear, walnut and banana muffins with walnut crumb topping.

1/2 cup walnuts
1 cup plain flour
1/3 cup whole meal flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup packed sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoons vanilla
1 225g (8 ounce) tub plain soy yogurt
1 large banana mashed
1 1/2 cups pears –peeled and diced
Topping
1/4 Cup Walnut Halves or Pieces
1/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 Cup Rolled Oats
1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Margarine
1/8 teaspoon Salt

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Finely grind walnuts using a mortar and pestle or a food processor.
Sift flour into a bowl; add baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in ground walnuts. Make a well in center of mixture.

Combine sugar, oil, vanilla, yogurt and banana in a small bowl, add to the flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in diced pear.

Spoon the batter into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray.

Topping
For the walnut crumb topping I followed Vegan Visitor’s recipe here.

Bake at 180ºC on the centre rack for 18 minutes, until firm and golden or insert and remove a toothpick.
Allow muffins to rest in the tin before moving to a rack to cool.
Makes about 12 muffins.