Posts tagged vegetables

Local Saturday-morning farmers’ market—hand’s down, one of the best parts of summer.

Fresh, organic, locally grown, decently priced strawberries. Mmmmm. Had to get a pint.

Wish I could have taken this dog too. He totally dog-kissed another dog there.
It was super cute…I wasn’t creepin’ on dog mackin’ or anything.

Carrots for my friend Sydney.

The picture’s not the best, but these chives were ENORMOUS. I thought they were leeks at first. I swear, one of them was as thick as my wrist. Insane. Sydney suggested stuffing them—hmmm.

Rock Hill Farms—the best part of the market. It’s run by the coolest guys. They had 200lb+ pumpkins last year.

Sydney asked for the smallest head of cabbage they had. The guy grabbed a radish, wrapped it in cabbage leaf, and handed it to her. Lol.

Macarons from a local bakery. I had never tried one before sampling theirs. AMAZING. I’ll have to avoid this table next time.

Super bright day + crappy photographer=overexposed photos

How cute is that packaging?

Aside from strawberries, I also filled my bag with tons of radishes, squash, broccoli, and peaches—for around $10. Did I mention that I love summer?

I can’t wait until the summer berries, peppers, and tomatoes start showing up.

The results are in. I know the suspense has been killing you.

The expert panel consisted of myself, my mom, sister, and bf. My in-depth statistical analysis of the results was done by averaging. Supa Fancy.

Going back to the American Idol analogy, can I be Ellen?

Bringing up the rear, we have:

6) Butternut Squash—Average Rating: 3

Taste: 3.6
Texture: 3.3
Prep: 2

I really expected the squash to do better. Early on in the battle royale, I anticipated it dominating the competition.

Butternut squash’s biggest downfall is its prep. First you have to wrangle off the tough skin and then Macgyver some way to slice it. Its size and shape make it awkward to maneuver over a mandoline and you can never get an even slice. The last time I made these they turned out fantastic. I think it was because I cut them by hand and made thicker slices that cooked more evenly. They tasted almost like Cheezits. So, butternut squash definitely has the flavor, you just have to find a way to get at it.

5) Yucca—Ave Rating: 3.7

Taste: 4
Texture: 4.1 (Mom, whom I’m now thinking of as Randy Jackson, was of the minority opinion that these were too hard, dragging down an otherwise near-perfect texture score)
Prep: 3 (it’s a bitch to peel)

These and the parsnip chips were the only two to stay crispy overnight. Plus, they have a great flavor. The prep is really the only thing holding these babies back.

4) Sweet Potato—Ave Rating: 3.8

Taste: 3.9
Texture: 3.5
Prep: 4 (it’s a little harder than potato, so getting even slices was a little tougher)

Overall, pretty tasty and crisped up really nicely.

3) Beet—Ave Rating: 4

Taste: 4
Texture: 4
Prep: 4

It was unanimously agreed that the flavor and texture were fantastic. All-around, a damn good chip.

The one drawback is that you can’t tell by a color change that they’re ready. You have to sort of just guess by texture and trial and error.

2) Classic Potato—Ave Rating: 4.7

Taste: 4.3
Texture: 4.8
Prep: 4.7

I really just threw this in the mix for comparison’s sake. I was hoping it would lose miserably to the other, more nutritious vegetables so that I could prove a point. I was prepared to throw the vote if it got too close to winning. I am not above it.
My bf, Simon Cowell, claimed from the very beginning that potato would win out against everything. (He’s not really a vegetable person. We’re working on it.)

And finally, my absolute favorite:

1) Parsnip—Ave Rating: 4.8

Taste: 4.8
Texture: 4.5
Prep: 5

Perfect snack chip. You don’t have to like parsnips to like these. They’re a little sweet, with a hint of that parsnip spice. Along with the yucca, these never lost their crunch over time. On top of all that, aren’t they cute? They curl up all adorable, like little cats, but edible.

I know I’m leaving out several amazing veggie/fruit chips (such as plantains and kale), so think of this as just round one.

I thought about baking the chips instead of frying, but it’s really tough to get them to cook evenly in the oven unless, unlike me, you’re good at slicing evenly.

All chips were made with the following method:

1. Slice vegetables into thin, even slices, either with a sharp knife or using a mandoline.
2. Heat a deep skillet filled about 1/4 inch high with oil (vegetable or olive) on medium-high heat until the oil sizzles when you flick a drop of water in.
3. Fry chips in batches, careful not to crowd. Chips are done when they turn golden (or, as in with beats, once you think they’re done). Remove to a paper towel when done and repeat.
4. Sprinkle a little salt if you want (I didn’t in this case, because I wanted all of them naked).
5. Eat while still crispy!

Oh and my sister is definitely Paula.

Will post the whole shebang once this physics midterm is in my rearview. Until then, a glimpse of some sexy, sexy beets:

Here’s the full, completed post.

The Contenders:

(Parsnip, yucca, beet, potato, butternut squash, sweet potato).

May the best root vegetable (or squash if we’re gonna be pc) win.
Chip finalists will be scored on taste, ease of prep, and crispiness. The panel consists of myself, bf, and mom. Think of it like American Idol, but with way more fiber…

Got a favorite veggie chip, or wanna throw support for one of the above?