Root Vegetable Puree and other veggie/paleo talk

[Polly]

Mornin' Kitchen Buddies!

Oh YUM! I made the BEST soup yesterday. Cut up some parsnips, carrots, turnips, sweet potato, regular potato, and onion and cooked them in chicken broth. Then pureed the whole thing and added S and P. It was SO thick and flavorful......a great fall/winter soup. It didn't even need any spices, although cumin and thyme would have been my choices.

Did you see the article last week about the study showing the value of veggies on mental ability? Folks who ate only 2.8 servings a day had mental capacities about 5 years younger than those who did not eat veggies. The best veggies seemed to be spinach, collards, and other dark leafy greens. I am trying to eat at least one dark leafy green a day. I know they also have the highest calcium in the veggie category. I found some pretty good frozen collards and turnip greens, but they don't really save much time over the fresh versions, since they still need to be cooked for 20 or 25 min.

One really great bonus about eating paleo is the amount and variety of vegetables involved. This week I am going to try to make some pumpkin soup.

You know, if any of us ever gets some free time (what's that, you ask?), it would be fun to try to pull together a paleo cook book. I would volunteer to do the soup section, since I seem to have done a bit of experimenting in that area. I also seem to be the crockpot queen. Joanna can do the wild game section and discuss preserving food (for those long winter months!). Matthew can provide the philosophy and insert an appropriate quote on each page as well as discussing how best to shop, how to use herbs and spices, and how to be creative with menus. Karen and Luce can do the smoothie section. I think Luce is also creative with sauces and can discuss how best to eat out. Marsha can do the desserts section. And of course, Wayne can add his famous frozen banana recipe! LOL! Shirley can be our editor, since she is a good general cook and writer and actually is quite knowledgeable about the diet. And so forth. It would be good to capture all of our accumulated experience and creativity in one place, IMHO.

Love,

Polly

[starfire]

Polly, that sounds like a neat idea you have there.

Can't wait to hear what the otheres say.

Love, Shirley

[tex]

I'll have to set asside some time to perfect my frozen banana recipe. LOL.

Love,
Tex

[artteacher]

AHA! You're luring me into the diet by tapping into my sugar addiction.

I have the book now. I am mostly paleo, you know: absolutely no legumes, dairy or grains. Very few starchy vegetables, even. It's just that once or twice a week I'll eat a little cornstarch for thickener in something. It's the latte and cookie thing that is my downfall. Sigh.

Did you all know that dates and dried pineapple are the only dried fruits that don't routinely have sulfites added? So mainstream store brands are safe.

I think you should give the cookbook a serious thought. I think we have collected some really good recipes. How do you address the problem of reissuing recipes that we've found from other sources? Karen?

Love,
Marsha

[harvest_table]

Did you see the article last week about the study showing the value of veggies on mental ability? Folks who ate only 2.8 servings a day had mental capacities about 5 years younger than those who did not eat veggies.

One really great bonus about eating paleo is the amount and variety of vegetables involved. This week I am going to try to make some pumpkin soup.

You know, if any of us ever gets some free time (what's that, you ask?), it would be fun to try to pull together a paleo cook book. Polly

I read that study, pretty neat huh? Tex posted a link to it in the news room here.

I couldn't agree more about the bounty of fresh vegetables available to us. Pumpkin soup sounds wonderful. Here is a link to a very cool site called The Cook's Thesaurus- this is only the vegetable link so be sure to check out the rest of it. It's been helpful for me.

http://www.foodsubs.com/FGVegetables.html

Polly, you may be eating too many vegetables....a paleo recipe book by the potty people??!! Seriously, it sounds like a great idea. I'd be happy to contribute.

Marsha, it appears as though your sugar addictions may actually be benefiting you! Who woulda thunk? Pleez, have another cookie for me.
Hope you enjoy the book.

Love,
Joanna