Jennifer, I LOVE, lovelovelovelovelove Stouffers spinach souffle! I can make a whole meal out of just thatand eat the whole thing. Oh, my, its rich! But its SO good. When theyre on sale I buy a whole bunch of them, and I think the cashiers must think Im nuts sometimes! Something I used to make (invented, like most of the things I make) was kind of like a soufflebut not as collapsible. I beat up a bunch of eggs with a tiny bit of milk, poured some in a glass breadpan (to cover the bottom), put in a layer of cream cheese and cheddar cheese and topped that with spinach (frozen, squeezed dry), put in more egg, another layer of the cheeses and spinach, poured the last of the egg over the top and topped it with a nice layer of the cheddar. Then I baked itdont remember how hot or how longprobably about 300 and just until the cheese was brown and toasty on top. Yum! Hadnt thought about it in a long time. Might need to make it again. Bet it would work with wilted fresh spinach too. BTW, if youre gonna grow chard, you really should put in some spinach too. My friend who lives out there grows Bloomsdale Long Standing and says she has really good luck with it. And consider peas, lettuce, radishes, and kohlrabis, they should all work well for you. And I think maybe you could at least try beets and parsnips and carrots since they can be planted as soon as the ground can be worked and since they can stay in until its getting really cold again (I had freezing temps a few times before I finally got them covered with leaves). And they may not get as big as they would somewhere with a longer growing season, but theres no "lower limit" on size for eating the root crops, so however big they get is the size you eat them! And you should be able to grow other cole crops besides the kohlrabis, too. I dont grown any of them, partly because of space, but also because theyre so inclined to get aphids. Maybe that wouldnt be such a problem at a cooler higher altitude. Check out the last page of the chart Ive linked below for more info on planting times for veggies. Digit, I totally agree with you about radicchio! I dont quite understand why its considered edible! Tried red orach last year, and dont like that eitheror endive! Just dont like bitter! And Ive never even tried some of the less-than-usual veggies youre all talking about above, like salsify, chicory, sorrel, fennel. Actually I have a couple bronze fennels, but Im growing them for the feathery, bronzy ornamental valuenot to eat. (Tho I have one of them growing at the back of the tomato patch, and may be tempted to dig up a root from that one just to check it out!) And none of that was about SOUPso heres my soup connection! Bonnie, I made Ham Bone soup last weekso Id have something easy when Im coming and going over the holidaysyet something with "body!" I call it ham BONE soup, cause back right after I got married we were poor (not that Im rich now!) and when I made it, it was made with a bone with virtually no meat left on it! That was the only way we could afford it! Now when I have a ham I save the bonewith LOTS of meat, to make soup. And this time I made it with Anasazi beans. Much better than the great northern or navy beans I used to use. Thats the only way Ill make it from now on. Oh, and since you were talking about parsnips, when I made it I had just gone out to dig some carrots (for the soup), and while I had the leaves pulled back I dug some beets and parsnips too, so when I was making the soup I decided to put in a few parsnips too to see if it workedand theyre great in ham bone soup. They need to be the very last thing put in, because they cook very quickly. I just cut them up pretty small. Ill add more next time. When it comes to soup, I pretty much stick to the old standbys, chicken noodle, ham bone, and vegetable beef barley. And when I make them, the WAY I make themjust keep adding a "little" bit more of this and that and this and thatI usually wind up with TWO big soup pots full, and freeze most of it in 1-gallon plastic "sherbet" containers so I can get "a gallon" of it out whenever I dont have time for anything else or am just to brain dead to even try to think of something else to make. Its fast, and easy, and always there! And sometimes I make ones that are a little less common for melentil, potato, leek, and a few others. When I was looking up the leek recipes recently I found a parsnip soup recipe that I printed out to try sometimeif sometime ever comes! I have SO many recipes Im gonna have to have them buried with me so I can bring them back next time around! I dont collect cook books anymore! I had a whole bunch I sold at my garage sale before I moved to this house. I still use my 1962 Better Homes & Gardens looseleaf cookbook that I got right after I got out of high school! Its (needless to say) getting REALLY beat up by now, so I bought a new onebut I dont use it! I like the recipes in the old one better! When it comes to eating, I do believe in moderation, but whats the point of eating it/anything if it doesnt taste good! Besides that I still have thealso very beat up3 x 5 cards my mother wrote her recipes on for me that I use over and over and............ And besides that I just stick to the web! Its so easy to look up a whole bunch of recipes for the same thing, and then pick out the best ingredients from eachto create your own version of whatever it is youre making. Computers rock, Skybird P.S. Jennifer, Im glad to know I can become a vegetarian just by "switching" meats! That sure makes it easy! Here is a link that might be useful: Veggie Planting Guide - pdf

lucy, it's so funny, I just this morning got out last year's issue of F and W, and came across this recipe - a light bulb went off, recognizing the title of your post. It looks great - thanks for posting it. STacy

My favorite way to fix parsnips is just to coat 1 inch chunks with evoo, sprinkle with marjoram, and roast for 20 minutes at 425 deg. I usually add other root vegetables that I have on hand such as turnip, carrots, onion and or fennel, and sweet potatoes. Sprinkle cooked veggies with s&p Here's another recipe that I still get requests for a year later. Glazed Root Vegetable Medley From Teena Wager, Waterloo, ON, a cock pot recipe from "Fix It and Forget It Cookbook" Makes 6 servings 2 medium parsnips 4 medium carrots 1 turnip, about 4 inches around ½ cup water 1 tsp salt ½ cup sugar 3 Tbsp. Butter ½ tsp salt 1. Clean and peel vegetables. Cut in 1 inch pieces 1. Dissolve salt in water in saucepan. Add vegetables and boil for 10 minutes. Drain, reserving ½ cup liquid. 3. Place vegetables in slow cooker. Add liquid. 4. Stir in sugar butter and salt. 5. Cover. Cook on Low 3 hours. My note: I usually double the recipe, but I donÂt double the water. I steam the vegetables, then add a scant tsp salt to the crockpot. Also, check after two hours or so to avoid mushy vegetables. You can do this in the oven at 175 degrees.

This is one of my favorite foods to snack on. Long time ago in Szechuan, there would be these small street vendors who sold this type of turnip salad to kids. I used to buy it all the time. For a few pennies, I could buy a handful and munch on them. When I had no money, Id search high and low in my house for pennies. Too bad these vendors arent around anymore I guess you cant really make a living selling food for a few pennies these days. Now Im going to show you how to make this turnip salad. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do. Ingredients: Salted turnip 400g (1pack) Sugar 4 6 teaspoons Light soy sauce 1 tablespoon (optional) Green onions 3 4 Chili oil 3 5 teaspoons Grinded peppercorn 1 2 teaspoons Sesame oil 4 6 teaspoons 1. Rinse the turnips under water first to wash of any salt. 2. Cut the turnips into 2inch long, thin strips. After you cut it, run it through cold water one more time, and drain it well. 3. Cut the green onion into 1 inch long, thin strips. 4. In a bowl, mix sugar, soy sauce, chili oil, grinded peppercorn, and sesame oil. 5. Mix the green onions with the turnip. 6. Pour on the sauce, and mix well with the turnips, and serve. Note: After youve mixed in the sauce with the turnips, I recommend you store this dish for several hours first before eating. Why? This is because allowing it to sit for a few hours lets the flavors really soak into the turnips. Also, you can refrigerate it. I like eating it colder. Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.recipezworld.com/chinese-recipes/turnip-salad/