NOT TOO LONG AGO, well, 25,000 years to be exact, the earth was mostly ice. Carbon dioxide levels were low & the earth was not nearly as close to the sun as the present. A perfect setup for little things like glaciers, right? Then, but not too suddenly and over a period of 18,000 years, the earth ever so slowly warmed to the sun’s advances. An extremely long courtship by today’s Tinder standards; an enduring relationship non the less. Are you following me?
If so, we now find ourselves on this very day divining our place in time. Me, gnawing on a big carrot. Ehhh, what’s up, nah… I’ll skip that. But jokes aside, listen, and while you’re at it, what might be your go-to root? A big ole carrot, a fat beet, a slender parsnip— radishes, jicama, turnips, horseradish, celery root, parsley root, root beer? OMG! Wait! Hold on! Let’s not play favorites! So sorry I went there! We should be rotating our crops, I mean roots, like all good farmers.
ROTO-ROOTING, that is, rotating roots was common a few thousand, scratch that, a few million years ago, give or take a century or two. Back then, our ancestors (they were nomads like us, but without iPhones) foraged and gathered a multiplicity of roots & other vegetation, all the while developing an intricate knowledge of plants & their medicinal & health benefits.
I’m not a doctor & I am not going to lecture you. However, I challenge you to Google or pull out your Encyclopedia Brittanica and look up each and every one of these roots. Pick one a night. You will be amazed at all the powerful properties these babies possess. No placebos here. Frolic with folic acid, learn the A, B, C’s of vitamins and memorize the way-too-many minerals to list. Flash cards suggested.
Feeling tired and run down? Any aches or pains? You want to lower your blood pressure, lower your cholesterol? Look no further my fare friends. Ok, ‘nough said! Stop me! Cave girls & cave boys did all the work for us. No digging involved, no broken nails, no protrusions to ponder— just a quick Google search.
ROOT RUT by the way, is a common malady. Whereas the banana is the most popular fruit and the tomato the most popular vegetable, in the root category, the carrot reigns supreme. Carrots in salads, carrots in soups, crudités & jello molds! It’s the go-to root. My mom packed me a lunch of a peanut butter & banana sandwich, Fritos & yes, carrot sticks. I packed the same lunch until my mid 20’s.
Growing up, I came across radishes only occasionally. I also know that celeriac remoulade is a French recipe similar to cole slaw. I’ve added parsnips to chicken soup. I’ve had turnips mashed with butter. Paul Newman ate turnips like an apple & chased them with a beer.
LIKE I SAID BEFORE, I’m not a doctor nor a quack, but I promise to personally (hear that Phil?) help you discover simple recipes for every root you are willing to try. Many of these roots can be puréed to go under or over vegetables, fish, meat or fowl. Others, fresh in a salad or as salads, or some as garnish mixed with herbs. The easy route is mixing & roasting with winter squash. But come on! Let’s leave our caves & go where we have never been before… nomad-like.
REMODELING THUMBNAILS