Rooted Mashed Potatoes

A long time ago in a land far, far away, the world existed outside of the internet. We did strange things like subscribe to printed magazines, newspapers and read things on printed pages. During this era, I found an incredible resource called Bon Appetit! Pages were filled with stunning photographs, wonderful writing and incredible recipes. During this faraway time, I lived in a faraway place called suburban Chicago. Having barely left my parents sight since the day I entered their lives, living nearly four hours away away from home was as daring as bungee jumping.

In this space and time, I began hosting Thanksgiving for my family. My mom had never been one to enjoy cooking, so it was my time to step up to the plate. My first encounter with Bon Appetit was a Thanksgiving when they were introducing recipes that included a bit of our Thanksgiving Heritage. That year, I followed the entire menu and made a Thanksgiving to remember! As the saying goes, “I was as good once as I ever was.”

As life happens, I’m not certain that I have made a Thanksgiving to that standard since. However, from that time, one portion of the dinner has remained: the mashed potatoes! If I recall the article that accompanied the recipe correctly, our first mashed potatoes included a portion of parsnips because they were in such abundance in that season. The parsnips add a flavor similar to garlic but not as powerful. The final product is a flavorful potato that contains the added benefit of root vegetables and the added depth of our unique history as a country. Flavor, history and tradition- what a perfect combination and reminder of what the holidays are really about!

My version adapted from the original:

Rooted Mashed Potatoes

By Jane Robrahn

YIELD serves 6

• 1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces

• 1 pound parsnips, peeled, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces 

• 3 ounces trimmed parsley root (about 3 medium), peeled, but into 1-inch pieces (optional)

• 1 large garlic clove, halved

• 3 cups (or more) water

• 1 14 1/2-ounce can low-salt chicken broth

•  Organic, grass-fed butter or ghee to taste

• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley or parsley root tops

• Additional minced fresh parsley as garnish

1. Combine potatoes, parsnips, parsley root, if using, and garlic in heavy large saucepan. Add 3 cups water and broth; if necessary, add additional water to cover by 1 inch. Boil uncovered until vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes. Drain vegetables, reserving liquid.

2. Return vegetables to pot. Set over low heat; mash until mixture is smooth; and fluffy, adding enough reserved cooking liquid and butter to thin to desired consistency. Mix in 2 tablespoons parsley. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover; let stand at room temperature. Rewarm over low heat, stirring.) Transfer to bowl. Top with additional parsley.

Variation: rather than boiling parsnips, roast them to bring out their natural flavors; then, add them to the recipe in step two, above. 

The Root for Fall Comfort

The Holland Famer’s Market has been one of my favorite places in the world to visit, and especially in the fall when my daughter was young. The vendors were so impressed by her excitement to try fresh food that she would come away with fists full of radishes, carrot greens, and fruit for days! One of the best times to visit the market was on a weekday when we could easily arrive mid-morning, take our time walking up and past all the vendors on each side. In those moments, I would wish for my daughter to be bigger, thinking, “it would be easier then…” Suddenly, seasons turned into years, and now I’m staring down the days until my fresh-food loving girl turns 16! We rarely find time to enjoy the market like we used to; most weekends are spent driving her to and from events and friends. And, spoiler alert: there’s nothing easier about bigger kids :)

This past weekend, while she was away doing her own ‘thing,’ as teens tend to do, I was fortunate enough to teach a yoga class in the quiet town where we enjoyed living for a couple of years. Everything about being in this town is a little bit smaller and, also, bigger. When I finished teaching my class, it was still early enough to catch the weekly Farmer’s Market. While the market here is mostly seasonal, they’re blessed with a fantastic set up that includes a permanent cover and Artisan Fair. While the market usually consists of what appears to be only a few vendors, we left with bags brimming! We were able to haul away carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, celery and an incredible loaf of apple butter cinnamon bread. While it was easier to maneuver, I found myself lovingly watching the families with their little ones and found myself wishing for the past. 

Maybe that’s why comfort food takes center stage in the fall? To help us feel okay knowing that the ‘next season’ is ever-closer. Maybe the certainty of the food helps us feel okay with the uncertainty of what’s next. Whether it be our children growing, our jobs changing or simply the seasonal shift, maybe comfort food is more about stability and security during these transitions. While we may never quite get this all figured out, I do know this: buying food that is locally grown makes our hearts happy; fueling one of our favorite places just feels right; and, knowing that our soon-to-be 16 year-old will love whatever comfort dish we make with these fresh grown veggies is even better! 

While it’s hard, sometimes, to watch the kids grow up and the wrinkles move in, it’s moments like these when the air is brisk, and the vegetables are ripe, and the morning is young when it feels like it’s all going to be okay. And, when we do sit down to enjoy our root vegetable feast, we will be comforted to know that it is what’s around the table that gets us through each season. 

These two slow cooked root vegetable dishes bring out satisfying sweetness like a cinnamon roll without the dreaded gut-rot, headache and bloat. Audrey and I recommend you try both of them at different times, but take note: The purple veggies bleed and will turn everything next to them a lovely shade of pinkish blue. It’s easy enough to cook them on their own pan or omit all-together if feasting with the eyes is part of the plan!

Rustic Roasted Roots

By Jane Robrahn

3 large sweet potatoes, peeled, chopped, 

4 large carrots, chopped

4 stalks celery, chopped

4-5 parsnips, (depending on size) peeled and chopped

2-3 Tablespoons olive oil

Sea Salt, to taste

Black pepper, fresh ground to taste

Add potatoes to the first of two large bowls. Place remaining vegetables in second large bowl. Over each bowl, pour over olive oil, salt and pepper then toss to coat evenly. Add to sheet pans(lined with parchment paper if desired). Roast at 425 for 35-45 min. or until fork tender. Once roasted, these can be added to anything!

“rustic” pot pie

Olive oil, to coat the pan

Roasted root veggies

3-5 sheets whole grain puff pastry

Organic, grass fed melted butter or ghee(optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a medium cast iron skillet with olive oil. Place sheets of puff pastry to cover the bottom. Fill with roasted veggies. Optional: sprinkle in roasted chicken or pork. Cover with another 3-5 sheets of dough. Brush top with oil, ghee or melted butter. Place skillet in 375 degree oven for 15 minutes or until pastry is lightly browned and crispy.

PS-veggie loving daughter gobbled this down in record time!

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Garlic Baked Roots for a Crowd

By Audrey Byker Health Coach

15 cups of root vegetables:

-Sweet potatoes, scrubbed and chopped

-Carrots, scrubbed and chopped (try rainbow for something different)

-Red or yellow skin potatoes, chopped

-Beets, peeled and chopped

-Parsnips, scrubbed and chopped

Garlic, peeled and left whole, as many as you prefer

Olive oil, a generous drizzle

Sea salt

Black pepper, fresh ground

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, toss together vegetables with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Add to 9x13 pan then cover with foil. Bake in the oven for 30-40 min, setting timer to check and stir half-way. Continue to roast until vegetables are fork tender or reach desired consistency.  

Baking Up a Bond and Banana Muffins

By Aubrey Wilson—the talented Hope College Communications student and intern!

My dad is a man of many average dad talents - grilling, driving a boat, mowing the lawn. But baking is one of his hidden talents. Outside our home, he is known for being a man of few words. Inside the four walls of our home, he is known for his spur of the moment kitchen take over. Picture this, our family of five lounging in the living room and watching TV. He abruptly stands up, heads to the kitchen, opens every cabinet possible, pulls up a recipe online, and within seconds our kitchen has transformed into the episode of “Top Chef”. 

His specialties range from banana bread to protein balls. His flavor depends upon the day. But what does not change is the bond my dad has baked up. Through his periodic kitchen endeavors, a lot more than just food has been made. The walls of our kitchen watched my siblings and I’s “I only want chicken tenders” phase grow into “Filet mignon please”. The walls watched as my dad came home after his weeks away on business trips. I would sit next to the stove as he boiled the fresh lobster he picked up in Maine. To count the number of people who have sat on those counters awaiting the baked goods to be done would be in impossible task. Those people (including my family, closest friends, and I) have cried to the point of laughing and laughed to the point of crying while sitting on those counters. Our kitchen counters have served my brothers “Blue’s Clues” birthday cake as well as his high school graduation dessert bar. 

The love I have experienced, witnessed, and cherished in that kitchen will carry with me no matter what house I am in and no matter who I am with. So here’s my challenge to you: next time you are baking/cooking something up, notice the kitchen. Take note of the people in it. Remember the conversations. Foster the time the food is in the oven because it allows for more conversation. But don’t leave them in too long… :) 

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There’s good news if you’d like to clean up your nutrition and maintain your hidden talent like Aubrey’s dad or begin to embrace the kitchen as a connecting place. Living a healthy lifestyle does not mean giving up baking, rather, swapping old school, processed and refined sugar laden recipes for as close to whole food ingredients as possible, whenever possible.

Baking is a detailed chemical process that cannot be messed with. As cookbook author and Food Network star, Alton Brown, shared in his book I’m Just Here for More Food, “Standard everyday cooking is relatively forgiving. Baking is rarely so. In fact, baked goods are a great deal like cars: You can change the wheel covers, put in new mats, and change out the stereo, but if you’re going to mess around under the hood, you’d better know what you’re doing or you may wind up taking the bus.”

Banana muffins are no exception so when on the quest to clean up recipes and add-in nutrition, precise details cannot be dismissed! It’s best to stick to preexisting baking recipes and only swap similar ingredients like chocolate chips for nuts and seeds or yogurt for coconut milk yogurt, for example. This banana muffin recipe is a tweak of a vegan recipe passed along many years ago. The muffins are gluten free, diary free and can be egg free and nut free if you choose! They qualify to be justified as the fruit and whole grain portion of a balanced plate and are an awesome lunchbox staple and pre workout fuel! Don’t forget to find the potato masher before getting started!

Staple Banana Muffins

By Audrey Byker Health Coach

-Makes 24-30 standard muffins

6 average sized ripe bananas, mashed(not extra large)

1 cup coconut sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

2 tsp pure almond extract(omit for nut free)

2 tsp sea salt

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

3 cups oat flour

1 cup chocolate chips, diary free

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Prepare muffin tin with regular muffin liners. 

Add bananas, sugar and eggs to large bowl and mash with potato masher until combined.  Add coconut oil and mix again.  Add all remaining dry ingredients and fold together just until combined. Dish batter into muffin liners 3/4 of the way full(two small cookie dough scoops work great).  Bake in preheated oven for 18-20  min or until center is set. Eat as soon as cooled or store in airtight container up to 6 days at room temperature.