Fiddlehead Soup

I grew up in Tide Head, New Brunswick - the self-proclaimed fiddle head capital of the world. The bag of fiddle heads in this week's share brings me on a trip down memory lane. As a child growing up in Northern New Brunswick, a visit to our secret picking spot was always part of the spring ritual. I love mine boiled with a dab of butter. Hubby isn't quite so fond of these greens. This soup recipe from my mom is a great alternative. You can adjust the recipe depending on the amount of fiddleheads you have on hand. I think we posted this last year, but I thought it couldn't hurt to post again (:

4 cups fiddleheads
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, chopped - about 1 cup
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon flour
3 or 4 cups chicken broth
1 potato, peeled and diced
1 cup light cream or milk (I usually just use chicken broth and no milk)

Cook fiddleheads in boiling salted water until just tender, then drain and reserve

Melt the butter in the pot you are making the soup in
Saute the onions until softened
Sprinkle flour in pan, mix in and cook for 1 minute
Gradually stir in the chicken stock and bring to a boil
Add diced potato, reduce heat and cook covered for 5 minutes or till softened
Add the fiddleheads and continue to simmer until the vegetables are soft.

Working in batches in a blender, pure the mixture
Return to pot and add milk if desired.

Note: To add a decorative touch, save a few whole fiddleheads for a garnish. Put a little swirl of cream or plain yogurt on top of the individual bowl of soup and place a fiddlehead on top of the swirl.

Use-up zucchini bread

I can't remember if I posted this recipe last summer or not, but given the frozen zucchini coming in the box this week, I thought I'd re-post.

Most zucchini bread recipes call for far more sugar and oil than is healthy, and only a cup or so of grated zucchini – which is about half a large zucchini, if that. So I’ve adapted this from my favourite banana bread recipe. Look mom, no fat!

2 cups grated zucchini

¾ cups white sugar

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in sugar. Add zucchini and milk. Mix thoroughly. Grease or spray a loaf pan; cook for one hour or until a toothpick inserted into the thickest part comes out dry.

Spinach & Basil Pesto

After enjoying the last of our Parsnip & Apple soup, the beautiful bag of Taproot spinach was calling my name! Usually we use spinach in salads, smoothies, or on sandwiches, but Saturday morning at the Farmer's Market we stumbled upon some lovely basil. I thought pairing it with the spinach and a few other yummies would make a divine pesto!

This pesto is a bit un-traditional in that it uses miso instead of salt. Miso is a great source of beneficial enzymes. It also makes use of rice vinegar rather than lemon juice and nutritional yeast (an inactive yeast) rather than parmesan cheese. Nutritional Yeast is a great source of B Vitamins! Combined with the amazing Taproot spinach - this is the superhero of pesto's!

Spinach & Basil Pesto

5 oz. spinach
1.5 oz basil
3 oz. pinenuts
2-4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. Rice Vinegar
2 tsp. Light Miso ("light" refers to the colour and the bean/grain which the miso is made from)
1/3 Cup nutritional yeast

Start by toasting the pine nuts a little bit in a pan on the stove.

It really does make a difference in the flavour. They should be just a wee bit darker and you'll be able to smell the nutty-goodness.

Into your food processor, add the spinach (you may need to pulse it a few times to get the spinach volume to go down to make room for the other ingredients).

Then add the basil (again you may need to process a bit).

Then add the pine nuts, miso, rice vinegar, and nutritional yeast. Pulse a few times until everything looks more cohesive. Then, with the processor running, go ahead and add the olive oil in a slow, steady stream. You may not need all 4 Tablespoons.

You will probably have to stop and scrape down the sides of the processor a few times. When it is a beautiful Spring green, and everything is combined, you're ready! We love it on pizza, it's also great with pasta, grains, and you can even combine a few Tablespoons with some soy yogurt (or dairy yogurt for those who eat dairy) and have a lovely dip for vegetables and crudites! Enjoy!

Parsnip & Apple Soup with Cilantro

I thought I would share my first Taproot experience with you. Ascenta rejoiced when we discovered that our boxes had arrived yesterday!!!

Parsnip& Apple Soup with Cilantro
Step 1: Shamelessly photographing new vegetable loves.
Step 2: Simmering away on the stove, filling the house with the sweetest scent!
Step 3: Pureed a’la VitaMix (oh so silky smooth!) and posing alongside cousin roots.

Thanks for box #1 – we’re already dreaming of next week!

Parsnip & Apple Soup with Cilantro



1 Tbsp Coconut Oil

1 ½ lbs apples (weight before peeling & coring), peeled, cored and cut into chuncks

1 ½ lbs parsnips (weight before trimming), trimmed, cleaned and cut into chuncks

1 medium sized onion, chopped

1 Tbsp cilantro, chopped

2 Cups organic vegetable broth (prefereably homemade)

2 Cups water

1 Tbsp White Wine

Melt oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add apples, parsnips, onion, cilantro and wine and sauté until slightly softened, about 12 minutes. Add broth & water and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until apples and parsnips are tender, about 35-40 minutes.

Puree soup in blender in batches. Return puree to pot. Thin with more broth if desired. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Re-warm over medium heat before continuing.) Season soup with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls. Garnish with more cilantro or sautéed apple slices. Serve! Be nourished!

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