Parsnip Cake with Goat Cheese Frosting

Why not parsnips? This little known vegetable has been around since time began... well, maybe not that long but it was one of the first cultivated veggies. There is nothing wrong with this new-old discovery so much as it has been sandwiched in the wrong category. I say it is not a savory veggie!! All the recipes I have found for parsnips are savory- that is so wrong!!

The other day, I was experimenting with this little wonder, roasting it along with carrots and broccoli. When I pulled my dish from the oven, all I smelled was a delicious sweet baked good. Where did that come from? The parsnip! The parsnip was created to be a desert!

I knew parsnip's glory was a parsnip cake. Last weekend I tried my theory. I tested it on friends... we had a get together and I made two cakes. Below are the recipe's used including the original from my sister in law- KIM's Jumping Bean Carrot Cake recipe.
(Thank you Kim! Kim! Kim!)

The original Carrot Cake Recipe: Kim's Jumping Bean Carrot Cake
2 eggs
3/4 cups oil
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 lb shredded carrots
Beat wet ingredients, slowly add dry
Fold in carrots and walnuts
bake 350- 1 hour ( this is a high altitude recipe)

The Parsnip Cake Experiments: ( add or substituted in the 2nd cake)
2 eggs
1/4 cup chia gel
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup turbinado sugar or (1 cup coconut sugar)
1 1/4 spelt flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts (plus 1/2 cup raisins)
1/2 lb shredded parsnips (about 2.5 cups) (shredded and then food processed for smaller size)
follow above cooking directions- At low altitude the cake was done way before 1 hour was up


Goat cheese frosting
5 oz soft goat cheese
3 oz whipped cream cheese
2 tbl soft butter
1 tsp vanilla
For sweetness you can either add 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 3 tbl honey
or for a naturally sweet frosting on my second cake. I added a combo of honey, maple syrup, and rice syrup.
Whip with a mixer until nice a fluffy!!
Top cake with frosting when cake is nice a cool.

Chia seed gel: in case you missed my earlier blog

Mix 6 tbl spoons chia seed with a quart of water. Make sure you shake and stir while it is setting up. After the mixture turns to a gel- about 30 minutes, you can use this chia seed get to substitute for 1/2 your oils in baking. In the parsnip cake experiments I only used 1/3 oil substitution but I think I could have easily used 1/2 substitution.

Hope you enjoy!!!! It was good desert for a party and we also enjoyed our cake for breakfast the next morning:) If you try it, let me know what you think... unless you didn't like it in which case try another veggie:)

As always, wishing you a healthy and happy home,
Denise

How do you define prosperity?

Can you feel more prosperous than a well stocked pantry? Perhaps, but tonight I went shopping and had this feeling of joyful contentment as I emptied out my grocery bags. How lucky are we to be able to fill up our pantry!

Doesn't it feel good to have all the necessities along with special treats at your disposal? Currently, our pantry is stocked with forbidden rice, coconut sugar, mung beans, green tea with toasted brown rice, raw cocoa powder, real vanilla, ground organic cinnamon, roasted laver with grape seed oil and oh so much more.

Of course, letting someone in on the contents of one's pantry is very personal. But I would not know about coconut sugar if my sister hadn't told me about it. I got a recipe for raw cocoa and avocado pudding at Marlene's market. The green tea with toasted brown rice is one of my personal favorites at a sushi restaurant we frequent and the forbidden rice I read about in a book. Sharing fun and creative finds is what friends are for. If you have any delicious discoveries in your pantry pass them along.

Prosperity can be measured by more than just money in the bank. It is a questions I'm asking myself today, how do I define prosperity? How do you define it?

As always, wishing you a healthy and happy home,
Denise Frakes
Co-Owner of Blue Sky Services
Certified healthy home specialist

Day of Epiphanies!!!!

Happy Epiphany Day! This little holiday often goes unnoticed after all the hoopla of the past month's holidays. Starting in Thanksgiving we are filled with holiday cheer and or perhaps longer to do lists. After the new year begins, it feels like we should get back to focus and start the new year with a powerful resolution to create a spectacular year.

This year I have given myself two little goals or as I call them practices for the new year: write and pause. I often find myself jumping into the future and reliving the past. When all I really desire is to appreciate and enjoy each day to its fullest.

How can I learn to stay grounded in the day at hand? This is a questions I have pondered over many year's resolutions. This year, I'm taking a bit of my own cleaning advice and applying the less is more principle. My two little practice are so simple but as in cleaning, it is the consistency and thoughtfulness that makes for a healthy and happy home.

Even though my to do list is long this time of year, given it is the start of the our new fiscal year in business. I take a moment and pause, pausing on the little holiday known as Epiphany Day. I take a moment to write, writing on the gift of discoveries.

In the Dictionary there are 3 definitions of Epiphany but my favorite is the 3rd and since this is my blog, it is also the one I'm going to write out. Hope you enjoy the Epiphanies of your new year!!

Epiphany:
a. A sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something.
b. An intuitive grasp of reality through something (as an event) usually simple and striking.
Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary

This may the best holiday of the new year!!

As always wishing you a healthy and happy home!
Denise Frakes
Healthy Home Specialist and
Co-Owner of Blue Sky Services