Assessing January's Recipes AND Parsnip Pecan Muffins

It's the final evening of January 2012 and I have stuck to my New Years resolution so far. During the month of January, I've tried 10 new recipes.

Here's how I rate each:

Overnight Chai Steel Cut Oats - Good stuff!

White Bean Burger- Good, especially with Dijon mustard

Chickpea and Date Tagine- A keeper!

Overnight Oatmeal with Spices, Dates and Pecans- I'm eating it all the time!

Rice Pudding- Tasty

Vegetarian Pot Pie- wonderful comfort food

Tofu Scramble- I'll definitely make this many more times.

Pineapple Tofu Fried Rice- Fail

Sweet Potato Soup- This recipe needs to be modified

Parsnip Pecan Muffins- I'll be making these for many years to come!

I surprised myself by trying so many new recipes, and hope that I can continue to exceed my expectations. I've been reminded that my tastes in food are very different from most (a coworker told me he didn't like the overnight oatmeal), I've used more cinnamon and vanilla than ever before, and I've unintentionally influenced my boyfriend to eat more like a vegetarian. Experimental vegetarian blog = success!

Now, let's talk about my newest recipe! I have never done much with parsnips. I tried growing them during one of my first seasons as a farmer and didn't have much luck. I was trying to grow them in Northern New York's hard clay soils and they were skinny, gnarled, and totally unappealing. Since I couldn't grow them, I didn't eat them. Parsnips fell off my radar.

Looking through a folder of recipes I've collected, I found a magazine clipping from 1997 - my first year of farming- for Parsnip Muffins. I'm amazed that I've been carting this recipe around for 15 years without ever having tried it. A few years, ago someone gave me a piece of parsnip cake to try at a farmers market and it was delicious. The memory of that slice of cake, combined with my bewilderment at this 15- year -old magazine clipping led to tonight's baking experience.

These muffins are easy to make, delicious, and moist. I've never made a carrot cake (a bit of foreshadowing?), but there are definite similarities.

I'm sure there are many variations that could be explored (vegan, gluten-free, frosted, or savory versions) but this recipe is a nice treat.

Parsnip Pecan Muffins

2 cups all purpose white flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups grated parsnips (3 large or 4 medium sized)

1/2 cup raisins

2 large egg whites

1 large egg

1/2 cup apple sauce

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract

2 Tbsp. finely chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 375. Lightly oil 12 muffin cups or coat with nonstick spray.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in parsnips and raisins.

3. In a smaller bowl, whisk egg whites, egg, apple sauce, oil, and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients until entire mixture is moistened.

4. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups; sprinkle muffin tops wtih nuts. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until tops spring back when lightly pressed.

Makes 1 dozen muffins