Soup and a side...

I made both my soup and my parsnips, so it was a positive cooking day.  I set a goal.  I achieved my goal.  And that goal was tasty!

For part of my soup recipe, I had to roast the bell peppers.  As I mentioned, I wanted to have the bell peppers for flavor, but I needed to figure out a way that I could tolerate them.  Last summer, some made a helpful observation:  all of my food dislikes are texture related.  Definitely, I care not for the crunch of onions and bell peppers.  I thought roasting would be the Happy Medium for this recipe—a way to change the texture of the ingredient so that I could use it, the way I have been doing with onions.

I lined the pan with foil, as directed.  But I don't really think that is necessary.

I roasted them for 45 minutes, not 35-40 minutes per the directions, and I rotated them three times, not once.

Here are my de-stemmed, de-seeded, peeled, and finely diced roasted bell peppers!  I wanted really small pieces so that 1) I wouldn't notice them as much and 2) they would be more evenly distributed in the soup.

Two hours into the cooking process, I put them in my Black Bean Soup with Roasted Bell Peppers.

Which, incidentally, you want to serve with a dollop of sour cream!

I also made my first parsnips recipe.  I had read that many folk do not use the center of the parsnip because of a slight bitterness, but several people advised to ignore that claim.  I did.  My parsnips were not bitter.

Cutting the parsnips and carrots took forever!  So, I didn't even use the whole amount that the recipe called for (a pound of each).  This is 12 ounces of each.

I ended up with four servings of Maple Roasted Carrots and Parsnips.  I confess that while I lowered the amount of vegetables, I left the proportions of the marinade alone.  I really, really, really like to sauce things up.  I also used fresh thyme instead of dry.  In my opinion, the extra marinade was just fine.  I did find the recipe title a bit odd ... for there is also thyme and stone ground mustard in the marinade, not just the real maple syrup.  The end result is more of a hearty sort of side dish, as opposed to the lightness of the Zesty Roasted Rutabaga and Carrots, which can be served cold.  They were not too sweet or too mustardy, though they were sort of tacky, like candy.  I really liked them.

Anyway, at the moment, six more servings of the soup and three servings of the parsnips and carrots are in my freezer.  The dishes are done.  Amos has tended to his major business.  I've had a shower.  And now we are languishing in the GREEN chair watching season four of Star Trek Voyager.