World War II | The Rambling Epicure

Simon Says: Daily Food Quote, February 10, 2012

Published by Jonell Galloway + Friday, February 10, 2012 Permalink 0

by Simón de Swaan

The further I travel in search of the ideal slimming method the more I am convinced that food is one of the oldest and greatest comforters… a secret return to the womb…–Roy Andries de Groot

Baron Roy Andries de Groot was a British-born American culinary writer and wine critic. He was born in London, the son of a Dutch artist and a French noblewoman. During the 1930s, de Groot worked as a news and feature writer, film writer, and director. When World War II broke out, he joined the British Ministry of Information and worked for the BBC, where, during The Blitz of London, he suffered eye injuries that would leave him totally blind within 20 years.

Spontaneous Cuisine: Parsnip Velouté with Aged Mimolette Cheese

Published by Jonell Galloway + Thursday, December 15, 2011 Permalink 0

Itsy Bitsy History of the Parsnip

In the Middle Ages, Geneva was running over with parsnips, which they referred to as “white carrots”. It was almost always included in their “eternal pots” of soup, which consisted of seasonal vegetables that they just kept adding more vegetables to as needed, and a piece of meat once a week.

After World War II, many root vegetables went out of fashion in Europe, because people had had to survive on them and nothing else during the war, so farmers eventually stopped growing them. The same went for pumpkin. People in the north of France who had lived through the war and eaten pumpkin every day couldn’t bear the thought of eating pumpkin ever again.

In recent years, these old-fashioned vegetables, including parsnips, have again become available, and chefs are going crazy with new ideas on how to use them.

Parsnips are plentiful at the moment and there’s nothing better than soup to warm you up on a cold winter’s day. Eric Burkel, former financial analyst, entrepreneur and now president of his local food coop in Paris, got this recipe from one of the farmers who supplies vegetables to the coop.