Burdock Root, My First Time

Well, why not? You only live once! As I once confessed to all of you, my two vices are shoes and cookbooks. These days, I’m favoring the later. Cheaper, and always a comfort, the latest impulse buy (the Coop knows what’s it’s doing… cookbooks are right where everyone waits in line) was The Flexitarian Table, by Peter Berley. Perfect! Entertaining these days is a challenge on many fronts. One friend can’t tolerate dairy, another doesn’t eat meat or poultry and my pocketbook prefers more vegetables than anything. Flexitarian sounds like ‘one size fits all’.

Peter Berely’s definition:

Flex·i·tar·i·an (n) 1. A person who is mainly a vegetarian but who occasionally eats fish or meat. 2. Someone who is not a vegetarian but enjoys meatless meals.

So, where were we? Burdock! (almost forgot) This root is destined for an ‘Autumn Stew’ and will keep company with some winter squash, mushrooms, ginger, carrots and celery. AND, because I always do as I am told (as in on page 256), I looked for a root that was firm and no more than 1 inch at the thickest part. I’m going to scrub the dickens (not a direct quote) out of this root (which, by the way, is full of antioxidants) with a stiff brush in a basin of cold water. Apparently our burdock root is a member of the daisy family, which is something to think about when it’s freezing outside and definitely not sandal weather!