Time to inventory what’s in the pantry from last summer and fall and start using it up!  Last year was a bounty year for canning in my house, with a couple of adventures per month and sometimes more often. This year, I joined Tigress’s Can Jam and committed to canning something new each month using the featured ingredient. So I am right on track to have a larder full!  What I find challenging is using up certain types of food in jars — relishes, pickles and jams mostly. The salsas, canned tomatoes, sauces etc. easily become part of other dishes.

I typically associate relishes with meat. The curried corn relish that I make about every other year is terrific with chicken and pork. But I discovered today that it is also a perfect accompaniment to roasted parsnips. Who knew? I like to leave the long tails on the roots, since they offer a textural change from the more bulbous tops. In order to make them roast more evenly, I cut a long split in the fat end. Then they roast, sprinkled with a little olive oil and salt, at 375 degrees, turning once, for about 20 minutes. The tangy kick of the relish was a great foil to the creaminess of the parsnips.

Categories: PreservingTags: Preserving