There’s a tree in our front yard. Every year, a late bloomer.

All the other trees in the neighborhood are standing tall and proud, showing their flowers to everyone. Some trees are in the next stage of clinging to the last flowers which are peeking through the new fresh leaves that come after. The real fast ones have already lost all their flowers and boast a totally green top by now. Even smaller and younger trees show off with a head full of flowers.

But our tree is always the last one to show its buds. And when his flowers finally pop open, there aren’t plenty of them. Just a few flowers scattered here and there on each of his branches.

In addition to all that, I think he had a rough time lately, probably in the winter. I noticed a few weeks ago that he is leaning towards the ground. He might have lost grip to his roots and looks like he is about to fall down. But even though, he has his flowers again this spring.

We love our tree nonetheless and we don’t mind at all having to wait longer to enjoy his beauty.

So we had him tied up and grounded for support. I believe he will get back on his feet and stand tall again.

Just like a person. 
 

Roasted root vegetables

I learned to make this salad when I worked at Vios restaurant in Seattle. This is a very easy recipe to make. Peeling and chopping the vegetables might be a bit time consuming, but worth every second. The flavor is amazing, served hot, warm, or cold.

Makes 6-8 servings

1 onion
2 turnips
2 rutabagas
2-3 parsnips
4-6 carrots
2 garlic cloves, chopped small
a few sprigs of thyme, leaves picked, divided
a splash of extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Black pepper, freshly ground

Preheat the oven to 350-375 F degrees.

Peel all the vegetables. Dice the onion, turnips and rutabagas into medium size chunks. Slice the parsnips* and carrots lengthwise and cut into long pieces. Toss with half the thyme, garlic, salt, pepper, and oil.

* With the parsnips, remove the inner woodsy core.

Roast until  lightly browned and caramelized, about 30-40 minutes. Season more if needed, and add the rest of the fresh thyme.

NOTE: If you want to be absolutely sure that all the vegetables are cooked to perfection (because they have different textures, cooking times may vary), roast each one in a separate pan.

Categories : Fall and Winter, Recipes, Salads, Side dishes and Vegetables