— Linda Ellis

Wow. Okay. Um, so, uh, guidelines for buying, um, the guidelines for buying produce are gonna be generally the same, okay. Uh, you know, look for, for, uh, items that are, um, relatively heavy for their size, okay? Which means that the moisture content is high, uh, which means that it probably hasn't been sitting around for an excessively long time. And, and, uh, and dehydrated. Okay? Also, um, ideally, you're gonna find items that have, uh, minimal blemishes, uh, on the surface, I, I'm, I'm not, um, always a proponent of, of pristine produce. You know, I, I think that, um, uh, we should just be using whatever produce we have access to. But, but clearly if things, um, um, have some mold or little spots of, of rot, uh, due to, um, maybe some mishandling, um, or, you know, improper storage, this sort of thing that, um, you know, maybe we, we skip over those things. Um, and then, um, yeah, you know, par a parsnip is a root vegetable, and so you can use that just as you would carrots. Um, and, uh, uh, as a, as a place to start. Okay? Uh, parsnips have a lot of sweetness to 'em, uh, but they have a very distinct flavor. And, um, so, uh, they're often blended, uh, with other items in order to, to balance that intense aroma and flavor that, uh, uh, that, that they come with. Uh, you can, uh, oven roast parsnips, you can turn them into a puree, you know, in which case, again, you might blend it with some other thing, like a potato, or it could be carrots or, or some other root vegetable. Um, and they just start out with that, um, and see how you like it. Uh, and, you know, you don't have to add any sugar root, uh, uh, they're, they're, they're pretty, pretty sweet. And, um, uh, uh, again, using herbs and spices and other ingredients to build up the flavor, you know, uh, garlic and onions, um, and, and, and so on and so forth. Um, try out, you know, soups and, and, and, uh, roasted, uh, vegetable salads and, or even just roasted vegetables on the side and see how you like those things. Um, dressings right to coat some of these items, um, to finish, um, can really tailor, uh, an item in a certain direction or another. Okay. And, uh, rhubarb, rhubarb, uh, in my experience, has a lot of, uh, uh, sourness to it. And, um, you know, in order to, um, to be, uh, balanced, uh, it, it, it often is paired with, uh, sugar. Um, I don't have any low sugar recommendations off the top of my head, but I'd imagine if you look online, uh, you're gonna find plenty of ways to, um, handle rhubarb, or at least to get you started. And, um, and see how you like it. Uh, you can, it is all, all up to you to adjust the sugar to suit whatever situation, um, you know, uh, you are in, in terms of sugar intake. Um, but give it a try. And it's all about, um, you know, as you say, getting to know these unfamiliar ingredients, but then also developing your knowledge for handling these things, you know, in particular situations.