Fair And Balanced

There are still some parsnips and burdock left in the garden, and I'm trying to dig them up before they expend all their stored deliciousness sending up too many new leaves. Having protected and watched all these plants all winter, it's amazing to see them switch from survival mode to explosive spring growth and flowering so quickly. Kind of like a hyper-accelerated parenthood, but where you eat the kids when they reach puberty. Next year I think I'll have a better handle on timing and quantities, but this time was pretty successful; there's food in the garden and it will last until the new arrivals are big enough to take over.

So tonight it was parsnips, since Christine bought a big local grass-fed sirloin tip; I steamed them and puréed them with yogurt, vanilla, and a drop of truffle oil. The garlic chive butter/oil worked so well that I made more, adding mustard as well so that the result was sort of a beurre de maitre d'-mustard combination that I figured would be great with steak. I seasoned the meat with salt, pepper, garam masala, garlic, and herbs, then vacuum-sealed it and cooked it sous vide for 90 minutes at 54˚C. On the side, leftover sweet potato "noodle" salad and more grated root pickles (the horseradish makes it another great steak garnish.) We also had a salad of butter lettuce that I planted in November I think and is getting really nice right now. We drank a 2005 Givry by Chofflet-Valdenaire. I also sautéed a few ramps in the iron pan after I seared the cooked steak in it, but they're not in the picture.