Celery Root....YUMM!

Today I cooked a bulb of celery root. I was very much embarrassed to have to ask a Publix employee what/where is celery root. When the sweet old man showed me the celery root I was immediately skeptical. He handed me a ball of root and dirt. I understand celery, it's clean and green and it looks like it might be edible. I will pay money for celery. But! to CHARGE me money for what looks like the "throw-away" part of celery...that's just crazy. However, the recipe called for celery root so celery root is what I bought.

But, that was today and since I haven't posted in a few I must back track and reveal all relevant and interesting? things that occurred in the house of W. (W is simply the first letter of my last name...nothing special about W.)

We've been busy. On Tuesday I did my weekly grocery shopping. In order to save money I divided my shopping up between the 3 local grocery stores (Walmart, Publix and Kroger) based on the sales fliers in the Sunday paper. I was able to get the best deals at each of the three stores and hopefully saved some money. Hopefully it was enough money to off-set the additional gas I used in my "government re-named "clunker" vehicle."

While I did my shopping Tyler was at school. After picking him up, I tried to get some info out of him about his school day but he quickly cut me off saying, "Mommy, I'm just too tired to talk to you anymore."

Tuesday afternoon I didn't even give Lauren a chance to tell me about her school day because within 10 minutes of her getting off the bus we were dressed and on our way to her ballet/tap class.

Back at home I made the following for dinner:

Salmon with basil/mint/parsley green sauce, rice and potatoes.

((Seared Fish w/ Crispy Potatoes & Green Sauce (Everyday Food, September 2009))

It was pretty simple and pretty good. It got a solid "Check."

Today there was a package waiting for us when Lauren got home from school. It was addressed to both Lauren and Tyler. L & T immediately dug into the box to discover their surprise. It contained a wrapped presents for each of them. The note indicated it was in celebration of their first days of Pre-school and Kindergarten/loss of first teeth.

Here they are saying "Thank you Grandma Jan and Grandpa Michael!"

They each got a book, a puzzle and lots of candy.
We'll be reading the books tonight before bed.

After presents it was time for Lauren's homework.
This week she is to write her first name 3 times and the numbers 1-5 two times.
Her official homework is due on Friday but we still practice everyday.
(today I helped her with the direction of her "3"s.)Everyday we also practice her "sight words"
Sight words: a, red, play, yellow, can, blue, green, my.
She is able to read/recognize the words when I show her the flash cards but every day we have her write them out too.
(she awards herself with stickers...even left-over football draft stickers.)

And I believe this brings us back to the dreaded to cook but surprisingly pleasant tasting Celery Root. It was actually very good and hard to tell apart from the potatoes. It had the consistency and look of potatoes but the sweet taste of squash.

Roast Beef and Celery Root with Watercress Salad

Everyday Food magazine; September 2009

ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs top round roast

coarse salt and ground pepper

6 T. olive oil

2 t. fresh thyme leaves

2 medium bulbs celery root (2 lbs total,) peeled

3/4 lb red new potatoes, halved if large (I used regular baking potatoes and cut them into 1/8s)

1 T. fresh lemon juice

1 t. white-wine vinegar

1 large bunch watercress (10 oz,) trimmed

directions:

1. Remove roast from refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using kitchen twine, tie beef at 1 1/2 inch intervals (I didn't tie the beef...we had no twine or kite string in the house;) pat dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper.

2. In a large pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil on high. Brown roast all over, 9 minutes. Place on a rimmed baking sheet; sprinkle with thyme. Reserve half of one celery root for Roast Beef Sandwiches; cut remainder into 1 1/2 inch chunks. In a bowl, toss celery root and potatoes with 2 tablespoons oil. Season with salt and pepper; add to sheet. Roast until beef is medium-rare, about 40 minutes (an instant-read thermometer inserted in center should register 125 degrees.) Mine read about 160 degrees after 40 minutes...might want to cook a bit less. Transfer beef to a cutting board; tent with foil. Let rest 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, whisk together lemon juice, vinegar, and 2 tablespoons oil; season dressing with salt and pepper. Save a handful of watercress for sandwiches; toss remainder with dressing. Reserve one-third the beef for sandwiches; slice remainder. Serve beef and vegetables with salad.

Serves 4; Prep Time: 15 min. Total Time: 1 1/4 hour