On 22 December a supermarket delivery came. I bought Christmas food. I bought meat and vegetables. The vegetables were potatoes, carrots, parsnips and Brussels sprouts.

When I lived in Japan, I didn't know what parsnips were.　　Parsnips are white and long. They are also called white carrots.

I put the delivery food in the fridge one by one. There were lots of parsnips - four 500g bags? Too many. I looked at my phone and checked. It wasn't a supermarket mistake. I made a mistake and bought four.

I only need one bag of parsnips for Christmas cooking and my fridge is already full. So I am eating parsnips every day. Parsnips are a bit like gobo (burdock root), a vegetable used in Japanese cooking. It is delicious when stir-fried with soy sauce and mirin. I also make soup from a British recipe. I fry parsnips and apples in butter and then smooth them out in a blender. A white soup with a gentle flavour. It was delicious.