Par-snippety Parsnips: Fun Facts
10 FUN FACTS ABOUT PARSNIPS
Parsnips are a recent discovery for me–and only because I published a picture book in 2016 called Once Upon a Parsnip! When I wrote the story, it was just the word I liked, and the way it rolled off the tongue with “Once Upon a…” I had never actually eaten a parsnip until a friend cooked up a batch of apple-parsnip soup and served it at a luncheon. De-lish! (The recipe is included in Once Upon a Parsnip.) After the manuscript became an actual book I could hold in my hands, I decided I needed to learn a little more about this par-snippety root vegetable.
Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater
10 FUN FACTS ABOUT PUMPKINS
Like summer squash, the winter squashes–among them pumpkins–are identified by botanists as a fruit and by cooks as a vegetable. Technically, pumpkins are fruit–fleshy vessels that hold the seeds of the plant.
For our purposes, though–since we’re focused more on food than science here (not that they aren’t very closely related!)–and because in their raw state, pumpkins are more savory than sweet, we’re calling them veggies.
Read moreSummer Squash vs. Winter Squash
A QUICK QUIZ ABOUT COUSINS: SUMMER & WINTER SQUASH
Do your kids know the ways that summer squash and winter squash are different? It’s not as easy as it sounds!
Here’s a fun quiz to see how well they (and you!) know your way around squash. The answers contain explanations and additional information.
QUESTIONS
1. Which picture shows summer squash and which shows winter squash?
Read morePair a Pear with Facts & Fun!
10+ FUN FACTS ABOUT PEARS (WITH 2 PEAR-FECT VIDEOS)
I didn’t expect to find so many interesting facts about pears–not to mention crazy videos. (Google “pear nursery rhymes” for even more.) This delicious, nutritious fruit has one of the longest recorded histories of any food, and may even have been eaten in prehistoric times.
Here’s a list of the facts I most enjoyed learning. I’ll bet your kids will have fun with them too–if for no other reason than showing off to their favorite grown up!
Read moreZucca, Zucchini, Veggie Bambini!
10 FUN FACTS ABOUT ZUCCHINI
The title of this post is a bit of a misnomer. (See #10 below.) Your kids will enjoy learning these fun facts about zucchini and trying them out on their favorite grownup:
1. The world’s largest zucchini on record was 69-1/2 inches long and weighed 65 pounds! It probably didn’t taste that great–if anyone even tried to eat it–because…
2. When it comes to zucchinis, biggest is not best. The most flavorful zucchinis are small- to medium-sized.
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