My last weekend of homework for the Natural Kitchen Cooking School is quite bittersweet. This weekend of recipes was titled “Kitchen Pharmacies” and focused around home remedies and other great-for-you foods.

An interesting dish that I never made or tried before attending this culinary program was kinpira style vegetables, which is a Japanese style of cooking. Our kinpira veggies were based on carrots and burdock, but since I couldn’t find any burdock in my local markets, I substituted it for parsnips. I cut the carrots and parsnips into matchsticks and sauteed them according to our instructions. This was a simple dish garnished with some black sesame seeds.

I enjoyed the dish and found it best when served hot. More spices or liquids could have been added to make it more flavorful, but overall it was enjoyable. Considering the hardiness of the veggies involved, I think this would be a great dish in the fall as well.

This recipe gets 3 out of 5 carrots on my veganlicious scales!