Parsnips and shows

I made a parsnip soup last night. I guess parsnips aren't popular with anybody except me and Didi Emmons, a cookbook author who eats them raw, like carrots :) It was very good, though D declined to try it. If you're interested in trying it, you saute 1 c chopped onions in 2 T olive oil, then add 1 or 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1/2 t fennel seeds, and 3/4 t garam masala. (You can leave out the fennel seeds if you really want, but I think they add to it.) Saute for 2 min longer, then add 1 lb peeled, chopped parsnips and 3 c water. Simmer for 30 min, covered. Then add 3/4 c white wine and simmer for 10 min, uncovered. Blend everything together in batches in a food processor or blender, and serve with parsley if you are so inclined. (The recipe is from Vegetarian Planet by Didi Emmons.)

I'm reading 13 Ways of Looking at the Novel by Jane Smiley. I'm only about 20 pages in, but I have 2 impressions:

1) She is very intellectual.
2) She relishes big, meaty projects.

In this book, for example, she reads a hundred novels - and discusses them each in detail. But she doesn't start discussing the books until she's on page 270; up until then, she muses about the novel as a form. It is interesting, but it will probably take me a while.

Anyway, did anyone see The New Adventures of Old Christine last night? As D says, it's a difficult title. But it was funnier than I expected. My nose was out of joint because they were showing it instead of How I Met Your Mother, which always makes me laugh. I feel slightly guilty for liking the interloper, but hopefully Mother will return to its slot soon. (P.S. How I Met Your Mother will be back on March 20th. Woo!)

And...I think I'm starting to like Grey's Anatomy better than Desperate Housewives. Desperate is starting to seem cartoonish, though my neighborhood is a good place to watch it. At one bar, you can even get a $5 "desperate cocktail". (Not that I have.) But Grey's is really involving.