We'll be the first to admit it, parsnips are kind of weird.

In summertime, a week will go by and we'll realize that apart from the odd slice of salami we've been subsisting on all those great warm-weather vegetables, plus pasta and bread. But on a cold day, meat has greater appeal.

I made these curry-spiced parsnip and sweet potato fries on a whim one chilly afternoon.

In the kitchen, you can certainly replace parsnips for carrots in many recipes for a milder, more subtle result. For roasting and mashing, however, parsnips are interchangeable with root vegetables from the Brassica family like turnips and rutabagas. But enough about substitution -- it's the parsnip's turn to shine.