rutabaga fries

Did I ever tell you about rutabaga hell week?

For a couple weeks in a row, I got a total of about 10 large rutabagas in my Abundant Harvest box. I wasn't sure that I was going to get along very well with rutabagas. I am not much of a turnip gal, and the rutabagas have the coloring of over-grown turnips, which made me pretty sure that they were going to tasted similar.

The first week I had rutabagas, I very carefully put them at the bottom of the crisper drawer and let them serve a prison sentence. The second week when I got more rutabagas, I realized that they weren't going anywhere unless I was willing to set them free. Mind you, the previous stash were happy and edible as you please, still living out their term in the refrigerator penitentiary. So now my inmate population had doubled, but my desire to reform them had not.

So, I decided to shred, dice, shop, and puree them into just about anything I could. They made a guest appearance diced into a broccoli and cauliflower salad, and they were shredded into cole slaw. They got mashed with some potatoes (and those potatoes themselves made two appearances on our table, once alone and once topping a Shepherd's Pie). They were added to a pot of stew. I was trying anything I could do to get myself and my family to eat the rutabagas without having to actually taste the rutabagas. One day, as we sat down to dinner, I was giggling silently to myself, as I noticed that there were three dishes on the table... and every single one of them had some rutabaga hidden in it!

Finally, I relented, stopped trying to hide the blessed things, and took the last two rutabagas and peeled and cut them and roasted them with a chicken. Rutabaga as rutabaga? It was a novel idea.

And it turns out, I like them! They're yummy!

Rutabagas are sweet and mild flavored. They take on their seasoning well... I have now roasted them with rosemary, thyme, and plain old salt and pepper, and I like them all.

I decided to go ahead and make some rutabaga "fries." I figured that my kids would be mush more likely to willingly try "fries" than they would be to try "roast rutabaga." Whether my logic was true or not, I am glad to report that all three kids cleaned their plates, and one even asked for seconds... and I did admit to them that they were eating rutabaga. Score one for the veggies!

The idea is the same as roasting any root vegetable... get the oven nice and hot, cut the rutabaga up (in this case, into sticks), and coat it with oil. I then sprinkled them with salt and pepper and laid them out on a baking sheet in a single layer.

I let the rutabaga roast for about 20 minutes, turned it all over, and then roasted it for another 20 minutes or so. Let it get nicely browned, then let it drain any excess oil onto a paper towel, and enjoy!

broccoli and cauliflower salad

There are those out there who declare that raw is the only way to eat vegetables, and that cooking anything means breaking it down and losing some of its nutritious value. I can't say I know much about that. I imagine it has a decent dose of validity to it, but I also know that breaking vegetables down might not necessarily be the worst thing possible. I also know that there are degrees of truth, and that the method and length of cooking makes a big difference.

What is important is that you eat your veggies. If you cooking them is what will make them appeal to you, by all means cook 'em up and enjoy them. If eating them raw seems better, eat them raw. Just make sure you are getting a good variety and a great amount of fruits and vegetables in your diet.

For myself, I have a pretty good balance. Obviously things like potatoes need to be cooked, most fruits are eaten raw, and plenty of other things are good both ways. Like broccoli. A few weeks ago I did a series of ten recipes for cooking broccoli. Today, though, let's keep the stove turned off and the oven cool.

This salad has become an old standby at my house. It keeps well in the fridge for a couple of days, so I can make a big batch and enjoy it for dinner, as well as the next couple of lunches. It is very easy to throw together, and has a great sweet and tart flavor. As soon as I saw that there was both broccoli and cauliflower in my Abundant Harvest box this week, I knew that this was going to be on the menu.

I have had an abundance of rutabagas lately, and I have been throwing one into just about everything I cook, including this salad. If you have one, feel free to throw it in. If not, don't even bat an eye. It's not intended to be there, and it won't be missed.

Broccoli and cauliflower salad
This salad is best if it can be made ahead and allowed to chill for a few hours. Try to plan ahead! (This also makes it great for dinner on a busy weeknight).

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 head broccoli, cut into florets
1 red onion, diced
1 small-medium rutabaga, diced (optional)
1/3 cup raisins
1/4 cup roasted salted sunflower seeds

Dressing:
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar

Chop all the veggies and toss together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Toss the salad with the dressing until evenly coated.

winter stew

My vegetables are telling me it's winter. They are coming up from underground, where the cold temperatures are helping them produce sugars, which make them nice and sweet and tasty.

The carrots I got this week were, by far, the very best carrots I have ever eaten in my life.

This week I got potatoes, rutabagas, beets, and carrots from under the ground. I also got a lot of other stuff, but for now let's talk about these bottom dwellers.

These root veggies just beg to be cooked slowly for a long time. They want to be roasted or stewed, releasing heat and aroma into the house for hours. It is just the thing you want for a long, cold, winter day,

Despite the fact that it has been rather warm and sunny here in southern Cali, I went ahead and made a stew.

It seems like the new trend (and by "new trend" I mean "back to the good old days") is to not use a recipe.

I have been reading quite a few cookbooks lately that actually provide very few recipes. They are centered on teaching the reader how to cook, rather than just giving measurements and instructions for one particular dish.

So, I decided to go ahead and give it a shot. After reading the chapter called "Stewing, Braising and Steaming" in the book Kitchen on Fire, I felt equipped curious to test their instructions, and to take my winter veggies and turn them into a stew. 

Plus, I have a whole bunch of chicken stock just begging to be used.

First, I went to the store to buy some stew meat. Although stew meat is usually the toughest (which is fine if you are going to stew it for a long time), and therefore the cheapest meat, I found that my market had tri-tip on sale for even cheaper than the stew meat, so I bought that.

I cut my pound of beef up into bite-sized chunks and browned it in a little bit of olive oil.

Once it was browned, I cut up my veggies and added them. I used, from this week's Abundant Harvest Box, three potatoes (peeled), two rutabagas (peeled), four carrots, one large leek, and one onion, all cut into bite-sized chunks.

I cooked this all on high for about 10 minutes, so everything could get a teeny bit browned and tasty. Then I added 3 cups of chicken stock and a small handful of fresh rosemary. Just before it started to boil, I reduced the heat and covered it, and let it simmer for about and hour and a half.

It turned out nice and sweet and delicious!