Oh My Turnips!

Since it is too hot right now to do anything else, I figured I would write about my adventure with turnips. So far, I have gotten two boxes with turnips. I am pretty sure that I have never eaten them before, so I was eager to try them out.

I started with a suggestion from my mom. First, peel the turnips. Then coat them in olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette (not as easy as it seems, since they separate... or maybe that's just me). Sprinkle with salt, pepper and rosemary to taste, then bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes (or until tender... some of my bigger turnips could have used a few more minutes in the oven). The outcome:

I served up two bowls when it was done. The husband gave me a resounding "no" after one bite (I can't win them all!). I liked the pieces that had more vinaigrette on them, but I can't say that I would want to eat them all the time. The bitter flavor (I think that is what it is... it is hard to say) was a bit strong for me. 

So, when they came in the next box, I tried again. This time, I wanted to eat them raw, so I tried this: Grated Turnip and Apple Salad. It was pretty labor intensive, for a small amount of food. I think if I were to try it again, I would shred the turnip and apple, because it because a strange applesauce looking creation, rather than a salad. I am not ashamed to admit it either: I googled the difference between grating and shredding. FYI, grating is little pieces that sometimes turns powdery (like parmesan cheese), and shredding is larger pieces, if you ever need that in the future. 

So this is how the salad turned out:

I let it chill for about thirty minutes, then had it with my dinner (including a strawberry, blueberry, banana, spinach and kale-from-my-box smoothie, which was delicious!). Again, I was not really sold. Between the lemon juice and the turnips, it was extremely sour. Maybe I should have added more apple, but then again, it was tart green apples, so I am not sure if it would have helped. So, if you like sour, refreshing salads, you will probably like it. As for me, I will probably not have it again.

The verdict on turnips: I am not a huge fan. I will probably not seek them out in the future, but if they come in my share again, I won't give up on them. I am thinking if I don't try to eat them alone, and have them with other flavorful ingredients, I might have some success.

What is your favorite turnip-inclusive recipe? Don't forget that I welcome comments. And keep an eye out for another post soon... I am almost caught up!

Week 1 -- June 4th

Hello, readers! I am back and have my first recipe for you!

The picture above is of my first CSA share. It contained: salad, hakurai turnips, spring onions, sugar snap peas and bok choy. It had exactly what I was looking for; there were some items familiar and known to be delicious (salad and snap peas) and some unfamiliar ( bok choy and turnips). I ate the familiar raw and as snacks. There is nothing quite as wonderful as fresh pea pods. 

The onions I still haven't used ( at risk of being wasteful) because neither the husband nor I really like them. I have an issue with the texture, but I know more will come as the season goes on, so I am searching out ways to use them. My sister has suggested pureeing them. We will see what I come up with. 

And now to the main feature of this post --- BOK CHOY! This is a veggie that if youn asked me what it even looked like before I got this box, I would have had no clue. Being thus completely clueless, I asked for some help. My wonderful, personal chef friend recommended this recipe: Spicy Beef with Shrimp and Bok CHOY

She made it the week before and told me to use the whole head ( is that what it is called?), stalks and all. I used the recipe pretty much exactly, but with one big change. I don't eat much seafood, so I left out the shrimp. It could be a good addition and dimension to those who like it. 

The bok choy was easy to use. It is a little hard to wash thoroughly, but I would recommend cutting off the bottom of the bunch, then washing out any dirt that collected there. 

Here is the result:

I poured (dumped?) mine over rice. I bought rice noodles, but my timing, as always in cooking, was off. I was delicious anyway. 

My verdict about bok choy: I like the mild flavor. It was a good addition without overpowering the whole stir fry. I was a little disturbed by how much it looks like, but doesn't taste like, celery. The flavor most reminded me of pea pods (which is probably why I liked it so much in stir fry). 

I love bok choy and I can't wait to try it in more recipes. It was the first new veggie I tried, and definitely started this whole experiment off with a bang! If you have a favorite bok choy recipe, please share! 

Next post: the saga of the turnip --- coming soon! 

My Summer of CSA

I am challenging myself this summer. In this challenge, I am going to use new, fresh, local ingredients to cook new recipes and try to be healthier. To do this, I bought a CSA.

I have had lots of people ask, "What is a CSA?" So, I figure that is a good place to start. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. It allows the common person (like me) to buy a share into a local farm. In exchange for making this purchase up front, the farmer provides the person with a box of fresh produce each week (at least in my case). This benefits the farmer (they get money up front to put into the farm, and they can sell the shares during the off season) and it benefits the CSA shareholder (they get yummy, fresh produce on a regular basis). This website explains it a little better: http://www.localharvest.org/csa/ 

In addition to what I mentioned before, I also get the added bonus of trying new foods! Anybody who knows me, knows that I am probably the least adventurous eater in the entire universe. I have bought non-traditional CSAs before where I got coupons to spend at the farm's stand each week. This seemed like a great plan until I realized that when I was in control, I wouldn't buy ANYTHING I wasn't familiar and comfortable with. So this year, I decided to go completely traditional and get prepacked boxes from the farm of my choice. That way, I am forced to try these new vegetables, which is exactly what I need.

I picked Around the Table Farm. They have the prettiest, most varied stand at the market every week (even in the middle of the winter; it is amazing!). The owners are also extremely nice. If you live in the Poulsbo area, check them out at the market.

To the purpose of this blog: I want to share my adventure this summer. I am not pretending to be an amazing cook or extremely creative when it comes to cooking. I feel like I am already learning so much through this experience, and want to share it with others.

I also have an ulterior motive. I am going to encounter lots of new veggies with which I am not familiar, and I will need suggestions for how to use them. Feel free to comment and share what you know!

Happy reading!