Guest Blog: My Dear Friend Brooke, Her Family, and Her Favorite Way to Enjoy Turnips

I would like to introduce my dear friend Brooke. She has has been a friend of mine for at least 5 years. She has been a veggie box subscriber for as long as I have had veggie box subscribers. She has a great story to tell, and I am so proud to be a part of it!

Ok, I’ll admit it. After 30+ years of proudly refusing to eat my vegetables, I love kale. Turnips are delicious. Broccoli is cool. Asparagus is yum. Squashes are fun. Even chard is tasty.

How did I get here? What happened to me? Where did Miss Meat, Potatoes & Bread go? I blame Ashley Thomas and Tender Heart Farms.

I met Ashley years ago through her now wife Tarra, while we all volunteered for LGBT equality here in California. I’ve had the enjoyment of watching Ashley discover her true love, farming, and make her dream happen. Along the way, she subtly introduced me to the wonder of veggies. Here and there, she slipped me crispy pieces of kale, bowls of squash soup and more. But it wasn’t until she started the Tender Heart Farms veggie box that my life changed.

I was so proud to attend her graduation from farm school, and more than happy to help support her dream in return for a chance at eating healthier. At first, I was pretty apprehensive. I stuck to the things I knew – potatoes, lettuce & other salad stuff – and gave anything I didn’t know what to do with to my (literal) guinea pig.

But then I discovered the powers of garlic and olive oil. By their powers combined, everything became tasty! I got excited by my discovery, and started looking forward to experimental cooking. My boyfriend became my new guinea pig, and loved tasting my fun bacon/cabbage, miso/turnip and eggplant/zucchini dishes. In turn, he was inspired to build me a composter for all the leftover bits and pieces, reducing our garbage impact.

I still struggle sometimes, especially with beets (ugh), okra (how??) and peppers, but it’s always fun to see what comes in the box. I love seeing things I’ve never seen before (long beans! kohlrabi!) and searching the internet for fun recipe options. I’m still reluctant to cook anything with more than five ingredients, but I’m learning. And getting healthier. And helping both a young farmer and our awesome agricultural community! I heart Tender Heart, and you should too!

This is Brooke, her boyfriend, Keith, and their fur child: Bijou.

Duck snuggles at Tender Heart Farms!

More fur children: Murphy and Butters.

Butters and Brooke's very long foster project, Bran.

This week's recipe is one of Brooke's favorite ways to enjoy turnips.

Miso Braised Turnips

1 bunch turnips, halved and sliced like moons

1 TBS butter

Enough broth to cover in a saucepot

1 TBS miso paste

Melt butter and slightly brown turnips. Add broth slowly until turnips are covered. Cook on medium until most of the broth has evaporated, stirring often to avoid burning.

Variations:

-Add fried shallots

-Add crumbled bacon

-Add crumbled cheese like blue or parmesean

-Add other roots to the party: carrots, sweet potatoes, rutabega, celery root, parsnips, etc.

I am not superwoman- Recipe Dump: Radishes and Toast, Eggplant Curry, Pumpkin Puree and Pumpkin Pancakes!

I am not perfect. I am just as mortal as all of you, whether I believe it or not. Often, I don't beleive it, and act under the impression that I can work 60 hour weeks, keep house, keep a social life, engage in culinary projects like hot sauce, canning, sour dough starters, kombucha, take up plant breeding, knitting, attend church, keep up with what's current in popular literature, and everything to do with pinterest. Oh, and not get sick.

As you more sensible humans may know, this is not normal, attainable, sustainable, and down time spent in quiet is super important to mental and physical health. So, I am trying something radical- self love. I am trying to be kinder to myself. One of the things I let go is the blog. This beast takes me 3 hours a week to sit and write and countless hours thinking about what I am going to write about during the week. It is a labor of love really, but it was something I let slide.

I plan to come back now and have a few drafts in the works.  In the coming weeks I hope to share some thoughts on how we can help our small, family farmers earn a living wage, a guest blog done by a dear friend and farm box customer, and some more recipes to help you eek out the last ounces of summer.

For this week though, I leave you this picture, of my furry subconscious personified (dogsonified?) and a "recipe dump" to catch you up on the recipes that have been posted in weekly newsletters. So, if you're looking for some late summer/ early fall inspiration for local, seasonal deliciousness- here you are!

I swear he did this to himself. He is not a super fan of getting up early.  

Radishes and Toast

Hate radishes? Me too. Butter makes it better! Here are 5 variations on the classic tea sandwich theme to make you forgive their spicy bite. 

11.)  Grate Radishes and fold into softened butter with a bit of salt- spread onto toast

22.)  Slice radishes thinly and place on buttered toast with a bit of salt and fresh parsley

33.)  Smear feta on toast, add radishes and watercress and drizzle with olive oil

44.)  Butter toast add sliced radishes and green onion and top with a poached egg

55.)  Smear avocado on toast, add sliced radishes with lime and cilantro

Mix fresh herbs into butter (compound butter) and top toast with this and sliced radishes

Eggplant Curry

Hate eggplant? I know, it's hard to love. Give it a try curried topped with raita. You may just learn to love it!

3 Tbs butter
1 Tbs mustard seed
2 Tbs sesame seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 onion chopped
2 tsp turmeric 
salt to taste
2 eggplants, chopped into 1" cubes
2 C peas

Melt butter and add seeds. Toast until they start to pop. Add onion and turmeric and cook until onions are translucent. Add eggplant and cook until tender, adding water to keep slightly saucy. Add peas and warm through. 

Raita

2 C yogurt
1 tsp cumin seed
salt and cayenne to taste
1/2 C diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
3-4 radishes, sliced thin
1/2 bell pepper
diced cucumber or tomato

Mix everything together in a bowl. Let sit for a few hours. Serve on top of your curry!

Pumpkin Puree

Intimidated by those large squash in the store? Don't be! Don't try to peel it, just hack and roast! Not ready to tackle it yet? Leave it on the porch to decorate your house until you are!

Cut winter squash into manageable pieces. For a round squash, this means wedges, for a long squash this will mean cutting in half. Lightly oil and roast on 350* until it is easily pierced with a knife. Remove, let cool. Scoop flesh from skin with a spoon, not giving much care to the small bits of skin that sneak in, put in blender and blend! You may need to add water and stir a bit to get things going.

Pumpkin Pancakes

1 ¼ C flour

2 TBS sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 pinch ea: salt, cinnamon,  ground ginger, cloves, and nutmeg

1 C milk

½ C pumpkin puree

2 TBS melted butter

1 egg

Mix wet and dry separate, then add together, careful not to overmix. Use ¼ C mix for each pancake. Cook like regular pancakes!