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.