Root Vegetables, Easy Seasonal Cooking

November 19, 2009

Last Thursday night I stopped by Organic Harvest, a small, locally owned organic grocery in the south of town. I was late coming home from work and desperate to find an easy dinner that I could pick up and take home; preferably something already prepared. Preferably NOT a fast-food hamburger!  I was pleased and surprised to find that this little family-owned grocery has added a small, all-organic cafe, apparently serviced by a part-time chef who has worked for Whole Foods, among others. A beautiful spinach and mushroom quiche sat in the glass case and called my name. My wish was granted. I bought the quiche, some organic pears and a slice of date bread, hopped in my car and headed home. Dinner was served. But, that is not what this story is about.

Also in the glass case was a bowl filled with roasted root vegetables. I looked at them wistfully. In an earlier post, I lamented over my lack of knowledge concerning Butternut Squash. Looking at that bowl full of  beautiful veggies, in all their fall color, made me want to revisit the humble Butternut Squash. So I did. And more.

Butternut  squash, it turns out, is not as vexing as it first appears. The kind folks over at Eating Alabama sent me a fab recipe for their own butternut squash soup. (thank you, guys, the soup turned out terrific!) The soup was not difficult and turned out to be delicious. But, still I yearned for a quick and easy prep method for this autumn staple.

Tonight, I roasted sweet potatoes and butternut squash together. It was really, really good. But, I had to pretend to myself that the squash was local, when in reality it came from Michigan. (Again.) But, as I gain confidence in cooking seasonally, I’ll make more of an effort to find locally grown varieties. I simply tossed cubed squash and sweet potatoes lightly in olive oil, seasoned with fresh rosemary, and added a light sprinkling of sea salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. 30 minutes at 400 degrees to nirvana. Lordy, it was good!

Being on a root vegetable binge, I also decided to experiment with turnips. This is hard to believe, since I am from the south, but I have never (as far as I can remember) eaten a turnip. So, I bought 2 turnips (which turned out to be plenty for me and the other 2 people at my table), tossed them in a saute pan with fresh garlic, minced onion, butter and olive oil. I had peeked inside a cookbook by Maya Angelou and came across a recipe for turnips that called for cloves and butter.  I figured if it was good enough for Maya, it was good enough for me. I sauteed the turnips, garlic and onion until the turnips were fork tender, then poured in a bit of white wine and sprinkled with ground cloves and sugar. Oh yeah! I think I’m getting the hang of root vegetables!

Filed under: Eating Well,Healthy Living,Uncategorized

Tags: Health, Seasonal Eating, Slow Food