Ginger Mustard Roasted Turnips

The turnips in my garden are doing me right and have gotten all nice and big and beautiful and just did a really good job growing this year. I (my stomach) am really appreciating it. So is the mr. He is a huge turnip fan too!

Now if you are not a turnip fan, well first off, why the heck not? But also have you even ever tried them? I have found that sometimes people say they don’t like something when in fact they have never tried it. Don’t be like that. Try the dang turnip. They are awesome. For those who don’t know, they taste basically like a big radish. Kind of spicy and crispy when raw, sweet and tender when roasted. These particular ones are roasted and tossed in a gingery mustard sauce and then roasted a little more so they are sweet and spicy and mustardy and just so good. I made a batch to share with the mr for dinner but I actually just ended up eating all of them to my face. Yup, and not shame there. I just cut up a couple of raw ones for the mr and threw them on his dinner plate. He did’t really notice. Ha!

Now to the turnips!

The stuff. Turnips, dijon mustard, ground ginger, balsamic vinegar, pepper. and a splash of water.

Dice up the turnips into small cubes. I never peel a turnip but if you get yours from a store and they cover it in wax, well you might want to.

Place cut up turnips on a baking sheet. You can also drizzle the turnips with a little oil here if you want. (I prefer to roast without oil and use a baking mat.)

And place them into a hot hot oven to roast.

While turnips are getting hot, mix up the ginger mustard sauce. Place mustard, ginger, balsamic vinegar and a splash of water into a bowl and mix it all together.

Once turnips are fork tender (about 1/2 hour) remove pan, gather all the turnips into a pile, and drizzle on most of the sauce. Toss around until evenly coated then re-spread them around and pop them back into oven for another 12- minutes or so or unit golden brown and nice and roasted.

Once they are roasted to your liking, remove from oven ,drizzle oin remaining sauce, add lots of cracked black pepper and some fresh parsley if you got it. And that is it.

Eat your turnips.

-C

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Ginger Mustard Roasted Turnips

seves 2-3 as a side

• 4 medium sized turnips

• 4 hefty tablespoons dijon mustard

• 1 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

• 2 teaspoon water

• black pepper

• oil (optional)

Preheat oven to 425

Prepare turnips. Wash them really well and then dice into small cubes and pace them on a baking sheet. You can toss them in a little oil if you want (I do not roast them in oil), then pop them into hot oven.

While turnips are roasting, grab a small bowl and mix up the ginger, mustard, and balsamic vinegar. Add about 2 teaspoons of water to thin it out a little bit.

After about 25-30 minutes the turnips should be fork tender and starting to brown a bit. Remove pan from oven and carefully gather the turnips into a pile on the baking sheet. Drizzle about 3/4 of the mustard sauce on turnips and toss around (carefully). Once all the turnips are coated, sprinkle with black pepper and re-spread them on the baking sheet and pop the back into the oven to bake for another 15ish minutes or until they are a nice golden brown.

Once roasted to your liking, remove from oven, drizzle on remaining sauce, and then eat.

Millet with mushrooms, onions, Greens and a mustard vinaigrette

Salad season is here. Green salads, fruit salads, potato salads, and grain salads. All the salads and we are not mad about it.

This is a good grain salad using millet, which I am sightly surprised to hear that a lot of people have never had. Millet is kind of like quinoa, but not. I cooks fluffy and looks kind of the same, and is gluten free like quinoa. I think the biggest difference is that millet is slightly softer and tastes a bit more nutty. It also is really good at absorbing liquid flavors.

But who are we to compare. The main thing is that it is nutritious and delicious so we will eat it.

Back to the salad. This is one of those grain salads that is good cooked and served warm but only gets better with a little age (like an hour or a day) in the fridge. Served hot or cold or room tempature, and is hearty enough to be meal like but is also a fantastic addition as a side to any of you meal plans. Like maybe a BBQ? Whatever the occasion, or non occasion, this is just a really good grain salad situation and I think you will be pleased, smiling all smiles while eating it.

To the millet salad.

The stuff. Millet, a couple handful of greens, a few mushrooms, an onion, dijon mustard, a little maple syrup, red wine vinegar, a lemon, a couple cloves or garlic, some toasted sunflower seeds, and salt and pepper.

Start by giving the millet a little toast, just enough to really up the nutty flavor and make it that much more yummy. It only takes a few minutes in a skillet on medium heat. Not an entirely necessary step, but you should do it.

Toasted millet goes into pot with water. Bring pot to a boil and then turn to the lowest simmer and cover.

While millet is cooking, get to the mushrooms and onions. Chop the onion thin and small and the mushrooms thin and small as well. Place them into the skillet with a drizzle of oil and place on medium heat. Mix around every now and then and cook until the mushrooms and onions are soft and a nice golden brown.

And make the vinaigrette. Minced garlic, mustard, vinegar, the juice of the lemon, and maple syrup get put into one place.

Mixed and now all is one.

Millet. Cooked and fluffed and ready to go.

Cooked mushrooms and onions go into the pot, along with the greens, the sunflower seed, and the vinaigrette. This step can be right away or you can wait a little while for things to cool as to not wilt the greens. Up tp you.

Mixed with love and hunger.

Even if you are making it ahead of time, just do yourself a favor. Grab a bowl, grab a fork, and get down on it.

-C

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Millet with mushrooms, onions, Greens and a mustard vinaigrette

Seves 4-6

• 3/4 cup uncooked millet

• 2 cups water

• 1 sweet onion

• 3-4 big button mushrooms

• Large handful or two of bitter greens like arugula, spinach or a mixture.

• 2 tablespoon brown or dijon mustard

• 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar

• 1 teaspoon maple syrup

• 2 cloves garlic

• salt and pepper

• handful toasted sunflower seeds

To start, toast millet. Dump the uncooked millet into a pan and place on a medium heat tt for about 5 minutes or until you start hearing the millet crackle.This gives the millet a slightly more nutty flavor but you can skip this step if you don’t care.

Dump millet and water into medium pot. Place on high heat until water starts to boil then tun heat down to simmer and over. After about 15 or 20 minutes, when most of the water is gone, turn pot completely off. Let sit, covered for another 10ish minutes then take a fork and fluff it.

While the millet is cooking, cook the veggies. Grab the onion and slice it up into thin pieces. Clean off the mushrooms and chop them into small thin pieces too. Place the chopped stuff into the skillet with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and place on a medium heat. Stir occasionally and cook for about 15 minutes or until the onion and mushroom are a nice dark, golden brown.

And make the mustard vinaigrette. Mince garlic and place into a jar or bowl with the vinegar, the mustard, the maple, and the juice of the lemon. Mix and set aside.

Once the millet is cooked, the mushrooms and onions are cooked, and the vinaigrette is made, all you have left to do is mix everything together. You can do this while things are slightly warm which will wilt the greens a bit, o let them cool so the greens stay fresh. Up to you. (I like the greens fresh)

Finally, dump cooked mushrooms and onions into pot with cooked millet. Add in the greens and sunflower seeds and drizzle the vinegertte all over. Toss around until fully mixed. Sprinkle with lots of fresh cracked pepper.

Then eat. Or place in a container to bring to the BBQ.

Honey Mustard Pretzel Popcorn

What are you going to be doing this weekend? Are you dressing up all crazy, taking a little or two door to door for bite sized pieces of candy, or are you maybe giving out candy? Are you going to some spectacular Halloween party, or are you thinking more tricks then treats and are planning on TP-ing the neighbors or creating some mischief around town. 

Whatever you are doing, it's sounds like it's going to be a blast. Just note, if you are being mischievous  don't be an asshole about it. Stealing candy from kids is wrong,(steal your candy from adults) and TP is cool but spray paint and things that are permanent are not. And stay away from my houses! 

Anyway, the Halloween situation  is always the same with me and the mr. We say that we need to do something fun and different every year. Maybe a party, or even just some human intreat ion. But just like every year, we give in to our inner hermits. Our Halloween night will be as followed: Lock ourselves in the house, drawing the shades,(note that we would totally give out candy, but our door is down a very narrow and dark driveway, behind a fence, and pretty much inaccessible to people) watch a movie  (thinking Donnie Darko or maybe even old reruns of Halloween Rosanne.) eat popcorn,and go to sleep at a very reasonable hour.  And now that I say it out loud, our evening sounds like the most perfect way to spend the night. Especially because of the popcorn.

Let's just stop and think about this popcorn a minute……...

Ok, so do you get it now?. This is an epic popcorn combo. Mustard is for everything. A slightly sweet honey mustard all drizzled on  popcorn, well that's just craziness. And if you are like the mr., the pretzel crumble just takes it over the top. If we had made plans, I would probably have to cancel just so I can stay in an eat this popcorn.

And I have a hunch that this flavor combination will pair very well with a handful or two of some halloween candies. 

POPCORN TIME!!!!!

The stuff. A big ass bowl of air popped popcorn.  Spicy brown mustard (can use any mustard) honey (can use maple) a little olive oil and a few pretzel sticks. (can use any pretzel shape you like)

Bag the pretzels, grap something heavy (rolling pin works great) and smash the pretzels into tiny little bits.

Just like this

In a little pot ) mix mustard, oil and honey together. Place on medium  heat and mix continuously until the mixture is hot and a nice liquid pourable consistency. 

Now you can do this any way you want, but my way is probably the best. Dividie popcorn in two bowls and drizzle each bowl with equal amounts of mustard sauce.

Flip one of the bowls ontop of the other and shake the crap oiut of it.(or until the popcorn is evenly coated)

And the popcorn is all nice and evenly coasted. Now dump in the crushed pretzel and repeat the double bowl shake.

Check it out… Some fantastical popcorn

Now don't you want to turn the lights off and snuggle on the couch with this bowl?

Share if you want, but hey, it's just popcorn so you can taotally eat it all yourself. 

Happy Friday.. And Happy Halloween

-C

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Honey Mustard Pretzel Popcorn

makes 10 cups (enough to share between 2 people)

• 10 ish cups of air popped popcorn
• 3 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
• 2 tablespoons honey (sub maple or agave if vegan)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3-4 pretzel rods (or whatever shape) which makes about 1/2 a cup smashed (use gluten free if needed)

Take pretzels and place them in a bag of some sort and using something heavy (like a rolling pin) smash the pretzels until they are a smallish crumb (some big shanks are good too)

In a small sauce pot, combine the mustard, honey, oil, and mix to combine. Stick pot on stove and heat on medium until sauce is hot and liquidy. (can get the same result by using a microwave safe bowl and sticking it in a microwave at 20 second intervals until  hot)

Evenly distribute popcorn into two big bowls. Take the warmed up sauce and drizzle all over popcorn in  each bowl the, for the fun part, flip one bowl onto the other and shake the popcorn all around to evenly coat. Remove a bowl, toss in the pretzel crumbs and pieces and place the bowl back on. Shake again.

Popcorn is ready, now eating it!

Mustard Roasted Celeriac with Split Pea Gravy

My winter farm share is coming to an end this week. One more pick and then a three week stretch until the summer share starts… WHAT AM I GOING TO DO!!! Stock up as much as I can is what.

I have been strategic about the roots and veggies that I have chosen to bring home the past few weeks.(My farm lets you pick what you want)  I know what I can buy at the store, things like carrots and potatoes, so I have been passing those up, but the roots like beets and celeriac… I have been bringing home baskets of those and hoarding them in the fridge and basement in preparation for the laps in farm fresh food and knowing that if I want to by these at the store it s going to coast me a million dollars  a pound. (a for real million dollars)

Yup, lots of roots around here, especially celeriac root which is fantastic. I am kind of obsessed with celeriac, with its fibrous, knobby exterior, soft but almost meaty texture inside, and a flavor that  is close to celery but so much better.  I don't know why it has taken me so long to do a posting featuring this amazing root vegetable  (I eat it almost every day)

So here, an amazingly tasty, hearty but not heavy, celeriac recipe.  Perfect for spring and the change into summer…. Mustard roasted celeriac with an fanatic split peas gravy that will have you licking you bowl clean.

 The stuff….For the split pea gravy we have a carrot, a parsnip and a large onion chopped into small chunks.  Salt, thyme, a bay leaf and of course the split peas. Then there is the celeriac root* sliced into 1/2 inch thick rounds and some plain old yellow mustard .

*Note. I don't peel my celeriac root. I really enjoy the fibrous exterior but realize that some don't(The mister does not like it) so peel it if you want. 

Toss the chopped parsnip, carrot, onion and the spices into a pot on medium heat and let veggies sweat a few minutes until tender.  Add in the split peas and enough water to cover everything.  Turn pot on high and bring to a boil, then cover and turn to low. Make sure to give the pot a good stir ever few minutes and add more water if needed 

While the gravy is cooking,  take the celeriac rounds and brush each side with yellow mustard, sprinkle with pepper, and place on a baking sheet. Stick into the oven to roast for about 25 minutes, flipping the rounds after about 10 minutes.

Once the peas have soften, remove the bay leaf and puree until smooth and oh so creamy. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. If you find that the gravy seems to thick, just add in more water until it's the consistency that you want. The gravy is made, the celeriac is roasted… now we are ready to eat!! Stick the celeriac on a plate and dump good amount of that gravy right on top. Feel free to add a bed of spinach, or a grain or anything you want, because why not, and also some chopped tomatoes for a little acid and prettiness.

Serve with the fanciest knife and fork you can find. Extra yellow mustard and sriracha sauce are great condiments to have close by.

Happy Tuesday!

-C

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Mustard Roasted Celeriac with Split Pea Gravy

• 2 medium celeriac roots
• 6 tablespoons mustard
• 1 large carrot
• 1 medium parsnip
• 1 large yellow onion
• 2/3 cup split peas
• 2-3 cups water 
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 teaspoons thyme or italian spice mix
• salt and pepper
• spinach (optional)
• diced tomatoes(optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Small dice the carrot, parsnip and onion and throw into a large pot. Spinkle with salt and pepper, add in the thyme and bay leaf and add a splash of water. Stick on stove on medium heat and stir. Let cook until the veggies become soft and fragrant. Now add in the split peas and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil then cover and turn heat down to medium low. Let cook until the split peas become tender (about 25 minutes) string on occasion and adding more water if the peas are not completely summered while cooking.

Once the peas are tender, let cool for a few minutes, remove bay leaf, and either dump into a blender or blend with an immersion blender until nice and creamy. If gravy seems to thick, add in more water. 

Scrub or peel celeriac roots and slice them into 1/2 inch think rounds. Place on a baking sheet and brush mustard on both sides and spindle with pepper. Stick into oven for about 10 minutes, flip, then back into the oven for another 15 or so minutes, or unit the celeriac is tender.

When the celeriac is done remove from oven and  stick a few rounds on a bed of spinach (or not, or any kind of grain or green you like) Top with a hearty helping of the gravy and toss on some chopped up tomatoes.

Eat with at knife and fork like a fancy person.

A Monster Veggie Sandwich

Yesterday I spent the entire day (ok maybe not the entire day), but a the better part of the afternoon defrosting my freezer. Sure, I do the occasional chip chop here and there, just enough from around the freezer door so it will close, but ever few months I notice that everything in the fridge is not staying cold and that the freezer is not freezing stuff. Thats when I know its for real time to defrost. So a few days ago when I noticed my bananas were turing to liquid in the freezer, I knew it what I had to do….Completely empty the fridge  and melt/hack away the 2-4 inches of ice build up that accumulated. It is such a freaking pain in the ass.So on this defrosting day, I took all the stuff from the freezer, stuck it in a cooler, and the rest of the stuff, which is basically all veggies, I just tossed on the table. As I am hacking away with a metal spatual, a wooden spoon, and a constant rotation of pots of boiling water, I was thinking about dinner. I figured I might as well just eat up as much of the veggies as I could, you know, so I didn't have to put them back in the fridge. And also, I was getting pretty annoyed because this particular defrosting session was taking way longer the anticipated, which made making dinner seem like another pain in the ass.  I figured I might as well just eat everything that is already out on the table, which pretty much narrowed down the "whats for dinner" conversations because it was already all over the place. And so dinner was a humongo salad for me, and for the mister, I made him a monster of a veggie sandwich. (my salad was exactly the same stuff as the sandwich, minus the bagel) Easy, fast, super duper yummy, pretty and piled so high with tons of veggies that the fridge is pretty much empty now. 

Look at the is beast. I don't call it a monster sandwich for nothing.

The stuff included in this monster veggie sandwich..

Romaine lettuce, tomato, avocado for there is not real sandwich without them. Thinly sliced radishes, cucumber,a and onion for nice crispy crunch. Shredded beets, carrots, and purple cabbage to give  more crunch and a bit of sweetness. Then of course there needs to be something pickled, so I used banana peppers cause they are the SHIT!! And lastly some hummus for a nice creamy finish (plus a bit of protein) and yellow mustard because mustard on everything is just right.  Heres to a mountain if goodness that is no longer in the fridge! Served with a another mountain of roasted parsnips and carrots (more stuff from the fridge) and a tall glass of iced tea.

Lucky that today is farm share pick up cause the fridge is pretty much on empty. 

Yea it's Thursday!!!!

-C

A Monster Veggie Sandwich

Note. This is just a guide.. Feel free to use whatever veggies you fancy. 

• Either a bagel, 2 slices of bread, or a big chunk of baguette (use a gluten free bread if you want or need too)
• Hummus- Homemade or store bought
• Mustard
• Something pickled like pickles, banana peppers , jalapeños or all three 
• Lettuce, spinach or some kind of leafy green
• Tomato
• Avocado
• Onion
• Radishes
• Cucumber
• Shredded Carrots
• Shredded Beets
• Shredded Cabbage

To assemble. Ready your bread.. Toast if you want, and stick it on a plate

On either side, smear the hummus and the mustard.  

Pick a side, start to stack by evenly disrupting veggies on top of veggies. Place the second piece of bread on top and  giving a little smooth to keep it together.

And go at it. Cut in half or don't. Have a napkin or a long sleeve ready to wipe your face.