Rutabaga

The conundrum with growing vegetables, is that when you harvest them, you then have to do something with them. We planted rutabagas in April.  Then they grew and grew.  August 7, and a beautiful day, time to harvest.

 Today my son and I harvested six beautiful rutabagas.  It doesn't seem like a big deal to work with six rutabagas, but these are large, dirt-covered objects, not the clean, wax-covered ones you find at the grocery store.  Before they are even brought into the house they must be sprayed with the garden hose until all mud clots are gone.



Now I LOVE to eat my greens.  Rutabagas and beets are double bonus veggies because they provide a delicious tuber and a healthy rutabaga green.  After I bring the rutabagas inside, I separate the greens from the root.  I work with the greens first, because they will wilt.  I give the greens a cold water bath, rinse any remaining dirt off, and then coarsely chop and bag.  One rutabaga will provide just over a gallon freezer bag's worth of chopped greens.  These can be frozen and used in any recipe that calls for spinach.  I like mine in eggs, with cheese in a creamy dip, in lasagna, or even on pizza.  You can also freeze beet greens, kale, and green onions for easy use later.

Next I cut all the roots, fibers, and tough skin off my rutabagas.  You can also scrub them, but sometimes a sharp knife is faster.  I diced them up and added them to some fresh garden potatoes and beets for my delish Root Veggie Bake.

Root Veggie Bake

dice:
     Rutabaga
     Potato
     Beets
     Carrot
     Onion

Drizzle with oil and honey. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Stir.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour. 

Today I also added sprigs of fresh thyme.  Yum!