rutabaga Archives - Rooting The Sun

a little kiss of holiday chaos and the promise of new snow in the forecast – these are the dear dreams surrounding this weekend. december undoubtedly carries the greatest weight of the year – home to an array of celebratory holidays, as well the finality of an entire year’s worth of months. not necessarily a burdensome weight, but a heavy gravity nonetheless. it’s here in december that we sign the waiver for the new year – ablaze with enlightenment for the prospect of new and limitless. to recollect, to gather, and to begin again.

somewhere nestled between hopes, reality, dreams, and luck i always find a home for the new year. she’s always glittering and shining, and i’m always at my very best – even the years i’ve had to account for my very worst. the stars are the brightest, the night is cold, and i am as sentimental as i come at year’s end. the concept of regeneration and rejuvenation – a different approach, yet a familiarity. four new seasons, a new palette of unpredictable and unbridled weather. these are my honest attractions.

wishing you the ambient warmth of a holiday-lit room, and a heady but brilliant wave of new-year progressions and philosophies. if i start thinking now, those stars will just be so much brighter on that last night.

and on a side note – if you haven’t participated in my mustard giveaway – it’s going on until monday – just let me know in that post what you dig about mustard.

and on one more side note, i’m really beaming that the soup came out the color of album.

broccoli dill white bean soup + rutabaga fries

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Author: Rooting The Sun

Ingredients

1 lb broccoli, chopped into florets
3 large garlic cloves, skin on
1 tsp oil
1-2 lb rutabagas
1 tbl grapeseed oil
1 / 4 cup yellow cornmeal
salt and pepper
½ tsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp fresh dill
4 cups vegetable stock
1 cup cooked white beans/1 can tinned, drained
salt and pepper
to garnish: dill, sesame oil, gomasio

Instructions

preheat oven to 400 degrees. toss broccoli with oil and splay on a large sheet pan. add garlic cloves to pan.
prepare fries by cutting rutabagas into a desired and uniform match size. toss fries with oil and either in a paper bag or ziploc, toss and shake with (salted and peppered) cornmeal to coat. lay flat out on a large separate sheet pan.
place both fries and broccoli in oven. bake broccoil and garlic for 30 minutes until roasted and beginning to brown. leave rutabagas in oven and monitor for the next 30 minutes for doneness, being careful to keep from burning.
in a 5 qt pot on stove heat oil and add onion, stirring to coat. cook until softened but not brown, over medium high heat. add dill and cook 1-2 minutes for fragrance. add vegetable stock, white beans, broccoli and garlic (squeezed from skins). bring to a boil, lower to simmer, and cook partially covered 20-30 minutes. puree carefully with blender or immersion until smooth. adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
serve garnished with dill, sesame oil, and gomasio*

Notes

*if you cannot locate gomasio - lightly dry toast 2 tbl sesame seed over medium heat on stove. toast until slightly brown, 3-5 minutes. add 1 / 2 tbl sea salt and heat briefly for 30 seconds. leave mixture whole or coarsely grind depending on preference.

nothing seems as significant as a solid holiday week – incomparable is the buzz and hum surrounding the notion that we’re all about to gather. it’s an electricity stitched into the air supply, making for the most festive oxygen. plans are being discussed, weather is being watched (c’mon snow), preparations are being made, oceans and miles are being crossed. we contemplate the terminology of what constitutes as ‘family’, and then we are family. we give, and we are given.

we open our hearts and release the pressure. we are homeward bound, and if not physically, always in our minds. we are stoking the fire with recognition and appreciation. sentiments that will carry us into the next year and enable us to experience the next eternity. we are curating our future with romantic practicalities (crazy, right?). i’m climbing trees and looking out across the land – singing hymns to the miles we have yet to traverse. everything is still. for a day the wind is mute. there are no fires. the sky is the brine of our minds. the day turns to night and we’re howling at the moon. we’re questing the stars for something new, as well a hint that the old is everything we’ve ever striven for.

my well wishes extend to you. those of you that are reading this and are able to share the convictions. you also have my heart even if you’re not in holiday mode. hopefully you’re able to slow your heartbeats and feel the caress of this certain time of year that allows us to grow so much wiser. my thankfulness is a deep and wide cavern, ever weaving into the portrait of a lifetime. thank you for coming to this space and reading these lines. thank you for viewing these pictures and considering this food. happy holiday friends, i’ll be thinking of you.

cold weather succotash + cranberry-mandarin bbq sauce

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Author: Rooting The Sun

Ingredients

succotash:
1 small rutabaga, diced
1 small turnip, diced
1 small parsnip, chopped
1 medium red onion, chopped into small wedges
1 / 2 small cauliflower, chopped into florets
1 small leek, rinsed, white and green parts chopped
1 / 2 lb brussels sprouts, halved
3 tbl olive oil
1 tbl smoked paprika
2 cups fordhook lima beans, thawed if frozen
bbq sauce:
1 / 2 tbl olive oil
1 shallot, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 / 4 cup brown sugar
1 / 2 tsp red miso
1 / 4 cup tomato paste
1 tsp dry mustard
juice of 1 / 2 a mandarin
1 1 / 2 cup cranberries
1 1 / 2 cup vegetable broth
optional: flatbread/naan

Instructions

preheat oven to 425 degrees. toss vegetables with oil and paprika and spread out on an extra large sheet pan, or two sheets if needed. roast vegetables for 25-30 minutes, or until crisp. the last 10 minutes of roasting time, add lima beans and mix to incorporate.
meanwhile, for bbq sauce, heat oil over medium-high heat in a small saucepan and add shallot. saute shallot until softened, 5-10 minutes. add garlic and cook 30 seconds, just until fragrant. add brown sugar, miso, tomato paste, and mustard. heat mixture until melted and darkened, stirring constantly. add mandarin juice and cranberries. heat 3-5 minutes, until you begin to hear cranberries popping. add vegetable broth, stir, and simmer mixture for 10-12 minutes, until thickened. if a smoother consistency is desired, blend sauce.
serve succotash on flatbread, or on the side with bbq sauce.