Time Flies

It's happened again. It seems like I posted just a few days ago, but it's been a week and a half. So let's play catch-up again.

View out our kitchen window. I hope the neighbors don't mind that their houses show up on my blog. 

We woke up to snow this morning, about 5 inches at our house, but it's really hard to tell because the winds were blowing at 20 mph, creating drifts. That, with a dropping temperature, kept me inside all day. So instead of making a snowman outside, I just enjoyed my bouncy snowman inside.

A friend gave this to me, and I can't help but smile when I see it. 

But before the frigid weather set in, I harvested the last of the turnips, rutabagas, beets, and spinach. Luckily, the ground wasn't frozen hard yet, so I could pull them easily. After we had a good meal for supper, I have them in the garage for storage. I think I have them secured so mice won't be dining on them, but we shall see. 

Turnips and rutabagas. 

Otherwise, we've been working on Christmas prep. The tree is up, the lights are up, and presents are wrapped. At least, mine are. I think Ward is still making some things. We are finalizing the menu for next week when my family gathers for Christmas and my nephew's birthday. Today, I began making sweets to give away, starting with fudge. I love fudge, so I need to give it away sooner rather than later, before I make myself sick "sampling" it. 😋

Poinsettias from last year that are starting to show color.

Better get back to it and start on my next round of goodies.

Until next time...

Turnips and Rutabagas

 Several years ago, Miss Landers and I did a comparison between turnips and rutabagas, and I thought about that when I was harvesting some today. I wondered if I thought the same about them now as I did then. I'd say, "Yep." So, I'm going to rerun the original post I did about the two.

Rutabagas

I've always been curious about rutabagas. Well, actually, I've never been curious about rutabagas and have never given them much thought until recently, when Miss Landers brought some over from her garden for us to try. This was her first time growing them, and she was curious about how they compared with turnips, so she also brought turnips that she had grown.

A bit of research revealed that rutabagas are a natural cross between turnips and wild cabbage. They are a relatively new plant, in that the first time they are mentioned in literature is in the early 1600s. They go by many names, including yellow turnips and swedes, because Sweden is a top producer. (Can you guess they like to grow in colder weather?) The name “rutabaga” is derived from an old Swedish word meaning “root bag.”

Notice the multiple roots and yellow tint of the rutabaga.

How about our turnip vs. rutabaga comparison? This is what we observed. Miss Landers said that as she was pulling them (both root vegetables), the rutabagas seemed to have more roots and root hairs. Both were pungent when raw and smelled like a cross between cabbage and radishes. The rutabaga had a yellow tint to it that intensified when cooked, while the turnip remained white.

We were able to convince Ward and Theodore to participate in a taste test after the vegetables were cooked--which was pretty remarkable considering neither one of them likes turnips. They weren't too sure that they wanted to sample anything called yellow turnips. However, they did sample them right along with Miss Landers and me.

We all agreed that the rutabaga had a definite potato taste. Theodore said that the rutabaga tasted as if it were a cross between potatoes and Brussels sprouts. A fairly apt description. Theodore and I liked the turnips better with their more peppery taste, while Ward and Miss Landers liked the rutabagas better with their milder taste and creamier texture.

In conclusion, will I start adding rutabagas to my grocery list on a regular basis? No. But will I now have something new to talk about when there is a lull in the conversation? Yes. :)

Note: I haven't been buying rutabagas, but I did grow some along with turnips this fall with extra seeds Miss Landers had.

Notice the white color of the cooked turnips and the yellow color of the rutabaga.

 More sources:

• Rutabaga overview--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutabaga
• Rutabaga recipes--http://allrecipes.com/recipes/everyday-cooking/seasonal/winter/rutabaga/top.aspx
• Rutabaga nutrition--http://www.produceoasis.com/Items_folder/Vegetables/Rutabaga.html
• How to grow rutabagas  http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-26.html
• A serious and not so serious blog about rutabagas--http://rutablogger.blogspot.com/2011/04/breakthrough-photosnynthesis-stimulate.html

Thankful Sunday, October 3, 2021

 I woke up with my mind busy with thankful thoughts so I thought I would share a few of them.

1. I am thankful for later sunrises. While the shorter days of fall can have drawbacks, I am thankful that it no longer gets light at 5-5:30 in the morning. No matter how long I've been in bed when it starts getting light, my body says that it's time to wake up. Now I have almost another hour more of darkness in the morning than I did during the summer. And the added bonus is that I see more sunrises. 

2. I am thankful for a newly painted basement window. We had all of the windows replaced in the house a couple of years ago - that is all except the basement windows. Recently we noticed the paint peeling on the outside of one of them. With good weather and organized supplies, we were able to take care of that window yesterday afternoon. It's a nice feeling to complete a job the same day you start it.

3. I am thankful for the wonderful autumn weather. For a week or more recently we have been having lows in the 50's and highs in the 70's. Just about perfect.  I am thankful to live in a four-season climate which helps me appreciate all of the variability of our weather.

4. I am thankful for healthy turnip plants. At the end of August, I planted some turnip seeds. They all came up and looked healthy. When I thinned them, I replanted the thinned plants to see if they would survive the transplanting. It was not looking good for a while as all of the leaves totally died. However, new growth has come and the patch is twice as big as it started out. 

5. I am thankful that my 88-year-old father-in-law can live independently. While he appreciates help with several things, he is still able to manage all aspects of his life. What a blessing for everyone. And I am thankful that Ward and I get to spend today with him. 

So it's time to go. 

Until next time...

T is for Turnip

 I talked about turnips very recently, but I like them so much, I'm going to post about them again. But it wasn't always like this.

Turnips from last fall's garden.

When I was younger, I did not like turnips at all. They were too bitter for my taste. Same went for turnip greens. My parents occasionally cooked them and I would take my mandatory spoonful which I would choke down with a glass a milk. This was a consistent theme until one time when I was visiting my parents when I was an adult. During that visit, I had turnips from a friend's garden. And they were good! They were sweet with a bit of a peppery taste. Delicious especially with butter. Where had these turnips been all of my life? Those turnips changed everything. Now I eat turnips even when they are bitter. I am willing to do that to find a sweet one just like the one that changed my turnip dislike. Luckily, last fall I grew turnips that were tasty. I know that the flavor has something to do with the temperature and turnips are supposedly sweeter if they have gone through a frost. I got lucky with the weather. 

Turnips are a cruciferous vegetable and in the same family as cabbage, broccoli, and arugla. They are a low calorie food with one cup of cubes having only 36 calories along with 2 grams of fiber. The root is not as nutritious as the top leaves which are high in Vitamins A, C, and K, but still contains them. 

Our favorite way to eat turnips is either boiled with a little butter and salt, or roasted. Both are delicious.

Do you like turnips? Or are you still waiting to find the perfect one like I did?

Oh, BTW, I am still waiting for the magical turnip greens to change me into a turnip green lover.

 

This and That, January 9, 2021

From the files*

I am feeling unsettled these days. That comes with all of the unsettling world and national news around me. And when I'm unsettled, I'm more restless, and when I'm more restless, I tend to spend more time focusing on my own problems whether they are big or small.  To help with this, I've cut myself off from the news and am going to take a Facebook break for a while--both of which are easier said than done. 

So what else does all this mean? It means that here I am going to try to focus on the mundane and silly hoping that will be good be a settling influence on me. But wait, you say. Don't you already just focus on the mundane? Well, yeah, but I'm going to pretend this is different.  Also, I'm going to try to post everyday for a couple of weeks to see how that goes. I'm a little skeptical about success with this since my class and work are getting busy.  But I have to set the goal first, before I can reach it. So as my mind is swirling with concerns, big and small, here's the humdrum for the today.

Yesterday, I harvested the rest of the turnips and radishes. Theoretically, they should have been able to stay in the ground until we need them, but they had been frost heaved up so they were mostly exposed where creatures big and small could nibble on them. The bonus of leaving them outside until now is that cold weather only makes them sweeter. On the menu today is a stew featuring turnips, cabbage, carrots and ground beef. A nice hearty stew for a cold winter's day. 

The tree is coming down
 this weekend,too.

However, it's not too cold to take down the Christmas lights. Thank you, thank you to Ward for willingly doing this. The outdoor lights this year have been very frustrating because we never knew which part of them would be lit and which part would be out. And it varied. Previously dark parts would suddenly light up again. Not sure what to do about that. But to paraphrase Scarlet O'Hara, we'll worry about that next year.

And lastly, in case you didn't know, today is National Static Electricity Day. Time to go find a balloon and have a hair-raising time. :)

Until next time...

*From the files will feature pictures I've taken in the past. For months now, I've been slowly going through the pictures on my computer culling many of them, but I also find ones that I like. BTW, birds and flowers always get special consideration in my book. The above picture was taken January 2015.

From the Files--Rutabaga vs. Turnip

We are growing turnips for the first time this fall and they are growing well. I didn't use to like turnips until one year when I tasted some really sweet ones. I have been on the search ever since to find that perfect turnip again. In the meantime, I've acquired a taste for turnips in general and especially like them when they're roasted. 

So since it is turnip season, I've pulled a post from the past when Miss Lander's and I did a comparison between turnips and rutabagas. Maybe I'll try some rutabagas next year.

_____________________________________________________________________

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2011

Rutabagas

I've always been curious about rutabagas. Well, actually, I've never been curious about rutabagas and have never given them much thought until recently when Miss Landers brought some over from her garden for us to try. This was her first time growing them and she was curious about how they compared with turnips, so she also brought turnips that she had grown.

A bit of research revealed that rutabagas are a natural cross between turnips and wild cabbage. They are a relatively new plant in that the first time they are mentioned in literature is in the early 1600's. They go by many names including yellow turnips and swedes because Sweden is a top producer. (Can you guess they like to grow in colder weather?) The name “rutabaga” is derived from an old Swedish word meaning “root bag.”

Notice the multiple roots and yellow tint of the rutabaga.

How about our turnip vs. rutabaga comparison? This is what we observed. Miss Landers said that as she was pulling them (both root vegetables) that the rutabagas seemed to have more roots and root hairs. Both were pungent when raw and smelled like a cross between cabbage and radishes. The rutabaga had a yellow tint to it that intensified when cooked while the turnip remained white.

We were able to convince Ward and Theodore to participate in a taste test after the vegetables were cooked--which was pretty remarkable considering neither one of them like turnips.They weren't too sure that they wanted to sample anything called yellow turnips. However, they did sample them right along with Miss Landers and me.

We all agreed that the rutabaga had a definite potato taste. Theodore said that the rutabaga tasted as if it were a cross between potatoes and brussel sprouts. A fairly apt description. Theodore and I liked the turnips better with their more peppery taste while Ward and Miss Landers liked the rutabagas better with their milder taste and creamier texture.

In conclusion, will I start adding rutabagas to my grocery list on a regular basis? No. But will I now have something new to talk about when there is a lull in the conversation? Yes. :)

Notice they white color of the cooked turnips and the yellow color of the rutabaga.

 More sources:

• Rutabaga overview--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutabaga
• Rutabaga recipes--http://allrecipes.com/recipes/everyday-cooking/seasonal/winter/rutabaga/top.aspx
• Rutabaga nutrition--http://www.produceoasis.com/Items_folder/Vegetables/Rutabaga.html
• How to grow rutabagas  http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-26.html
• A serious and not so serious blog about rutabagas--http://rutablogger.blogspot.com/2011/04/breakthrough-photosnynthesis-stimulate.html
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