Healthy eats roulette

Right, so I've started a new quasi game: Healthy Eats Roulette, otherwise called "What the Hell is on my Plate?" So the basic (self) challenge is this, I try buying/cooking something new (to me), usually from the vegetable or grain family. The idea is to get new (to me) and healthy eats and recipes in my diet.

Note: new brands of pork rinds don't count, even if it I found a microwaveable kind AND it is a source of protein. I'm focusing on new grains and produce but beverages with health benefits (wines, beers, coffee and teas) are probably acceptable. ;-)

With this game, I've adventured into new recipes for old favourites and discovered the wonderfully easy world of white tea, barley, butternut squash which i've always liked just never cooked at home.

Next up on my hit list are turnips. I'm going to add the root to my pot roast.

Anyhoo, does anyone else want to play?

oh - we had turnips two days ago. Had to find a cookbook with them in it to figure out what to do with them. (made turnip puree)
Tomorrow I will attempt to do something with a Pastinake. I don't know what it is-but apparently it was the staple of the german diet before potatoes came along and one is to treat it sort of like a carrot.
I have a bio veggy subscription to a farm and they drop off a case of fruit and veg every week. Apples and oranges coming out our ears though...

Not if you are going to go bonkers. Seriously, turnips do not go with pot roast. Potatoes, onions and carrots do, but not turnips. You want to eat turnips, then cut them up into nice little cubes and add them to your greens. Throw in a little balsamic vinegar and you are good to go.
I will play, but not if you mutilate my tastebuds.

parsnips - bleeding lovely! had them mashed in place of turnip (which i couldn't find at the shops in time) last night with me haggis.

Well, I just had a GD fight with the turnip. I got my nice sharp henkle knife stuck in it. In the end I got the knife out by putting the damn thing (the turnip root) between my knees and yanking the knife out. Lucky to be alive I am.

Shit, i saw the turnip in the pot roast thing on a cooking show - I'll just roast them on the side. See this is why I don't like to play alone.

@jml - since when, ffs, do you cook? that in and of itself and aside from the roulette is frightening...

man, i can cook but none of that fancy pretty stuff you do...only diner stuff peeps shouldn't eat: mac and cheese - from scratch yo - pot pies - meat loaf...essentially if it contains a stick of butter, bacon, and/or goes well with biscuits thats got me all over it.

Hell, maybe the good Don and I should start a cooking course for the taste bud challenged.

@ jml - were you the one that invented the sloppy joe toasty then - white bread, layer of canned sloppy joe, thick wedge of Velveeta on top, broil til warm, melted, starts dripping your oven and smoking, or none of the above but still fine if you've had to many cans of Pabst and are too hungry to care anyway?

Pabst? Wow. Too class for me. You must've been high rolling.

ps: your slopp joe casserole has merit but as it has neither of my go to ingredients butter or bacon. and i draw the proverbial line at imitation cheese-esque products.

Grilled BLT must be heaven for you then.

Is there any other kind? I also have a recipe for batter fried bacon. Booyah. Hence the need for healthy eats roulette.

hey jml, I bet MrDDbug would like that batter-fried bacon recipe

(he's going to kill me if he reads this, but only because it might be true )

Bacon Tempura recipe from Red Cat Restaurant in Manhattan as seen in Esquire Magazine

Bacon Tempura
4 egg whites
3 cups all purpose flour
2 1/3 cups cold club soda
1/2 GALLON canola oil
12 pieces thick-sliced applewooed bacon
salt (!) to taste

1. In large bowl whisk whites until they form soft peaks.
2. Fold in the flour and club soda.
3. In 4 quart pot, heat oil to 425 degrees
4. Batter Bacon Slices and carefully drop into oil a few slices at a time. Note do not overcrowd as bacon will not cook evenly and oil will overflow.
5. Once Bacon is golden brown remove with slotted spoon. Lightly salt.

Serve 2 fried slices on top of seasonal salad garnished with chipotle aioli (below) and lime wedges.

Chipotle Aioli
2 egg yolks
juice of 4 limes
4 oz canola oil
1 chipotle, chopped very fine
salt and pepper to taste

1. Blend yolks and lime juice in food processor
2. slowly add oil until thickened
3. Stir in chopped chipotle, salt, and pepper.

disclaimer: have not had the cojones (or the sheer quantity of oil) to try this out myself. YET. its on my party list.

Wow...

Bacon in batter? Oh mama.
Turnips work very well in stews, in fact there is a lot of prejudice about the turnip in Germany where folk think they are animal feed. In Scotland (and stop the comments about deep-fried mars bars right now, we do actually have some mighty fine produce and chefs), turnips are a stable and I love them.
Treptow turnips (tiny, purple and white spring turnips) lightly boiled and served with butter were Goethe's favourite.
How to cook them? Well I like them in hearty stews or in a mash combination with potato as a bake topping. Or used as part of a Rösti. Or in a great big pot of vegetable broth. Or just steamed. I'll even eat them grated and used like carrot in coleslaw. You can roast them like beets but I don't have the patience.
White pepper not black with turnips, mind.
Roasted parnsips are part of the tradiitional roast dinner in the UK. They also make a nice soup but watch that sweetness.

Not to gross anyone out, but I just saw Workingman's Death ( http://www.workingmansdeath.com/ don't look if you don't like slaughter houses and all) and I will be a vegetarian for at least a couple weeks due to the arduous, lenghty exposure to certain "experiences".

Anyway, the last three days have been totally veg (new for me) and I think I'll jump into the roulette today at the store.

Thanks for the motivation!

Green curry paste (1 - 2 Tsp), coconut milk (1 can), 1 large leek, 3 zucchini, 5 carrots, 2 small, firm tomatos.
Heat some oil in a wide pot,
stir the curry paste in,
add the leeks, thinly sliced, fry till glazed
add the diced zucchini and carrots, sliced,
let simmer until the carrots are tender,
stir in the tomatos (cut in wedges),
serve with rice.
If you OD the curry paste, add yoghurt or Schmand (sort of sour cream, but thicker). Peanuts, cashews, raisins ad libidum. Tastes great warmed up, too.

Ok, I'm a little late but...

My Scottish mother-in-law cooks turnips all the time. Very simply but very good.

She peels them, then cuts into large chunks and boils until soft. Drains and mashes, adds salt & pepper. I guess you could treat them as mashed potatoes and add butter and milk (but there goes the fat and cholesterol).

They are actually very good! Believe me, I was surprised.

oh! i'd love to play this game w/ you, but i cannot. if i was in my "normal" (as i like to phrase it) life i defo would and could, but here i cannot seeing as i dont cook what i want. if anyone wants a game of how many days can you eat buttered noodles or how can i con them into eating something other than buttered noodles then feel free to join me in my own personal culinary hell

Can you get your hands on turnip greens? They are literally the green part of the turnip plant. Kind of a cross between kale and mustard greens and very tasty when braised in olive oil & garlic. Some crisp-fried onions over the top...nice.

Roasted root vegetables are a really nice way to go, also.

My turn - in order to eat healthier and more veg, I ordered an Oeko-Kiste (a crate of organic veg) from a local company (www.oeko-kiste.de). I am now left with 2 black radishes (Schwarzer Rettich). Any ideas, anyone?

Slice thin, sprinkle with salt, eat with a pretzel and beer.

I'd be interested to know more about how this works. Is there a website I can look at?

Look at my link above. You can choose if you want veg or fruit or both, local or not, seasonal or not etc, as well as choosing from meat, dairy, wine..

Schwarzer Rettich was in my ökokiste last time along with Schwarzwurzel .. The Rettich I just ate it raw as a salad ingredient, not a big fan of Schwarzwurzel so I haven't used it yet. My oddities this week are Mangold and Kohrabi.

Koala - I think we got the same things! 2 weird lettuce things, parsnips or turnips (dunno), 2 green peppers, 4 carrots or so, and the above?

kohlrabi is good!

UA - I get the 'Querbeet Kiste' which is a complete mish-mash of fruit and veg plus a couple of store cupboard items (tomato soup in a jar and mini star shaped tofu/veg burgers) - I had bananas, clementines, carrots, Petersilienwurzel (what is the English word for that? - my Collins dictionary and leo have both just failed me completely) plus a perfectly normal lettuce.

Um.. root of parsley?
Ah, I get the 1-2 ppl veg one (prefer to get my own fruit). The amounts of food you get though is huge! It was a one off trial, and I don't think it's a regular thang for me.

Mangold is ridiculously good for you I hear.
It's called Swiss chard I believe, and can be used pretty much like spinach. If you wanna experience the flavour of it, fry the chopped stems in butter for a couple of minutes, then add leaves, a tbsp or two of flour, then some light stock. Simmer for a while, blitz it in a blender, and add cream to finish. Will need a good amount of seasoning.

Mangold is also ridiculously tasty, or at least I think so. I got some baby chard leaves at the grocery store recently and they're good raw! But the larger version needs to be cooked. One of my favorite recipes for chard can be found (along with other chard recipes) here, but it does contain sausage, so it's not completely healthy.

You can also use Mangold as a pak choi substitute for stir fries and asian soups.
It needs about 3 seconds or so, i.e. just before serving.

Are there any single people on here who get that Ökokiste doodah?
I know Showem and Greg get one, and they sometimes have trouble finishing it off between the two of them...
I'd love to give it a go, but I'd be worried that I'd end up chucking half the stuff out

there's a single kiste listed on the site too. it looks good actually; i was gonna sign up for one in london before i left. can one person eat that much turnip though?

well spotted, so there is
that Ruck-Zuck-Kiste looks good, as well
there's something irresistably appealing about the word "Fertigprodukte"

But you better watch out for the turnips shaped like a thingy. (Or was that 'thingy shaped like a turnip'...)
(Caused probs for Edmund Blackadder...)

@Topsy. There's only one of me (probably just as well, I know) and I get the Querbeet every two weeks (fruit and veg plus a couple of objects for the cupboard) and I usually get through all of it. There's usually something that can be kept into the second week pumpkins) /or chucked in the freezer.

I'd never get through it if I was to have one every week.

Mangold is rather good I've had it a couple of times now and pretty easy to handle. I probably wouldn't have dared to buy it in a shop - but if it turns up on your doorstep you have to find a way of using it!

Changed my mind about veg now i'm gonna stick to chocolate and cocktails

koala i still owe you money and im blatantly never going to make it to jive on a tuesday - it's gilmore girls / er night - i have to spend the evening channel flicking. plus i've been out for cocktails, but that's a secret. yr not going curry tomorrow are you by any chance?

Laura - jive has moved back to fridays anyway. So you've no excuses now! No curry tonight. My presence is required elsewhere.

Mystery vegetable (to me) of the week is Parsnip. I found a lot of recipes which involved a bit of brown sugar or honey. Are these sweet then? Anyhoo, generally just like to roast my roots. Can I just throw these in the oven with a bit of olive oil?

I roasted Parsnip in the oven in a bit of Peanut oil, they went nice with the potatoes, I did cut them up, so they really had not distinct taste to me, but they were sweeter than a carrot (I only like carrots raw).

Thanks Carm, I didn't realise these were sweet. Meh, should've done my research. Ah well.

parsnips are not *sweet* sweet, though
they are fab, I miss them a lot (you can get them at Vikki-markt but they are not cheap)
roast them more or less like you would potatoes (except you don't need to par-boil them beforehand and I don't think they take as long)
I wouldn't put brown sugar or honey on them, that sounds gross and yucky. But then I don't have a sweet tooth at all, so I guess I would say that.

Thanks Topsy. I'll chuck em into the oven then. BTW: Parsnip lovers, here's an recipe for Parsnip Fries/Chips. I like sweet potato fries so this might be worth a try later down the road.

I've gone vegan for lent, so i suppose i'll have to try some of this disgusting 'vegetable' stuff now.

Also, has lent got a pagan origin like all the other jesus-holidays?

No is to sybolise Jesus' 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness being tempted by the devil

Oh well, I'll just be vegan on the devil's behalf then. He's under-represented anyway.

You will have to suffer being tempted by the devil!

Well if i'm fasting for the devil, surely it's jesus I'll be tempted by? I'll have to avoid churches in case i get a sudden urge to go in.

Also i just looked it up on wikipedia (which i should have done in the first place instead of asking people at work yesterday) and

and


this is me:

[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/20/Bruegel_Lent.jpg/250px-Bruegel_Lent.jpg[/img]