ROOTING FOR RUTABAGAS

Don't pass up these "beauties" in the produce section of your local grocery store.  

I watched 2 other women snatch up a cart full and asked them how they cook them--"peel, dice, cook and mash with potatoes, delicious."  So I bought 1 and halved it, cut off a chunk and ate it raw.  So good.  That taste stirred up sweet memories of raw rutabagas sliced, diced, slivered and shredded by my mother in my childhood.  I don't think I've eaten them since.  But all that has changed. 

I kept half for thin raw slices and peeled, diced and steamed the rest just like potatoes. We enjoyed them for dinner as our starch with baked beans and sauteed kale.  What a treat--mild, slightly sweet and very satisfying. 

So I returned to the grocery store and found cases of them in the produce section of our local Super Fresh for $.29/lb! These came from Canada and are waxed to preserve them.  Now it was my turn to snatch up a cart full of these nutritious, delicious root vegetables to make some of the great recipes I've found on the internet like RUTABAGA, FENNEL AND LEEK SOUP.  I'll let you know how it tastes and you might even get a photo!