The World According to Me

I heard about a weird event today. It involves curling with rutabagas. Sure this must be a joke, I did a search and found a group that claims that February is Rutabaga Month. There is an International Rutabaga Curling Championship at the Farmer’s Market in Ithica, NY. Unfortunately, the event has already happened this year, but they are hoping to become an Olympic Sport by 2010. For more check out their blog at http://rutablogger.blogspot.com/

If you’d rather eat your vegetables than play with them, here are a few recipes for you to try.

Rutabaga and Apple Casserole

3 cups peeled sliced rutabaga
2 med. apples, sliced
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
3 tbsp. butter
Salt

Cook rutabaga slices in boiling salted water until just tender; drain. Place half of slices (rutabaga) and half of apple slices in greased 1 quart casserole. Sprinkle with half of brown sugar and dot with half of butter. Sprinkle with salt. Repeat layers. Bake, covered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Rutabaga Fries

1 pound rutabaga
1 large egg
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp mustard
1/4 tsp sea salt (can use any large grain salt)
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
black pepper to taste
1 - 1/2 cups of parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Peel and cut the rutabaga into long strips (think homestyle fries). Beat the egs, mayo, mustard, and spices until well combined and place in a shallow dish. Spread the cheese out on a plate. Dip the rutabaga sticks into the egg mixture to coat and then roll in the cheese. Transfer to baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. To brown the tops broil for a minute or two. Best served hot.

And remember rutabagas are a root vegetable so they tend to go well in recipes with other root vegetables. Mash them with potatos, parsnips and carrots. Add them to your pot roast or roast them on their own.