A New Year's Blog

Two "firsts" for me this week:
1. My first time blogging.
2. My first time cooking turnips.

You see, one of my vague New Year's resolutions was to go to the farmer's market more often. Another was to eat less cheese and more veggies, fewer double-chocolate brownies and more fruit, less wine and more ... well, never mind. So early of a Saturday morning, I headed to the downtown Austin farmer's market, drank some coffee, ate some tangerines, bought some turnips. Although I have an abiding love of maligned vegetables (brussels sprouts and beets are among my top 5,) I had never cooked turnips, and only tried them for the first time over Thanksgiving, in Marfa.

So I floated the idea by my boyfriend: I was going to cook a turnip-themed dinner. If the turnips were that awful, we could order pizza. Flying back and forth from the stove to the cutting board in the living room to the pots and pans by the front door (tiny kitchen ... I dream about islands and ample counter space) I declared, spatula in hand: "I think I'll start a blog about this!" It was quite the Julie Powell moment. The idea was that every week I'd go to the farmer's market, and cook a meal with what I'd found there, going for new and challenging vegetables whenever possible. I should add that I'm a vegetarian, so while the F.M. may feature really awesome local meats, I shan't be blogging about them.

So, were the turnips awful enough to drive us into the arms of a large veggie with extra cheese? Thankfully, they weren't:
Despite my poor photography skills, this is a turnip, leek, and blue cheese gratin that was so good we took it in our lunches the next day! I had to supplement the farmer's market turnips with some from Central Market, and let me tell you, the difference is huge. The f.m. turnips were tender, slightly sweet, with just a subtle bitterness. You can use any blue cheese you like, but this is Saint Agur, a mild, creamy blue cheese imported from France. The full recipe is in Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.
Next, I made a first-course of turnip greens chopped and boiled with pasta, topped with breadcrumbs (use fresh if you can - I was too lazy) and olive oil sauteed with garlic and lots of red pepper.
All of this deliciousness was paired with a Jackson Estate's Green Lip Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand (14.95). It had less herb flavor than most Sauv Blancs I've tried, with hints of basil and lots of citrus. It was kind of a delicate straw color, which is obscured by my spice jars in the back ground, and a faintly sweet flavor that cut the bitterness of the turnips a bit. And, it was great drinking on its own the next night when I finished off the bottle.

Stay tuned for kohlrabi and kale...