Tag Archives: bon appetit

I feel a little bit like this “produce bucket” series is just a bunch of root veggies that I have no idea what to do with. It isn’t that turnips are bad, they just tend to be treated like an uninspiring root that can be swapped out with anything else. I often found roasted with a bunch of other roots under a roast (or vegan “roast”). It is also guilty of following the recipe patterns of other root staples, fries, simple roasting, latkes, chips, or the dreaded mashed recipe.

These are all fine and dandy, I am sure shredding turnip and frying it like a latke tastes awesome. But I always like to have interesting and creative recipes to try out. So let’s start with some basics:

Produce Spotlight: The Ultimate Guide to Turnips

After finding this website with their detailed information about kohlrabi, I figured I would swing by to check out if they had one on turnips. They did! The page gives you everything you might be asking, do they give gas? are they healthy/starchy/high carb? what do they taste like? what’s up with these greens? A quick little TLDR; is that rutabaga (or swedes) are NOT turnips. They are very similar and probably could be switched out quite easily if in a jam but you might need to adjust cooktimes.

Why bother eating your turnip? Why don’t you spend lots of time making it into a lantern! How could I not mention this since it is so close to Halloween?! Before pumpkins were available in Europe, people would carve faces into turnips. If you are not sure if it is worth the effort, I will say they do look terrifying!

Soup


Leek and Cannellini Bean Soup
This might not be the most soul inspiring soup mix. Cool white beans and leeks, but I do always get leeks from my CSA. Plus, I think I’ve been a little bit of an ignorant jerk with leeks. But I like the idea of a simple soup using turnips instead of starchy potatoes. The soup isn’t vegan, but easy to change. Use veggie stock and take away the cheese.


Chickpea, Turnip, and Lemon Soup
The hipster foodie in me is a little bit of a sucker of anything with lemon and chickpeas in the title. Who knows why. This soup does sound like a perfect cozy soup, maybe served with bread for dinner, or made for lunches for the week. Half of the soup gets blended to make a thicker broth, but still leaving chickpea and turnip chunks to munch on.


Soup Joumou (Haitian Beef and Pumpkin Soup)
Is this soup vegan? Um…. clearly not. But it looks fairly easy to veganize if you sub the beef for either a fake meat like seitan or something simple like beans. The best part? It is a great soup to make during the October/Fall season when you have a few hot summer veggies producing in the fields, and some root veggies starting to come in. I easily have almost all the ingredients in my house right now.

Salad

Cabbage with White Beans, Turnip, and Pecorino
Again not a vegan dish, but you can easily sub the pecorino with some sort of vegan parmesan. I love these type of quick side dishes in the winter. Making a casserole? Baked tofu? Quickly cook this up while the dinner is in the oven.

Farro Salad with Turnips and Greens
If you are lucky enough to get turnips AND the greens this would be a great dish to make. I love these grain salads as they are filling and a great way to eat a whole grain.


Shaved Rutabaga and Turnip Salad with Scallions
I found quite a few “faux potato” salad recipes, which seemed like it might be pretty tasty to eat turnips. But I liked the look of this dish, even though it doesn’t have a mayo-like base, it makes me think of some of the oil and vinegar based potato salads. Nice and light side, that would be great to pair with some of the heavier winter dishes.

Sides

Miso Glazed Turnips
There have been a few recipes that mix together miso and turnips. It sounds like it would be a yummy way to add more flavor to this mild root. This recipe uses butter, but just use some oil of choice or some vegan butter.


Lo Bak Gou: Cantonese Turnip Cake
I’ve first became aware of these cakes from Susan as she usually gets a turnip cake when eating out at Chinese restaurants. I had never heard of it before, so I made it using a recipe from the V Street cookbook. Even though the name says Turnip Cake, it is usually made with daikon radish. But it makes my kitchen super stinky, so maybe I will try it with all turnip this time.


Turnips and Greens with Cashew Cream Sauce
Another recipe that uses turns AND their greens. I like how it is tossed in a cashew cream sauce, making it like those “faux potato salads” I said actually sounded nice.


Turnip Puff
This recipe is not vegan, and I am not sure how vegan-izable it will be. But it is TOTALLY speaking to me! I’ve tried it once with rutabaga, and honestly I have to try again soon. So this recipe sits here as inspiration for turnips. And if you are on this page and aren’t vegan- MAKE THIS AND TELL IF IT IS AWESOME! It just seems like such a great recipe for a Thanksgiving or holiday table.


Beet and Turnip Gratin
Beets are usually sitting in my fridge and I can’t figure what to do with them. I just get lazy, and maybe I just have this weird thing about roots? Anyways, this dish looks REALLY pretty! And pretty much vegan. Just use veggie stock and a vegan butter (or oil, or vegan magic)

Mains

Crispy Turnip and Bean Balls
These are super simple, only 4 ingredients plus salt. So I am really interested to see how they taste. But honestly, they just look so yummy. And they look like a quick and easy dish to make when serving with other sides and grains.

Turnip Veggie Burgers
This burger just looks crazy. Like in a good way. Perhaps burger isn’t the best word, maybe just sandwich is best way to describe it. I know there are so many people who scoff at the term burger being used for anything other than beef. The bulk is just rice and turnips, and a BUTT LOAD OF HERBS. They topped it with some fancy pickles and a tahini like spread, and it just sounds yummy.

Bean Bake with Greens and Turnip
Truthfully, I think this recipe will tank. Looking at the ingredients, just doesn’t give me a sense of confidence. BUT I find the idea great. Some classic baked beans (the tomato-y kind, not the sweet Boston kind) and topping it with some thinly sliced turnip that serve as a little roasted layer.

Desserts

Turnip Bake
Yes, I’ve even managed to find some desserts that use turnips. The first recipe isn’t very pretty, to be honest. But it is sort of like a cobbler, part turnips-part apple. Honestly, I am not 100% sure if it is suppose to be a sweet treat, some veggie sides I find WAY too sweet (hello sweet potato casseroles)

Eastham Turnip Pie
There were a few turnip cakes out there, and honestly they are simple enough to make. Just sub any cooked mashed veggies for turnip. But pie? That’s another story. The recipe isn’t vegan, but I am sure you could sub some aquafaba, and the cream for a store bought creamer or homemade cashew cream. I tried making a similar recipe by using the pumpkin pie recipe from Vegan Pie in the Sky and it didn’t work. But I refuse to give up! I will try it one more time, sticking to this recipe a little more closely. And no, this isn’t hipsters gone crazy, it is a traditional dish. There is even a pie made with rutabaga.

Anyone has a favorite way to eat turnips?


It’s that time of year, cucumbers are flooding in and I sit staring into my fridge wondering what to do with all of them. My big problem is that I can’t eat too much cucumber without my stomach getting upset. Even still, so many recipes that use cucumber seems to use such a small amount anyways. It isn’t until very recently that I learned you can apparently cook cucumbers.

So here I am this year, trying to make a list to work with. And truthfully, I’ll probably using cucumbers a lot more this year since our CSA has experienced quite a bit of crop loss from flooding. And if you are wondering why there aren’t any pickle recipes, well that is easy. I make plenty of pickles, they just use a different kind of cucumber. So these recipes are for your average joe-smoe cucumber. Also, if you are like me and have tummy troubles with cucumber, simply peels and seed your cucumber before eating. It will make life bittersweet, I like the skin, but you can eat it with less pain.

Drinks

Cucumber Cooler
I love a great drink. Sadly I feel like we lost it when big soda took over. We now just guzzle overly sweet drinks that lack subtly. This is probably why I love a cocktail, more thought and care have been put into it to balance flavors. But not everyone wants booze, whether it is for religion, health, or personal preference. So this drink is a nice drink without the alcohol. If you must use booze, you could always use a spiked ginger ale,

Cucumber Coupe
Gin, cucumber, and sparkling wine? Yes please.

In the Weeds
I enjoyed this drink and it is pretty cheap if you have all the good on hand. Just need some cheap vodka and a bitters container that will last you forever.

Juke Cup Cocktail
This drink is a little bit of a pipeline dream. It seems like it would be a little too expensive as it uses some very specific types of liquors. But a girl can dream because it sounds super yummy.

Milk Maid Cocktail
I am debating if putting this on the list is a good idea. It is vegan, so that’s good. The issue is the cucumber, it’s just garnish, so does this really qualify it to be on this list? I don’t know, with this political climate I will use any excuse to drink more. So on the list this goes.

Cucumber Mint Fizz
This is a drink that has booze but I can’t help but feel like it shouldn’t. It just looks so inviting I could sip on it all day. It contains gin, and you could easily sub a non alcoholic gin and tonic for the fizz. Or you can quickly google non-alcoholic gin and get a bunch of results. You couldn’t skip the gin because of the yummy botanical flavors it brings to the table.

Frozen

Wasabi Cucumber Ice Cream
This sounds crazy enough to be delicious! I might want to alter the recipe a little, but worth giving it a go.

Cucumber Basil Granita
This seems simple enough, but I like the flavor combo of basil and cucumber together. Sounds pretty dreamy, but it makes sense. Lots of people like to pair cucumber with mint with sorbets, and basil is a close relative to mint.


Avocado and Cucumber Sorbet
Avocado sorbet was one of my favorites at Capogiro’s (RIP) I love how the avocado adds fat to the sorbet making it more like ice cream in texture. So this combo sounds pretty magical.

Cucumber Celery and Gin Sorbet
My mind is racing about this one. So many savory flavors waiting for me to enjoy in an ice cold form. *drools* And if you don’t want booze and don’t want to miss out google non-alcoholic gin. I would link to some but there are available to different countries and that would make a mess. But the alcohol probably helps keep the sorbet soft in the freezer.

Salads

Spicy Smashes Cucumber Salad with Brown Rice
I’ve actually already made this recipe. It technically isn’t vegan, and it calls for labneh not greek yogurt. Whatever. I used almond yogurt and maple syrup and it was super good. Pretty much the recipe calls for smashing the cucumbers which makes them better at absorbing flavors. Totally worth the time to make, and it is pretty filling with the brown rice and croutons.

Cucumber and Wakame Seaweed Sunomono
Asian styled cucumber recipes use to be my favorite. I would do a quick pickle cucumber with some thai flavors and be in heaven for lunch. So this dish looked delicious. I love the idea of mixing cucumber with a deep flavored seaweed.

Green Beans and Cucumbers with Miso Dressing
Double whammy recipe right here. I am CONSTANTLY trying to get rid of green beans as well. My green bean problem has died down more recently as deers have found the beans consistently every year at my CSA. But there was a point where we would get practically a bag full of green beans, and it would make me angry I would have to trim all of them. But hey, I think miso tastes amazing with everything so this might make a great side dish.

Dinner Time

Green Cucumber Tomatillo Gazpacho
Technically speaking this isn’t vegan. But you could easily sub the yogurt with a vegan one, and use agave or corn syrup for the honey. Yeah, I just suggested you use corn syrup, deal with it. But the soup is easy to make, and uses a grill making for a very cool house.

30 Minute Cucumber Noodle Pad Thai
Maybe my beef with cucumbers is that it gets pushed to the side. A cold salad, a pickle, a cold soup, a delicious drink. This recipe pushes it right in the front by spiralizing it and coating it with a sauce. Sounds good to me.

Green Gimbap
This was a little twist to a Korean classic. Think of it like sandwich flavors in sushi form. You can really use whatever you want in it, traditionally there are weird things like spam or cheese wrapped in, so get creative and go nuts, just keep the cucumber because that is what this whole post is about right?

Cooked

Let me start this section by saying, WHO KNEW YOU COULD COOK CUCUMBERS?! It is always cold, which is fine in some ways, but totally limiting on the other hand. I am excited to try these out because I want to see if cooking helps with the digestion aspect.

Sautéed Korean Cucumber Side Dish
This is a simple recipe. Just “burp” the cucumber and sauté. Pretty simple and barely takes any real time. Sure you need to wait for the first step but it it largely down time.

Sautéed Cucumber
Apparently Martha Stewart knew about this whole hot cucumber thing too. I mean this is hardly a recipe. Just chop and sautee for 5 minutes, but it gives a jumping point for any hot cuke noobs.

Julia Child’s Baked Cucumbers
Julia Child even knew about this thing! Only she bakes her cucumbers, and I am thinking an hour of baking might be too long. But I am not Julia Child, and therefore know even less than she does about cooking cucumbers, so what do I know?

Fried Cucumbers
You know, I was at first shocked to hear about this, but honestly, why not? I mean there are fried pickles? This recipe is just for those who are too lazy and want to skip the whole pickle step.


Cucumber Cake with Gin Icing
If there is one thing I have learned about obsessing over cake recipes is that there is no end to what one can do with vegetables and flour. This recipe sounds like it uses some interestig flavors to work with each other. The recipe isn’t vegan, but hell, why not try it out anyways?

Cucumber Walnut Bread
And finally we close with a much more practical cake for the everyday. Both cakes are really getting me excited but I know I will most likely NOT be trying them anytime soon because of lack of central air. Or perhaps I will just go for it and see what happens. *crosses fingers*

So what is your favorite ways to eat cucumbers? Has anyone tried baking it?


Every year I always stumble over the same vegetables from my CSA. I never really know what to do with them, and somehow, I have a hard time finding recipes for them as well. If I search in pinterest I get the same old recipe repeated over and over.

So I wanted to remedy that. Start a list of recipes I want to try out, or at the very least gives an interesting way to use the ingredient. Right now my fridge is getting overrun by radishes. I get keep getting them, and not using them by the end of the week. I pick up some more and now at this point I really need to use them us I can’t figure out the difference between them and turnips (sometimes)

Salads

Croatian Radish Salad
This dish seems simple and easy. Naturally I am a little interested in the fact there is some tradition going surrounding the dish. It technically isn’t vegan but is easy enough to sub with Just Mayo.

Herby Black Rice Salad with Radishes and Ricotta Salata
I am not sure what is speaking to me about this salad, but it is. Maybe it is the black rice? Or maybe it is because it just seems so different from any other recipe I’ve found. Whatever the reason this is another technically not vegan dish that might be easy to veganize. I think I would just swap the ricotta with a tofu or maybe even just a vegan cheese.

Sides

Braised Red Radishes
Well, I’d probably halve this recipe. 40 radishes seems like a LOT. Maybe not. But sometimes I forget that you can simply cook a vegetable and serve next to something else. It would give me a good excuse to make some baked tofu.

Moosaengche Radish Salads
I would love to make this little side dish to eat with Szechuan Beefless Strips or Beefless Tips. Maybe paired with some sauteed greens and rice?

Pickled

Vegan Dumpling Bowls with Quick Pickled Radishes & Almond Miso Sauce
There are SO many recipes on pinterest that are for pickled radish. That’s great, but what to use them for? Sure, toss them in salad, wraps, whatever really. But I like how Gina makes a recipe specifically for pickled radish. She gives a recipe for a quick pickle, but you could use any pickled radish really.

French Breakfast Redishes with Nori Tamari and Avocado
This is a dish that I loved so much that I had to share again on here. These radishes are quickly pickled, wrapped in nori, and served on a bed of mashed avocado. I would LOVE to make this again, but it works best with spring radishes. So I’ll patiently wait till next spring.

Soy Pickled Radishes with Jalapenos
These might not look the prettiest, but I’ve made a similar recipe in the past. They are very salty and very umami. It makes a great side dish with dinner.

Meals

Chickpea Scramble Breakfast
I might not eat this as a breakfast, but it would be a nice lunch that I can meal prep. Maybe. It seems pretty simple, chop and roast the veggies, cook a grain, and scramble the chickpea flour. Save the rest and heat when you want to eat.

Vegan Wild Mushroom + Daikon Radish Cakes
I’ve made a radish cake from the V Street cookbook. It was yummy, but I like the idea of the more traditional recipes where you steam the cake then fry it, to get a crispy edge. Sure it makes my house smell like farts, but it is pretty tasty.

Inspiration

Radishes with Burrata
This is a pretty simple dish- just thinly sliced radish with a cheese (pretty much a fresh mozzarella). I would love to use Miyoko’s Fresh Mozzarella and I feel like it is so simple that you could do lots of different things. Like maybe a little pesto, stacked, maybe in a sandwich. Lots of options here.

Mooli – Indian Radish Raita
My biggest fault with Indian cooking is that I never make any raitas, or chutneys. I’m just lazy. But this might be a nice one to make, simple easy, and getting rid of more veggies. Clearly it isn’t vegan, but I just need to get a vegan yogurt.

Steak Tacos with Cilantro-Radish Salsa
Clearly there is a lot I would need to modify about this recipe. But I like the idea of a simple radish salsa. I am thinking about replacing the steak with “refried” black beans, and maybe a cashew cream sauce.

Is there any radish recipes or dishes you guys like? Anything else I should be checking out?