My veggie box is too crazy - I am overwhelmed

[LoveTrains]

So I posted last week and you guys gave me some awesome ideas for parsnips and turnips.

Today I got watermelon radishes (wtf are these?), beets, kale, harukei turnips, and then also some red turnips.

Plus I still have turnips, potatoes, carrots and parsnips from last week. 

And little hot peppers. And cranberries. 

All I want to do is make these martha stewart parsnip cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.

My goal in getting the veggie box was to actually eat vegetables, now I just feel wasteful and all this delightful local farmers bounty is going to waste. 

[grk2012]

Can you prep any of it and freeze for future use? I don't know much about radishes, but potatoes have endless uses, and parsnips make good fries. I just made a soup that uses roasted parsnips and pears.

[LoveTrains]

Yeah I mean I am not concerned about using the potatoes or the hot peppers. Or the parnsips to be honest. I am more concerned with the endless varieties of turnips and beets and radishes. Who knew that they were so many kinds?

[y4m]

I like radishes roasted. And kale massaged with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt.

[Redpoppy]

Can you make some soup to freeze? Kale, potatoes, and carrots work for a lot of soups. I was totally overwhelmed the year we did the CSA. I had to start taking the tops off everything at the farm and feeding them to the goats there because I couldn't get everything in my fridge with all the greenery. We had those harukei turnips and just ate them raw. They were kind of radish-y.

[LoveTrains]

Oct 23, 2013 21:25:27 GMT -5 Redpoppy said:

Can you make some soup to freeze? Kale, potatoes, and carrots work for a lot of soups. I was totally overwhelmed the year we did the CSA. I had to start taking the tops off everything at the farm and feeding them to the goats there because I couldn't get everything in my fridge with all the greenery. We had those harukei turnips and just ate them raw. They were kind of radish-y.

I don't really like soup. At all. Unless it is cheesy or creamy. I realize I am super picky.

I think I need to cut all the greens off my beets, radishes & turnips. That might help free up some room in my crisper. I found this recipe which looks kind of good for the greens: www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/neelys/ginas-turnip-greens-recipe/index.html

[rubytue]

Oct 23, 2013 21:24:54 GMT -5 LoveTrains said:

Yeah I mean I am not concerned about using the potatoes or the hot peppers. Or the parnsips to be honest. I am more concerned with the endless varieties of turnips and beets and radishes. Who knew that they were so many kinds?

I tried growing like 6 different types of radishes one year, in hopes of broadening my veggie repertoire. I tried them all, in different ways. I then realized they all tasted like variations on the flavor dirt. Peppery dirt, sweet dirt, spicy dirt, etc.

GL! Those root veggies of fall can be tough to work with. I wish I had suggestions, but alas.

[Deleted]

Turnips are good cut and roasted or mashed--especially mixed with potatoes.

[DirtySouth]

Watermelon radishes are so pretty when cut. I slice thin and throw in salads.

I love beets but the only way I can get DS to.eat.then is to make beet chips by pan frying them. I love beets roasted in the oven.

I like turnips mashed. You cab mash them alone with butter and some cheese (or however you like your potatoes mashed) or you can mash them with other veggies like carrots.

My favorite way to eat kale is making kale chips. I've also used it raw in.green smoothies and it's good stir fried with bacon.

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[y4m]

I like to sauté radish greens and radishes in butter and salt.

[LoveTrains]

I blame my parents for not feeding my vegetables as a child.
Although now I just found this recipe that looks kind of good:
www.kissmybroccoliblog.com/2012/11/19/caramelized-onion-cranberry-kale-saute/

[y4m]

This chocolate beet cake killed it in my household:

www.theroastedroot.net/chocolate-beet-cake-gluten-free/

[DirtySouth]

Oh and beets are delicious with goat cheese on salads.

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[ESF]

You can make pesto with radish greens, which can be frozen. I've never done it with beet to turnip greens but I imagine that works.

Watermelon radishes are beautiful when you cut them open, and work like regular radishes. But radishes are a tough one to work with because there's only so much bread and butter one can eat. I feel you there.

Beets - roast them. If you go and find my very defunct food blog (arugulove.wordpress.com), you will find two recipes that use beets and beet greens - a salad, and a pasta dish.

Eta - on that blog, I believe I had a recipe for turnip risotto with turnip greens, and it was stupid good, as I've done it a few times. Amazing as a side with beef for a rich, we need to drink two bottles of red kind of dinner.

[jennistarr1]

I had some awesome ass parsnip purée at a fancy restaurant I wish I had the recipe for

[Balki.Bartokomous]

I know what you mean - I feel like it's either feast or famine with my garden.

Can you take the excess into work? I did that with my zucchini & onions. One CW made zucchini bread & another made French onion soup and brought me some in. Win-win all around!

[dexteroni]

I made kale chips all summer long. They're great and they go quickly.

This pasta, kale, and bacon recipe is delicious; someone on here posted it earlier this year and I've made it a few times. And you could use one or two of the hot peppers in place of the red pepper flakes called for in the recipe.

I would work the cranberries into a baked good. I haven't made these scones, but they sound good. I managed to make unhealthy creations with way too many of my CSA items this year. Kohlrabi? Simmer it in cream. Zucchini? Bake bread. Cherries? Ice cream time! lol. Along those lines, you can use your potatoes to make cheesy potatoes. They're perfect with ham or roasts. I've made this exact recipe and it's good.

I don't have a ton of ideas for parsnips and turnips. I'm a "when in doubt, roast it" kind of person, so maybe roast them with the potatoes? That would also be a good side with a beef or pork roast, and is healthier than cheesy potatoes. I would toss them with a bit of olive oil, then add salt, pepper, and thyme and rosemary, or herbes de provence. And a sprinkling of parmesan cheese would certainly not hurt.

Carrots are great with Chinese five spice. You can add it before roasting, or steam them and add it afterward with some butter. Delicious. Or there's always a honey glaze. I've made this recipe without the chili and it was good.

Beets - like everyone else said, roast them, and either eat them warm, or chill them and use them in a salad.
 

[sherbanator]

I had the exact same thing happen to me and I just pickled a lot of beets and radishes. I also tried beet pancakes, they were good but I wasn't sold on the texture. My daughter loved the pancakes.

[matildasun]

We did something like this last summer. I was up to my eyeballs in greens. I was horribly overwhelmed. what helped for me was looking up the best way to store each vegtable, and to try to cook one or two every night. Even then, at some point, after making 17 cups of basil and oil purée, I gave up.

We make beet green soufflé, which uses both the beets and the greens, roasted beet pizza, and a beet tart that are amazing. I will find links for you later.
I love radishes on pork tacos as a kind of salsa. I just mixed radishes, jalapeños, and green onions, with some pineapple vinegar (we didn't have limes).
Like someone else posted, kale chips are an easy way fairly tasty way to use the kale.

[indianchica]

Don't throw out the beet greens! You can chop and sauté in garlic, a little sugar, and olive oil. Make sure you put the chopped stems in first bc they take a little longer to cook. Tastes like Swiss chard.

[Deleted]

Turnips are good as a "au gratin"

Parsnips I adore. I roast mine with a little maple syrup and dijon mustard.

[scout8]

I make this recipe when we get beets in our CSA. You can substitute other veggies too. It is really yummy.

allrecipes.com/recipe/savory-roasted-root-vegetables/detail.aspx

[lemons]

Cranberry scones are delicious. We just picked wild cranberries and I want to try making a cranberry swirl cheesecake for Thanksgiving. Cranberries freeze well, so you could freeze now and make a cooked cranberry relish for Thanksgiving.

[lemons]

Also, parsnips can be frozen and cooked later. We like them pan fried with butter or coconut oil.