Rutabaga, Rutabaga, Ra, Ra, Ra!

I picked up my latest CSA box yesterday; check out the beautiful array of colors and textures! The maroon/magenta on the green onions makes me happy, and I'm excited about using those mustard greens (I've never cooked them before). There was one nice little grapefruit which was surprisingly sweet. I'm used to ruby red grapefruits being sweet, and the white ones being sour. That's the way it is on the east coast. But this one was actually part pomelo, and it had the thick rind to show it. It was picked before the freeze and refrigerated for the later enjoyment of all the CSA subscribers, which I'm thankful for because I won't be able to afford citrus this season. For anyone who doesn't know, the Great Central Valley of California had a freeze earlier this month that destroyed a lot of the citrus crop and put the citrus farmers into a frenzy. The Governator even had to get federal assistance to help them out.

Here's a picture of my last CSA box; turnips and rutabagas! The purple, green, and cream colors of those rutabagas make me smile. I've actually been obsessed with the word rutabaga ever since these arrived; it rolls right off the tongue, despite those hard Rs and G. It's even better than the word naugahyde. I ended up cutting up the turnips and rutabagas and roasting them in the oven with some salt. Unfortunately, I used too much salt and they were unpalatable. Ah well, maybe next time.


I saved the rind of the grapefruit because I just can't bear to throw it out. There must be a way to use it, maybe in a potpourri type thing or in a recipe if it lasts.