Indian-Spiced Turnip Cakes with Mango Salsa

We have eaten well today! This afternoon, Tommie and I had lunch at Layalina, a Lebanese/Syrian restaurant in Arlington that our friend Tara had raved about. She was right -- fabulous food. Check it out if you're in the area.

Then tonight, I made this Indian flavored turnip cake recipe for the first time. If I'm being honest, it's a pain in the ass to make. The puree has to chill in the fridge at least four hours prior to forming the cakes, so right there Jack had almost lost me. I went to make the recipe the other night and realized that I needed to pre-make the puree. Grrrr.

Our kitchen looks like a bomb of bowls, pans, and cutting boards exploded, and then to top things off, our smoke alarms sounded while I was making the turnip cakes. That's the one downside to having an open floor-plan home -- the stupid smoke alarms go off all the time.

But, all that aside, this is one delicious, nutrient-rich meal. Sadly, this one gets knocked down due to the pain-in-the-ass factor, so we're giving it a 3.5. Oh, and BTW, I've given up on pinching off the stems of my spinach. You can't really tell when you cook spinach, but I guess for a salad I really should, but that's a pain in the ass too. On that happy note, bon appetit!

Stir-Fried Turnips with Greens

Asian Delight-ful! Despite my LOVE of turnips, this is only the second time I've made this dish, and it has to have been years since I made it the first time. What have I been thinking? This stir-fry is fabulous.

If you have not tried turnips, and if you like Asian flavors, then make this stir-fry your entree (pun not intentional) into Turnip World.

Couple thoughts: Tommie will disagree with me on this, but rather than put 1/2 teaspoon of red chili flakes in it, I might go with 1/4 the next time. It pushed the envelope in terms of heat for my delicate mouth. The other thing is that I definitely could have added more spinach. It never ceases to amaze me how massive the greens look going in and how small they are once they wilt.

Try this dish. It's really fabulous. We give it 4.5 stars. Delicious. Nutritious. But a lot of prep bowls to clean. Tommie's working on that as I type...

Couscous Tagine with Turnips and Dried Apricots - Take Two

If you're paying attention you'll remember that Tommie made this dish last month (seriously I expect NO ONE to remember that). Tommie and I had made homemade bagels this week, and so I needed a nice, healthy, nutrient rich meal to combat the overload of simple bagel carbs in addition to the chocolates, cakes, and cookies that have been accompanying the holidays.

Enter one of my favorite and extremely easy to make dishes: Couscous Tagine with Turnips and Dried Apricots. The sweet flavor of the apricots blends just beautifully with the peppery turnips. Love, love, love this dish. Tastes fabulous, extremely low calories, chock full of nutrients with tomatoes, cinnamon, cumin, cilantro, turnips, apricots, onions, and couscous. We give this one the full 5 stars.

Seriously, DON'T FEAR THE TURNIP. If you are afraid, at least give it one shot. If you hate it, no worries. But you may find that you love it like I do, and then you'll just maybe be open to trying even more vegetables that seemed like a no-go area before, like perhaps chard, fennel, leeks, parsnip, beets... There's a world of delicious flavors to discover that can help to make your body stronger than ever. Start now with THE TURNIP!

Green Lentil and Roasted Vegetable Salad with Mustard-Tarragon Vinaigrette

For a salad, this is one fabulous dish. I've decided that roasted vegetables are my favorite food. I'd pick roasted vegetables over a cupcake even. It was a little hard to keep my hands away from the freshly roasted turnips and red onions so that there were enough left to combine with the lentils into the dressing. But, as you can see, I managed to control my desires and not just nosh on lightly browned, droolingly delicious, freshly roasted turnips.

Though this dish takes a while to make, it's very easy, and pretty much fool-proof. Oh, and I chose to use arugula for my tender green of choice. Me and POTUS have similar tastes in greens.

We're giving this dinner a 4. For a salad, it's a 5 hands down, but Tommie and I aren't the hugest salad fans. So, 4 stars it is.

Couscous Tagine with Turnips and Dried Apricots

Guest Blogger Tommie tonight. It was my turn to whip up a tasty Jack Bishop recipe. Tonight's was an oldie but a goodie. I've never made it before. A lot of prep time, chopping and measuring out spices, but it cooks easily. The dish has a nice balance of tang, spice and sweetness. An exceptional can of diced tomatoes really helped give this acidity, and it was a little more spice and less sweet than when Tracy has made it.

Turnips are a favorite around here, and this dish is quite healthy--just a hint of olive oil. I will give it 4 1/2 stars, subscribing to Tracy's x-0.5 for lack of protein rating. It was fun stepping into the chef's hat tonight!

Root Vegetable Tarts with Rosemary

This picture does not do this meal justice. Hubby and I ate this for the first time tonight, and we could not believe how delicious it was. It's heavier than my delicate stomach is used to because of the scrummy puff pastry dough (Dufour brand), but I would definitely make this again for a treat or for company. It was very easy to make and has just a few ingredients: turnips (my fave), potatoes, carrots, and red onions seasoned very delicately and baked into puff pastry.

I give this meal 4 stars out of 5, deducting a half a point for being heavy and another half a point for not including a protein. As a vegetarian I like to fit in some protein with every meal, and it makes life easier if it's an ingredient in the recipe. (Note: I'd like to come up with a more creative rating system, but until then, stars it is. If you have any suggestions, let me know.)