Now here’s a good way to eat your turnips. I had 2 bunches of turnips that I got over 2 weeks from Ollin Farms‘ CSA. So, part of my CSA Challenge was figuring out what to do with turnips. To be perfectly honest, I thought I was sick of turnips. I got a bunch of scarlet queen turnips one week and they sat in my fridge until the following week when I got another bunch. I officially had more turnips than I could eat… or so I thought.

I sliced them and a local walla-walla onion I got at the Boulder farmers market, and tossed them in a dressing of:

• 2 TB Worcestershire
• 1 TB dijon mustard
• 3 TB heavy whipping cream
• 3 TB maple syrup
• 1 TB olive oil
• 1 TB grated parmesan
• fresh ground black pepper

Could it get any better than banana chocolate chip coconut walnut bread? Or, in this case, muffins? I made muffins because they bake so much more quickly than a loaf, and in the summer heat, that makes a big difference. Muffins are also more manageable… you can easily count how many you’ve eaten. That might not be a good thing, but this recipe is.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• a pinch of sea salt
• 1 tsp baking soda (a little less if at altitude)
• 1 TB cinnamon
• 1/2 cup toasted and coarsely chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl (except for the nuts, coconut, and chocolate). With the mixer on a slow speed, add the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Finally, mix in the nuts, coconut, and chocolate chips.

I poured mine into muffin pans lined with If You Care baking cups. I like this brand because they are more environmentally friendly than your average baking cups.

My delicious muffins were done in about 20 minutes. But, make sure to check them by sticking them with a skewer or knife to be sure they’re baked all the way through. Cool on a wire rack and try to enjoy in moderation.

Rhubarb is in season, which means I am serving rhubarb for dessert. I spiced-up my Peach Cobbler recipe slightly and came up with a very satisfying treat.

I started with 6-8 stalks of rhubarb (tops cut off) and coarsely chopped them into bite-sized chunks. I added these to a sauce pan on medium heat and cooked them down with 1/4 cup maple syrup until they were softened. I did not cook this until it was a completely mushy mess because it needed to be baked. I just got it started and incorporated some maple into it.

I poured it into a Pyrex pie pan and topped it with a mixture from my peach Cobbler Recipe.

Then I baked it at 350 for approximately 30 minutes until it looked ready to eat. I let it cool a bit… patiently.

I served it with homemade maple whipped cream.