I’ve had to work with turnips a lot lately since I got a ton of them through my CSA. I decided that if I’m going to eat them, they need to be a little sweet, so I always turn to my trusted sweetener: Maple Syrup.

In the fridge I had turnips and brussel sprouts. Why not combine them?

I sliced the turnips and 1/2 of an onion, then put them in a baking dish with some brussel sprouts. Then tossed it all in a little heavy whipping cream, a drizzle of maple syrup, and a splash of Worcestershire. Nothing needs an accurate measurement- just drizzle and mix and get it moist. Then cover with foil and bake at 375 for approximately 40 minutes. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper and enjoy.

I served these with Baked Tempeh Patties.

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

Scarlet Queen Turnips were in the CSA share, and I really had no plan for them. I tucked them in the fridge and didn’t pay attention to them until I decided to make a potato salad. Turnips go well with potatoes because they have a similarly smooth texture, add a little variety, and lighten some bites since you’ll get mouthfuls that are not all potato.

For this potato salad, I boiled 10 small Yukon Gold potatoes and 6 large Scarlet Queen Turnips until easily pierced by a fork. I drained them and gave them a rinsing in cold water to stop them from cooking.

When cool to touch, I quartered them, transferred them to a large mixing bowl, and dressed them with:

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 4 TB apple cider vinegar
• 2 TB Worcestershire
• 2-3 TB German mustard
• fresh ground black pepper

My CSA share of veggies had some Hakurei turnips, which were new to me, so I had to make something new. I had some yellow potatoes and tempeh, so I made a hearty meal using the turnips and their greens.

The result: Roasted Turnips and Potatoes with Tempeh Loaf and Sautéed Turnip Greens… trust me on this one.

I quartered the potatoes and turnips, tossed them in olive oil, sea salt, and pepper, and let them roast in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes or so, until the potatoes were done. It couldn’t be more simple.

I made my delicious Tempeh Loaf, which is always an enjoyable main dish. Tempeh loaf is easy. I don’t shape it like a traditional meatloaf, as you can see from my pie plate in the photo, but I still call it tempeh loaf since it is replacing meatloaf on my table.

I use:

• a package of tempeh
• 1 medium sized yellow onion
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 TB dijon mustard
• 2 TB Worcestershire sauce
• 1 egg
• 2 TB olive oil
• 2-3 slices of bread, crumbled
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan

I like tempeh loaf with ketchup, so I spiced up some simple organic 365 brand ketchup with Savory Spice Shop’s Red Rocks Hickory Smoke Seasoning. As I’ve said before… everything is better when you add Savory Spice Shop’s spices into the mix!

Finally, I sauteéd the turnip greens in a little white wine and olive oil for just a few minutes until they turned a bright shade of green. I removed them from heat and added a little maple syrup and dijon mustard, as well as dehydrated shallots from… of course, Savory Spice Shop.

A sprinkle of sea salt and fresh ground pepper and you have yourself a meal.