Garlicky kale and roasted turnips
Fri, Nov 21 2008 at 5:07 PM EST
Photo: Laurel Fan/Flickr 
This year we decided to do an all-CSA Thanksgiving. It turns out that building the traditional menu around actually fresh vegetables is a no-brainer -- the origin of traditional Thanksgiving dishes is what was available pre-industrialization, after all.
In the end, my guests -- vegans and carnivores alike -- declared the experiment a success. Decadent but ethical, hearty but (kinda-sorta) healthy. And not a shred of tofu!
For this recipe combined with the other five hyperlinked at bottom:
Total time spent cooking: Appx. 6 hours
Total cost of food: Appx. $55
If you just can't live without the bird, go humane and organic.
Garlicky Kale
Ingredients
One bunch kale, of the type of your choice
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves of garlic sliced very thin
Instructions
Wash Kale. Tear leaves in pieces from thick stem. Heat oil in a large pot on medium heat and add garlic. Sauté garlic until fragrant and soft, about 2 minutes. Add kale and cook and toss using tongs until kale is bright green and wilted, about 3 minutes.
Roasted Turnips
(Roasting tips courtesy of Veganomicon by Terry Romero and Isa Chandra Moskowitz
Ingredients
Turnips
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Sweet spices
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Peel and chop turnips into chunks about 3/4" across. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper you may wish to also add sweet spices cinnamon, nutmeg and/or allspice or savory ones like thyme or rosemary. I keep it simple as turnips are so subtly delicious on their own. Place in/on a baking dish or sheet and roast for approx 40 minutes, flipping halfway through, until turnips are tender, browned, even a little caramelized.
Note on the recipes (all recipes my own unless otherwise noted):
A few of these recipes call for vegetable broth. If you join a CSA and feel overwhelmed keeping up with the new vegetables coming in -- or just tend to have veggies in your fridge 'til they get wilty and unappetizing -- homemade vegetable broth or stock is a great solution. Put any combination of vegetables in a pot, cover with water and let simmer for an hour or more. Then strain out the vegetables and freeze the broth; I especially recommend bagging it in one cup increments. This will keep for months, and whenever a recipe calls for vegetable broth you're all set.
I also recommend saving the vegetables you strain out -- puree them in a food processor or blender and freeze them, as well. This makes a good base of soups and thick tomato or other sauces.
Story by Nicole Solomon. This article originally appeared in Plenty in November 2008. The story was added to MNN.com in November 2009.
Copyright Environ Press 2008
Also on MNN:
(all vegan recipes)
Link
EMAIL
Stumble
Tweet
