Category Archives: Vegetarian

PINK PICKLED TURNIPS

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After two freezes (and snow!) this winter, I’m grateful to see the first signs of spring starting to appear.  The very first blooms that “turnip” — even before the trees sport their glossy spring green new leaves — are mostly pink.  If you pay attention, you’ll see these early pink signs of spring everywhere  — azaleas, redbuds, roses, japanese magnolias, lorapetalum.

Azaleas and Japanese magnolias

Lorapetalum and Peggy Martin roses

Redbuds

Soon, Houston will be ablaze in color.  It’s a magnificent show  I look forward to every year. Spring hopes eternal.

To celebrate this pink spring awakening, I made a batch of bright pink pickled turnips — they often “turnip” as a bright pop of color on plates in middle eastern restaurants.  On a recent trip to the farmers market, I came across ginormous turnips that had just fallen off the proverbial turnip truck:

The one I brought home was just shy of two pounds.  For context, here it is next to a quarter:

Whoa

This is what I refer to as the “Ebay cans and coins method of measurement” — you know, for those times when it’s just too much bother to find a ruler.  A few examples:

Coins

Cans

Fun fact — if you leave your turnip sitting around long enough, it will sprout a miniature forest of turnip greens:

I am tickled pink by these neon bright pickled turnips and how easy they are to make.  I would never “turnip” my nose at them.

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PINK PICKLED TURNIPS
Author: 
 
Ingredients
  • 3 cups water
  • ⅓ cup kosher salt
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 cup distilled white vinegar
  • 2 large turnips, peeled and sliced into ½" thick batons
  • 1 small red beet, peeled and cut into ½" thick batons
  • 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 2 cayenne chilis (optional)
  • Sprig of dill (optional)
Instructions
  1. Heat 2 cups of water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the salt and bay leaf, stirring until the salt is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool, then add the vinegar and the remaining 1 cup of water.
  2. Place the turnips, beets, and garlic (and cayenne and/or dill, if using) into a large glass jar, then pour the brine, including the bay leaf, over them. Cover and set aside at room temperature for 2-3 days, then refrigerate until ready to serve.

 

The pink show starts immediately

After a few days, the pickled turnips are ready, willing, and pink

Think pink!

WATERMELON GAZPACHO

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I found this cast iron Amish hourglass at an estate sale:

One of my early blog posts — Friendship Blueberry Muffins — was also inspired by cast iron Amish figurines that I found at an estate sale.  I’m curious as to how they ended up in Houston — to my knowledge, there aren’t a lot of Amish here.  In fact, as best I can tell, there is only one small community in Texas in Beeville, started by a group from Tennessee in 1999.  I can understand why there are not more Amish in Texas — it’s not a secret that summers here can be brutally hot, and given that most Amish don’t have indoor air conditioning, I would imagine living here would not be very appealing.

According to my favorite weather guys, “August is the worst month because it is the hottest month of the year in Houston.  And we typically vacillate between the extremes of drought and flood, sometimes within a matter of hours.  There is no happy medium, There is no break from the humidity.  There is only August.”  Nailed it.  On the bright side, there’s at least a gllimmer of hope for cooler days at the end of September.

So although Halloween stuff is starting to appear in stores, and there are whispers of pumpkin spice in the air, we have at least two more months of heat and humidity to get through before we start cranking up the heat in the kitchen.  Inspired by the little Amish girl patiently sitting by the hourglass (like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our summers), this Watermelon Gazpacho is cool and refreshing, with a little kick from jalapeno, and requires no cooking and only minimal preparation.  It’s perfect for the “worst month” while watermelon, cucumbers, and tomatoes are still in season.

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WATERMELON GAZPACHO
Author: 
 
Ingredients
  • 1 medium English cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into large chunks
  • ½ medium red bell pepper, seeded and ribs removed, and cut into large chunks
  • 2 cups coarsely chopped tomatoes
  • 2 cups coarsely chopped seedless watermelon
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 4 teaspoons sherry vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons chopped jalapeno, seeded
  • 2 tablespoons chopped shallots
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Fresh cilantro (optional garnish)
Instructions
  1. Place cucumber, red bell pepper, tomatoes, watermelon, oil, vinegar, jalapeno, and shallots in a blender, and blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Note: you can add more oil or vinegar, if desired.). Transfer to a container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Ladle gazpacho into bowls and garnish with cilantro. Serve cold.

So refreshing