Turnip Head

This post is dedicated to Charlie Pace, the former member of Drive Shaft...and a fictional character from the TV show Lost. Every time I hear the word "turnip", I immediately think of Charlie, and how he always referred to Claire's baby as "turnip head". Sigh. There have been few TV show characters that have brought me to tears, and I'm not sure why I got so attached to him. Was it because he was a musician? Reformed bad boy? I "lost" it during this scene:

NOT PENNY'S BOAT

Poor turnip head would never have anyone call him by that name again! The only other TV character I grew attached to was Dr. Mark Greene from ER. Why did he have to die so dramatically? For a while after the episode of with his death, I would start to tear up when I heard Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwoʻole's version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". So lame. Anyway, I digress...

Have you ever had any meal with turnips? My husband and I racked our brains and couldn't remember ever eating one. Cookbooks were no help - there were hardly any recipes in the index under turnips, and the ones that did exist didn't sound too appetizing (i.e. our experience with braised radishes - not in the mood to braise any other vegetables any time soon). What do you do with a bunch of turnips. One bunch = 3 medium sized turnips. Not really enough for a full meal/side dish. What can you make with 3 turnips? How about mashed turnips? Sounds easy enough (and it was)!

Mashed Turnips

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch turnips
• 1 Tbl butter
• ground nutmeg, ground cloves, salt, and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Peel turnips and chop into large pieces.

2. Bowl water in a medium pot. Add turnips when boiling, and cook until tender, 10-15 minutes. Drain and return turnips to pot. Remove from heat.

3. Add butter. With a fork, mashed the turnips. Add seasonings, to taste.

We really didn't have much to eat of the mashed turnips, since our bunch was so small. It tasted really great. Next time, I'd make a gratin with other root vegetables.