What to do with the rutabaga? Or, eating down the winter pantry

Boy, isn't that an exciting post topic?  Well, like I said, my mind got a bit overloaded this week, so I'm cooking instead.  Unfortunately, this isn't going to be a pretty post, because it's just too dark in here and what I make either gets eaten right away or looks like mush.  But still, it's fun to experiment, and that's what I've been doing.

This food experimenting started because everyone was sick but me, and no one wanted to eat big meals, so I kept making dinner out of what I had in the refrigerator.  And what seasonal fare does one have lingering in the refrigerator and on the counter in February?  In our house, it's inevitably rutabagas and beets, because I don't know what to do with the former, and because two members of my family got tired of beet salad made from the latter (I didn't).  There was also a large pumpkin squash.  

My seasonal food guru is Deborah Madison, but I'd been so disheartened by the lack of new seasonal produce that I hadn't been consulting her.  I'd just been coasting, cooking-wise, and buying more from the grocery.  So when I pulled out Local Flavors again, I was pleased to see that you can mash rutabaga together with potatoes and season it with nutmeg and parsley. Just make sure you slice the rutabaga half the size of the potatoes, because they take longer to cook.  And Madison has you reserving cooking water and pouring it back in (her specialty), so you don't even have to put milk or cream in it.  I even got to use my new bottle of whole nutmeg, grinding one in my second coffee grinder that I use for spices.  

Rutabaga and potato puree

This evening, I tackled the beets.  Madison has you steam and chop them, toss them with vinegar-soaked onions and parsley, and then toss with Chevre and endive.  It's all sitting on the counter now ready for the final toss when Bob gets home.  

Beet and endive salad 

Maple-roasted butternut (or in this case, pumpkin) squash

Also, I happened to pick up Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics at the library.  That's where the squash comes in.  Garten has you chop up the squash and separate unpeeled garlic, drizzle with maple syrup, and bake.  Later you add pancetta and sage to the mix (I used bacon and thyme, but I've since bought some pancetta and sage for the other half of the squash) and let it carmelize.  I've been eating bits out of the refrigerator during the day. It's almost like candy.

Meanwhile, a friend who used to live in NYC brought an Amish Friendship Bread starter up with her for a visit, and it's "gone viral" (if you'll pardon the expression, since we're all sick anyway) within our homeschooling community.  You're supposed to give away three out of the four bags, but we're saturated with it among our group, so this chain bread stops with us.  

Anyway, C.Z. enjoyed the recipe as her first experiment with a starter. She mushed the bag and watched it ferment and then made the two loaves on the tenth day.  It was easy and delicious! The rest of the starter is in the freezer for now.

And I made my first pizza dough this week.  I'm a little behind the curve with yeast breads, since I used to kill them regularly and got scared.  But C.Z. figured out the proper temperature on her own last summer and showed me how to activate the yeast on Monday.  I really sort of liked not knowing how to bake, since that made C.Z. the baker in the family, but hopefully she'll still cook for me sometimes.

Maybe we should all get colds more often!  It's amazing what I'll do to avoid running to the grocery every day, and it's not a bad idea to become more resourceful with what one has on hand.