another weekly special…rutabagas!

Starting today, we will have not one but TWO items featured in store every day. Check in every day for our Daily Special, a familiar food at a dirt-cheap price. Today we have collard greens for 75 cents a bunch.

If you’re out of ideas for dinner, try out the suggested recipes for our weekly feature item. This week, it’s rutabagas! Again, here’s a copy of the recipe sheet available in-store:
Rutabagas are a root vegetable thought to have originated in the wild as a cross between a turnip and cabbage. They got a bad rap during the Great Depression, when they were one of the few foods cheap and readily available, and haven’t been commonly eaten in the US since. However, rutabagas are delicious, slightly sweet, and bursting with calcium, vitamin C, and potassium.

Serving Suggestions:
**Peel, dice, and boil the rutabaga until tender. Mash with butter and, if you want, a little cayenne pepper, ginger, brown sugar, garlic, lemon juice, rosemary or a combination of spices.
**Peel and grate the rutabaga, toss with orange and lemon juice and some raisins for an easy salad!.
**Roast with olive oil to bring out the vegetables’ sweetness.
**Add to winter soups or stews instead of potatoes for a more nutritious, sweeter twist.

Recipe Suggestions:
EASY CURRIED RUTABAGA
Peel and cube a RUTABAGA, then stick in a skillet with just enough water to cover the vegetable pieces (about a cup and a half…not too much or all the sweetness will go away!). Bring water to a boil, then add a little OLIVE OIL, SALT, PEPPER, a little BROWN SUGAR, and a dash or few of CURRY POWDER to taste. Bring back to a boil, reduce heat, and let simmer until the cubes can be easily pierced with a fork.

APPLE RUTABAGA CASSEROLE
Cook 3 C. PEELED RUTABAGA SLICES in boiling salted water until just tender; drain. Slice TWO MEDIUM APPLES Place half of each kind of slice in greased 1 quart casserole. Sprinkle with 1/4 C. PACKED BROWN SUGAR and dot with 1 1/2 TBSP BUTTER. Sprinkle with salt. Repeat layers using up to an additional 1/4 C. BROWN SUGAR AND 1 1/2 TBSP. Drizzle top layer with LEMON JUICE. Bake, covered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. (adapted from southernfood.about.com)

Also on the shelf: Texas sweet grapefruit, sparkling apple cider, tangelos, galia melons, organic celery hearts, GIANT golden delicious apples, 6-pack cinnamon rolls (for only $4!) handmade in Milwaukee, red pears, fresh pita, and half-gallons of Grasspoint Farms milk–it’s locally produced, ‘Certified Pasture’ (the highest humane certification out there), and freshly delicious!