I will admit that I had never heard of a Hakurei turnip until I discovered them at a Farmers Market visit last year.

Turnips, for that matter, weren’t quite a staple in our farm garden when I was growing up. We had potatoes and carrots plus peas and corn and other veggies, but turnips? Nope. Can’t recall them.

And then to see these all white turnips at the market last year, well, it peaked my curiouslty. As I bought one bunch, then two and more over the course of the farmers market season, I looked for new ways to prepare them. I’ve found it is a perfect addition to my simple roasted vegetable dish!

While I love to try new recipes and different vegetables, I will admit to not being a “home cook.” I used to think I was one, until I watched a new series on the Food Network. In fact, I was quite excited about the show! When advertising the newest series, Food Network hosts touted it as competition show that would pit one home cook-chef duo against another.

“Wait, that’s me!” I remember telling the television. Okay, so the TV didn’t talk back. If it did, well, that would be problem! But I thought of myself as a home cook because I felt I was! After all, I cooked for my family, tried new recipes and loved the preparation and meal planning. I grew up on a farm where we had whole foods everyday! And I loved the freshness and great flavors.

Watching that first show, however, I realized I was NOT in this home cook league! Why, these cooks were smoking foods and using a blast chiller. They were chopping vegetables at the speed of light and they had all their fingers still at the end of the show! If that was me, I would’ve resembled a mummy at the end of it all.

Obviously, was not the home cook, but I was the family cook, I decided. My recipes reflect family tastes. While adventuresome, it’s pretty basic. I want to taste great food. I might not have all the appliances, but do want to feature the flavors of whole, locally raised foods!

So I offer to you a very simple, but great tasting roasted vegetable dish.

Let me preface this simple, great recipe by saying I have tried, with all fervor and honesty, to do roasted vegetables the Barefoot Contessa way. And I did try, but Ina Garten I am not! I love to watch her make them, though. She “drizzles” olive oil over her evenly cut vegetables and gives it all a pinch of salt and pepper. After a trip to the oven, the vegetables and wonderfully roasted! Mine? It had too much olive oil and represented an oil bathed vegetable something.

Yep. Not very good.

But my love of roasted vegetables had me searching for a recipe that would work. And I found one. It’s great with Hakurei turnips, too!

Ingredients:

vegetables cut in even cubes - Hakurei turnips, potatoes, sweet potatoes for example. Whatever veggies you want to roast.

Olive Oil or other type of oil spray.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Spray the pan (I like to cover the pan in aluminum foil) then place cubed vegetables in the pan.

Spray again this time over the vegetables.

sprinkle on herbs - could be Mrs. Dash or any dried or fresh herbs.

Put in oven for 20 to 30 minutes. Check veggies for roasted goodness.

There it is. Simple Dimple! So great and one way I CAN enjoy roasted vegetables.

Do you have a technique or recipe to share? Let me know in the comments or e-mail me.

I look forward to your Farmer’s Market finds or market stories!