Today let’s talk about the merits of turnips, rutabagas, and kohlrabi. Not to mention bok choy and burdock root. Hello? Anyone out there? Please don’t panic and run away at the mention of vegetables that don’t fall into the standard pre-cut, ready for stir-fry frozen bag you see at the supermarket.

As environmental stewards, we’re used to taking the path less traveled to make a difference: pulling out the canvas bag in the check-out aisle, installing solar thermal panels on our roof, driving a hybrid before they became hip in Hollywood. Same theory works for food: by embracing new seasonal flavors, harking back to a more agrarian, land-based diet that evolves with the seasons, we eat nutritionally-dense foods that readily grow locally.

Fall ushers in the perfect time of year to explore some of these unusual vegetables as they tend to be hardy crops that grow well past the first frost, and will still appear at farmers’ markets. Root crops such as rutabagas and turnips formed winter diet staples for centuries. In fact, rutabagas were among the first vegetables planted by colonists in America when they began farming, as the large and strong rutabaga roots helped break up poor soil. Some tips on experimenting with some unusual produce offerings:

• Start small. Focus on one new vegetable at a time. While it may be tempting to plunge overboard at the last farmers’ markets and buy anything fresh, start small and just try one. Well-intentioned ambitions tend to lead to excess produce wilting away, ending up in the compost pile.
• Try again. Remember that the strong flavors of these more unusual vegetables are new to your taste buds. Give your taste buds time to adjust. Try the dish again the next day in left-over form, which sometimes mellows pungent flavors a bit.
• Bring in other favorite flavors. Try dressing up unusual flavors with some of your tried and true favorite ingredients to make things more familiar and pleasing. Being from Wisconsin, we’re partial to flavorful cheeses.

This Rutabaga with Cheese Sauce recipe from our cookbook, Edible Earth: Savoring the Good Life with Vegetarian Recipes from Inn Serendipity, pairs rutabaga with a comforting cheese sauce, a dish similar in texture and flavor to a scalloped potato casserole.

Rutabaga with Cheese Sauce

Ingredients:
¼ c. butter (½ stick), melted
¼ c. all-purpose flour
2 c. milk
1 c. Cheddar cheese, shredded
Dash of salt and pepper
1 large rutabaga, diced and cooked until tender (4-5 c. diced)
½ c. bread crumbs tossed with 1 T. melted butter

Directions:

• Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat; stir in flour.
• Continue to cook and stir until smooth; gradually stir in milk. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened.
• Add cheese and stir until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Place rutabaga in a shallow, lightly buttered baking dish; pour sauce over rutabaga. Sprinkle with buttered bread crumbs.
• Bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

Serves 6-8.