Harvesting Hakurei Turnips & Actually Beginning to Live Off the Land!

I harvested our turnip crop today, the first full harvest of our garden.  I was a little caught off guard by how emotional I was...not surprising, after having planted the seeds, watching them sprout and grow, nurturing by weeding & watering, and watching some more...it was similar to the sense of pride I felt when accomplishing something of importance but knowing it meant things were changing...I was both happy for the accomplishment and sad that now this crop of turnips is "done".

Here is the small row of turnips...

These are the largest of the crop, pulled first just because:)

 My basket full...doesn't look like much, but I am proud as a peacock!

After washing and trimming, these are the turnips that remain.  Their aroma was exactly as I had anticipated, turnip-y, but their freshness made them milder smelling; and they were so fresh and young I didn't remove the skin!  I roasted them with a little olive oil and salt & pepper, and they were delicious!

I also used the turnip greens, which were crisp and also had that familiar turnip aroma, but a little milder.  I tasted one raw, (you can include them in salads), but did not care for the aftertaste, which was quite bitter.  I cooked them in a stir fry; sauted onions in butter and olive oil, added wild mushrooms (we do eat a lot of those), a little soy sauce and Worcestershire, then added the greens...another tasty dish! 

We ate the two turnip dishes as a meal this evening, along with some home made bread I will tell you about tomorrow.  We were thrilled with our turnip crop, so much so we are already planning on planting a fall crop again!

So here we are, beginning to live off the land!!!  A thrilling day indeed:)

Thanks for reading my blog, you are the best f/f/r/s/f's, see you tomorrow,
Lise