Rutabaga

UPDATE: A lot of people seemed interested in this odd dish, so I decided to put up a recipe. Here you go!

1 rutabaga

1 egg

1 tbl flour

1 tblsp brown sugar

a hint of salt, black pepper, and nutmeg

Add these ingredients to the boiled rutabaga and mash it all together with a mixer. Finally, put it in a casserole dish and bake it in the oven at 375 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour. 

Also, here's a better picture of what the dish looks like: 

from http://www.saarioinen.fi/arjessa_mukana/joulun_aikaan/?kategoriaid=Joulu&reseptiid=118

from http://www.primalocity.com/

The holidays are upon us, and I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving with a picture of a giant rutabaga.

You may think that rutabaga is a non sequitur when it comes to Thanksgiving. I am here to tell you, however, that it is not, at least not in my family. Rutabaga is a staple of my family's Thanksgiving meal. 

Rutabaga, a root vegetable that is kind of orange on the inside and quite soft when cooked, is a tradition in my family. There has been rutabaga on the table at every Thanksgiving that I remember, and my mother tells me that she had rutabaga at every Thanksgiving when she was little, too. She says, "It's like our soul food." 

I'm pretty sure that this has something to do with my Finnish heritage. According to Wikipedia, rutabaga did originate in Scandinavia. Rutabaga also has high amounts of vitamin C. Since nothing grows in Finland, rutabaga was probably the only way to keep scurvy away. 

It's a truth universally acknowledged that rutabaga is an acquired taste. I, personally, have not acquired the taste yet. Nevertheless, my family still always has rutabaga on Thanksgiving. 

The rutabaga saga starts in the grocery store. Since it's nearly impossible to find, and most stores don't carry rutabaga, someone inevitably has to ask the produce manager where they keep the rutabaga. The exchange goes something like this:

Family member: Excuse me, do you carry rutabaga?

Produce manager: Ruta-what?

FM: Rutabaga.

PM: Ruta-what?

FM: Rutabaga.

PM: (silence)

FM: You know, it's big and ugly and kind of purple.

PM: I'm going to have to ask someone else. 

This goes on until some employee is able to locate the rutabaga. 

We go home and eventually cook the rutabaga. After some combination of chopping, mashing, and baking, it ends up looking like this: 

from sassyradish.com

Then comes the part where my family has to explain it to the guests. It starts with an apologetic, "Don't feel obligated to take any," and is followed by an explanation of how weird it is. The guests inevitably take a very dainty scoop, although there have been a few guests who have actually taken seconds.

Despite the awkwardness surrounding this strange vegetable, rutabaga is a Thanksgiving tradition. So happy Thanksgiving, and enjoy your rutabaga!