Let's see...

[conuly]

If I make steak tonight, I can make it with parsnips and carrots, and a side of green beans. Or maybe peas. Easy peasy, and I can even toss in some potatoes with it.

I need to go to the store. Got a rutabaga with our winter CSA. No idea what I'm gonna do with that.

***************************************

Most penises are normal, more research says. Congrats, Reuters, you've just won the prize for the most obvious headline ever. I certainly hope most of whatever-category is "normal", or else what the hell does that even mean?

U.S. On The Sidelines In Key Battle Against ISIS In Iraq

Iraqi forces seek to encircle IS fighters in Tikrit

The Coded Life of William Thomas Prestwood

Nigeria's Boko Haram releases beheading video echoing Islamic State

Weather forecast for early Earth involved iron rain

American democracy is doomed

Magic 'metamaterials' storm physics

Three dead as Kiev accuses Ukraine rebels of shelling

Some 12,000 Russian soldiers in Ukraine supporting rebels: U.S. commander

Gas Industry’s Solution to Toxic Wastewater: Spray It on Roads

Nasdaq closes above 5,000 for 1st time in 15 years

Venezuela gives U.S. 15 days to reduce embassy staff

University feeds 270,000 taking refuge from Boko Haram

Spider venom may hold chemical keys to new painkillers

Nepal Official Says Human Waste on Everest a Major Problem

Edward Snowden Working to Return Home to U.S.: Lawyer

Russia to Expand International Patrol Flights

Ferguson police racially biased says US Justice Department

Scientists have figured out what makes Indian food so delicious

Cystic fibrosis patients losing a connection

Enter the Vaginome: Meet the Microbes that Live in Our Vaginas

Weasel photographed riding on a woodpecker's back

The unlikely life of Afghanistan’s first female taxi driver

Climate Skeptic Senator Burned after Snowball Stunt

The Twisted World of Sexual Organs

Afghan army suffers heavy combat losses: US

'Fairy control' to halt tiny doors in Somerset woods

Comments

[redbird]

Rutabagas can be good in stew, soup, or roasted. (I would say "like other turnips" except that I prefer rutabagas.)

[conuly]

Why do you prefer them, do you know?

[redbird]

Purple-topped turnips, unless they're quite young, tend to be bitterer, and I'm not fond of bitter flavors. (My partners would probably be fine with either, but they're the ones who want roasted Brussels sprouts as part of our Thanksgiving dinner.)

[conuly]

Ah. Got it. I always assumed rutabaga would be less mild!

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

"I certainly hope most of whatever-category is "normal", or else what the hell does that even mean?"

YES! YES! Word with extra Word Sauce! Normal and healthy are not synonyms!

I don't grok the whole 'anxiety over normality' thing. I mean, if your teeth are crooked, or you've got a Cyrano nose, or a big hairy mole on yer face, it's both possible and sensible to get it fixed. And if you were born male but with female genitalia (or vice versa,) that too can be fixed, preferably before puberty. But if your healthy, gender-appropriate, average-sized willie isn't as big as you'd like, whatcha gonna do?

I don't hear about any 'penis enlargement' methods that aren't total scams. Therefore the whole question is moot, and guys with 11-inch dicks just have to accept being abnormal.

.... what an interesting collection of links! It will take me a while to read them, but thanks; you're my favorite news site!

[conuly]

Crooked teeth really should be fixed. That's not just cosmetic, or even psychological, crooked teeth are harder to brush and thus harder to keep physically healthy.

[rantinan.livejournal.com]

I like to cube sweedes (i believe that's a more traditional name for rutabagas. at least in australia) and then toss em in with a stew.
another option that works quite nicely is simmering in a little stock (vegata or another dehydrated vegetarian stock will do nicely)
this latter goes great with some parsnip slices shallow fried in butter, and makes a person wonder why old fashioned foods still aint fashionable, because YUM

[conuly]

I think rutabaga is actually the Swedish term for the plant. Americans don't call them swedes, when we call them anything at all, that is :)

Tangent: One math class in high school, the teacher made a huge deal, every time it came up, that root, radish, and radical (in both the math and the social senses) all were cognates.

Didn't learn much math in that class. Did learn a tiny bit of etymology.

[eofs.livejournal.com]

Thought of you today when reading a recipe magazine, which had a recipe for swede (rutabaga) and bacon soup.

I don't like swede myself but I do use it when making mulligatawny soup. (Basically a curried, creamed vegetable soup.) If you're interested, I have the recipe typed up.

[conuly]

Oooh, thanks.

Rutabaga turned out to have a milder taste than I expected. I was so scared it'd be awful!

[eofs.livejournal.com]

Mulligatawny Soup (from the British Dairy Council's cookbook from about 30-40 years ago)

Serves 6
1 Medium onion, finely chopped
125g (4oz) carrot, finely chopped
125g (4oz) swede, finely chopped
1 small dessert apple, finely chopped
50g (2oz) streaky bacon, finely chopped
50g (2oz) butter
25g (1oz) flour
15ml (1 level tbsp) mild curry paste (or just use powder, we do)
15ml (1 level tbsp) tomato puree
30ml (2 level tbsp) mango chutney
1.4 litres (2 1/2 pints) beef stock
5ml (1 tsp) dried mixed herbs
pinch ground mace (very hard to buy in the UK these days, I use nutmeg)
pinch ground cloves (or a few whole cloves)
salt and black pepper
50g (2oz) long grain rice (I'm usually a bit more generous than this)
150ml (5 fl oz) double cream (or soured cream or whipping cream or whatever)

1) Melt butter in a large saucepan and fry the onion, carrot, swede, apple and bacon until lightly browned.
2) Stir in the flour, curry paste, tomato puree and chutney. Cook for 1-2 mins before adding the stock and seasonings.
3) Bring to the boil, skim (I don’t bother) and simmer, covered for 30-40 mins. Puree soup in/with a blender.
4) Return the soup to the pan, bring to the boil, add rice and boil gently for about 12 mins, until the rice is tender however long your particular variety of rice takes to cook.
5) Adjust seasoning. Stir in the cream, reserving a little. Do not boil. Pour into tureen or bowls and swirl with cream.

Like many dishes adapted to suit the Victorian kitchen (and palette), it bears very little relation to its Indian origins.

It's a very forgiving recipe, you can make a lot of changes and it still works. Adjust the vegetables to whatever root vegetables you have on hand. You can make it vegetarian without the bacon and using vegetable stock, vegan/dairy free if you omit the cream (or use a dairy free one). I don't know if you have mango chutney but you could substitute any sweet chutney with a spicy kick. Or just omit it, it's only a tiny part of the flavour profile.

Something we often do is cook up a huge batch of the vegetables, add all the spices, flavourings etc, then freeze it in 4-portion chunks. Then all we have to do is defrost a chunk, add it to stock (something we always have on hand) and finish from there. Makes it very handy, and also helps deal with the fact that you can't readily buy just 4oz of swede... When I was younger, I thought it had turkey in it because Mum only ever made it at Christmas. Turns out it's just because she didn't have the time/energy the rest of the year.