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I confess: I’m not crazy about all vegetables. As much as I like to say that I’ll eat anything (which is mostly true), I have to admit I wouldn’t necessarily choose some things.

This sad fact comes to mind as I pursue my goal to eat all my CSA food despite my most recent bag holding someone else’s selections. The way it works with Rolling Prairie Farmers Alliance, the farmers pile the produce on tables, and customers go through in a line and make selections from each pile. Often, a couple of piles have options, where you can have either the mushrooms or the strawberries, for example.

I couldn’t make it for my most recent pickup, so the Monday coordinator made the selections for me. The result: a turnip and rutabaga and a bunch of gorgeous collards mixed in with stuff I actually like.

Lovely collards

What to do?

I fretted for a few days trying to figure out the most appealing way of using these unappealing items. Finally, as I also regarded the soon-to-be-slimy beet greens I’d set aside a week (or two?) before, I realized that freezing provided the perfect option for long-term procrastination.

Hence, I boiled a pot of water, and blanched the clean beet greens (2 minutes); chilled them in ice water; drained and squeezed them dry-ish; chopped them; wrapped them in foil; labeled them; and installed them in the freezer.

As the prep progressed, I gave the collards the same treatment, but blanched 3 minutes. Same deal for the turnip and rutabaga too (2 minutes blanched), except I peeled and diced them first and stored the final product in a freezer jar instead of foil. To my surprise and disappointment, they didn’t turn pink despite the beet greens’ getting first dip in the pot.

Looking ahead

Guess I need to start a freezer inventory. Even with a small freezer (at the bottom of my fridge), I still forget what’s in there. I need to remember, because now I know what to do with those collards and roots: hide them in soup. I love soup, and with a really good broth, I might forgive turnips and collards. For details on freezing your own undesirable vegetables, see the National Center for Home Food Preservation.