The Hunger Struck - Confessions of a Food Fanatic.

There are many things I love about quinoa but the best thing by far is that it fills you up for a long long time. I’m not sure exactly why that is, someone mentioned to me recently that they thought quinoa contained more protein than other grains, I’m going to run with that theory as it makes perfect sense to me.

So I’ve gradually started to make quinoa in the place of other grains and pastas. I never thought it would stick for more than maybe a few dinners as I was anticipating serious opposition from my husband. If there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s to never take rice away from an Indian! Not that I was actually trying to make him stop eating rice, I was just trying to find something that we could occasionally replace the all the basmati rice with.

Have you ever had basmati rice at an Indian restaurant? Or maybe you have a fabulous Indian cook in the family too? Ever wondered why the rice is so freaking never-want -to-eat-anything-else-EVER-again good? I’m talking about the kind of rice that makes you completely forget about that incredible piece of naan bread laying next to your plate AND the butter chicken you ordered.

Can you guess the answer?

It was just one of those weekends. One that called for a lot of distractions, as many as I could find. The Vaisakhi Parade in all of its chaos and deep fried glory, followed by an incredibly above our means Saturday night dinner that still illicit feelings of guilt for the pleasures it brought me, and a quieter yet equally indulgent Sunday home cooked dinner for two, I surrounded myself with my favorite things and decided I would just forget for a while.

I’ve always had an interesting relationship with food where comfort is concerned. I’ve felt grief and food has been the only thing that seems to calm me. During other equally trying times I’ve found it nearly impossible to eat. It’s always been a draw. During times of sadness I never quite know where my appetite will land.

Knowing this, I was intent on finding something on the lighter side, but was not willing to compromise any of those distinguishing qualities that make certain foods more comforting to me than others. I’ve been interested in turnips lately as they’ve always been an under used root vegetable in my family’s cooking. I’m not sure what initially sparked my interest in them, but I have been using them in the place of potatoes here and there for a while now. One particular turnip recipe I love are baked Turnip fries. They crisp up just the way a good oven fry should, and stay nice and soft in the center and are a definite favorite in my house.

Turnips are lighter and less starchy but can be equally as satisfying as a potato or yam when done right. I’ve been wanting to make Julia Childs Potatoes Dauphinoise before it gets to warm to justify such things, but rather than weigh us down late on a Sunday night I decided to put the turnips I bought to use and give this recipe a bit of a spin. There is after all plenty of cream and butter to add in the richness where it needs to be.