Beets and Turnips - Now What? Help!

[Broomstick]

I have beets. I planted them this year, because I like beets, but now that they're ready for harvest it suddenly occurred to me that I've never actually prepared fresh beets myself - I've always taken them out of a can. Oh, dear.

The beet greens I can deal with - they will be blanched and frozen like the other greens from the garden.

But the roots... gosh, I feel so silly, but is there anything I should know? I'm not even sure how long I should cook them. Or how long they'll be good after I pull them out of the ground.

I also have turnips. Again, the greens are no problem, I probably have a couple pounds in the freezer already. But I'm running out of ideas for turnips, which seem to come down to

1) In a soup/stew
2) boiled and mashed with potatoes (neaps and tatties)
3) when sliced, my husband will eat them as a raw vegetable

It seems that a couple of them from earlier in the year managed to hide and are now the size of a Volkswagen bug. What should I do? Are they edible, or should I use one as a Halloween decoration in lieu of a pumpkin? (The Hiding Radishes are clearly no longer edible - when I was told an old radish became "wood like" I did not realize it would truly be "the texture and density of oak")

[bare]

Mmm, roasted beets:

beets, peeled and quartered
olive oil
minced fresh garlic
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375° F. Place the beets in a small roasting or baking dish in one layer. Drizzle with the oil. Add the garlic, salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Roast until fork-tender, about 30 minutes.

Roasting makes most root vegetables sweet and yummy.

I got a little carried away with turnips one year, and ended up with numerous 50 lb. sacks that I couldn't pawn of on anyone. I stopped at the local tavern on the way back from the farmers market to drop off some potatoes for their JoJo's. I talked him into trying to jojo a couple turnips and they were excellent and a big hit. You can either deep fry them with some breading or give them the same treatment as the beets.

[dropzone]

One word for all of the above: butter. Or margarine, if needed. The salty grease only accentuates the goodness.

[Cicero]

I always boiled beets with vinegar.

[Broomstick]

OK, really dumb question (but I am posting this at 2 am) - you have to peel beets? Is it a distinct peel, or more like peeling a turnip or carrot where you just scrape off a thin outer layer?

Might try roasting the turnips...

And yes, BUTTER. Butter makes things better.

[Cicero]

If you boil them the skin rubs off pretty easily.