Vegetables galore!

tigger, infortunately my local Asda is a smallish store and isn't one of the ones doing the wonky veg. I would gladly buy it, it won't be any worse than my home grown efforts!

Another beetroot hater here - yuk!

My d-in-law saves any left over meat or vegetables from Sunday roast and pops them in a casserole with a tin of tomatoes and perhaps a few herbs.She covers with mashed potatoes and sometimes grated cheese.Then she cooks in the oven for about 30-40 minutes on a medium heat.The family loves it!

teetime just jealous of everyone else. My OH tends to think frozen sweet corn for every meal!

Can anyone please remind me how to cook swede in the microwave. I also have a job peeling it as it's very tough skinned and can't get a knife through it without fear of chopping a finger if. Thanks.

Trim swede base flat so that it stands straight(ish), and cook it on a microwaveable plate for about 20 minutes on full power. It makes hissing noises as it cooks - don't panic! It will be soft enough to cut into and scoop out the inside to mash with butter. It will be very hot, watch your fingers.

There are some popular vegetables here (France) that you don't seem to get so often in the UK.
Fennel - can be used with onions carrots celery etc in a casserole. And as a separate dish. Good with fish.
Endives - very popular. I add them cut in half lengthwise to casserole dishes near the end of cooking. Locals braise them as a separate dish.
Tarbes beans - we've grown them, they dry out on the plant. After soaking, very good in winter stews. A bit like butter beans but the skin goes softer.

TriciaF - are endives what we call chicory in the UK? What I know as endives are a curly salad leaf which I can't imagine adding to a casserole.

Endives can be somewhat bitter/sharp sometimes.
My French husband enjoyed them braised, but not to my taste.

Put the celery in a casserole/pot roast, adds a little something to the taste. PLEASE DO NOT USE OLD SWEET PEPPERS! Made me SO ILL,gone off salad since that meal!
annifrance, fartichoke,tehe

PenJK50 - yes endive is the same as chicory. I think the root end is the bitter part so I cut it off.

Elegran. Are you sure the swede won't explode whilst cooking.
Sounds a bit dangerous, but will give it a go.

No, it doesn't explode. This has been tested by lots of GNers, almost all of them are converted. But don't try it with little turnips - it has to be a swede.

The Singing Swede was in a Slimming World magazine some months ago. I have to say it's a disappointment as far as the singing is concerned!!

Not much melody to it - more of a tuneless whistle. Slimming world was late catching up on it - our Burns Lunch more than two years ago included microwaved swede, which was voted a great success (as was the microwaved frozen potato!) The swede had been mentioned on Gransnet a few months before that.