I don't much go for the trappings of Valentine's Day, but I do appreciate the excuse to cook something brilliantly, undeniably pink. Most often that means playing with beets, and this year I'm roasting them up to make a velvety, magenta-colored soup. More

I'm going to level with you. Carrots are not my favorite. I'll tolerate raw sticks as long as they're super fresh, super cold, and super covered in ranch dressing. But cooked? My feeling is meh. This said, there are a few places where even I feel that carrots will hold their own.

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Looking for a sweet way to dress up your soups, salads or stews? Sophistimom has an easy step-by-step tutorial for cutting carrots into heart-shaped coins perfect for Valentine's Day, or anytime you want to add a little love to your cooking.

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Turnips, kohlrabi, celery root, rutabaga. Root vegetables all, and often left for last in the CSA box by otherwise enterprising cooks who are flummoxed by their ugly looks and famine-food reputations. Among these intimidating vegetables, rutabaga looms large — both because of its size, and because it is simply my favorite one of all to eat. I want to cajole you into giving rutabaga a chance. Here's why it deserves a place of honor right beside your potatoes and sweet potatoes. More

Here's one more way to cut back on kitchen waste: try cooking with your carrot tops! We've been seeing these nutritious greens popping up on restaurant menus and food blogs in all kinds of interesting ways: whizzed into pesto, blanched and dressed with sesame seeds or snipped into a pretty salad of shaved carrot coins.

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The first time I made these roasted vegetable tacos, I had few expectations beyond using up odds and ends: some leftover tortillas, a handful of carrots and parsnips, a lone sweet potato, half a head of cabbage. Enlivened with a pinch of pantry spices and a squeeze of lime, however, the tacos turned out to be worthy of making again and again, with intention and pleasure. More

It's January, which means we are all craving food that is a little lighter, a little healthier, and a little more in line with the way we've resolved to eat this year. But at the same time, it's January and when we're wrapped up in sweaters and blankets, it's comfort foods we're dreaming about. That's where this recipe comes in. With its rich, mushroom-studded filling tucked under a layer of soft mashed sweet potato, it has all the hallmarks of a good shepherd's pie, but it's completely vegan — and includes a secret ingredient that adds body and creaminess to the filling, without any cream. More

In my opinion, sweet potatoes are a superfood on many levels. Not only are they incredibly nutritious (a 1-cup serving offers 65% of our daily requirement for vitamin C and as much as 700% of the recommended daily requirement for vitamin A), they also have a fairly low glycemic index of 17. They're also easy to find, easy to store, easy to cook, and they can function equally in sweet or savory recipes. But most importantly, they're delicious. More

Q: I am overrun with turnips from my CSA! I've tried mashing them into potatoes and braising/roasting them, but so far everything got a big ole thumbs down from my husband. Any other ways to use up my plethora of turnips?

Sent by Linda More

Q: Every time I make a pureed carrot soup, I can never get the nice creamy texture I'm looking for. I've tried everything: a blender, a food processor, an immersion blender. Fail. I've tried cooking the carrots forever to be sure they are soft enough. Fail. Any suggestions?

Sent by Lindsay More