In the first few months that I was on the Blood Type Diet, I was eager to try beneficial vegetables that I was not accustomed to eating. I found some new favorites like parsnips and collard greens. But a few beneficials just weren't appealing. One of them was turnips.

I had read a recipe that called for cooking several root vegetables with a roast. Since roast was avoid for the Type As in the family I had substituted a chicken. The recipe did not take into account that some of the vegetables needed a shorter cooking time than others. The meal was a disaster. My daughter, who likes her vegetables raw, wouldn't eat any of it. My husband, who is suspicious of anything new, ate a little chicken and a few carrots. Even my son, who normally eats anything, said the turnips were squishy and the turnip flavor overpowered everything else. I ate it, but it totally turned me off to turnips.

Some time later I was in the store looking for frozen turnip greens. They were out of plain greens, but had greens with diced turnips. I cautiously tried them and they were good. The turnips were crisp, and they didn't have that nasty flavor.

A week ago I got it into my head to try turnips again. I read about them in my vegetable cookbook, and learned some things. The author, Sallie Williams, said, "One of the major reasons that Americans stay away from turnips is that they have never eaten a good one…They have fallen victim to the idea that bigger is better, which usually results in unappetizingly woody vegetables. Small, freshly pulled turnips are crisp and sweet, good enough to eat out of hand, like an apple."

So I dug through the grocer's bin and found small turnips. After I washed them, I decided to try them raw. They tasted a lot like a radish. My husband and daughter love radishes, so I put cubes of raw turnip in their salad. Both of them liked it.

I don't particularly care for radishes, and I'd rather have my vegetables cooked. I put ghee in a saucepan and added cubed turnips, cooking until they began to turn light brown (about 5 minutes). Then I added a little beef broth and some salt. I simmered them over low heat until they were almost tender, but not quite (maybe 5 minutes more).

They were ok. The turnip taste was there, but it was not strong. Crisp turnips are definitely better to me than soft ones. The next day I was having grilled onions and beef for lunch. I tossed in the leftover turnips. This was actually good! The crunchy turnips added a nice texture to the beef, while the onions kept the turnip flavor under control.

Turnips have triumphed at last and will be a part of my regular meal planning.