Simple and colorful: steamed baby winter vegetables

Feeling a little down-trodden due to the constant cold, I perused the grocery isle in search of a little color, a little brightness, a little hint of the colors of spring. What jumped out at me was a selection of pint-sized root vegetables: baby turnips, and tiny baby carrots with vibrant greens and sugar snap peas (where are these peas coming from?). I thought: bright, vibrant, crunchy five-minute lunch! I peeled and quartered the baby turnips, peeled the carrots, leaving their stems on and trimmed the peas. The turnips and the carrots went in a bamboo steamer and the snap peas were blanched in some boiling salted water (and then dropped into ice water). I love the way blanching brings out the green, but I could have made even faster work of the dish by adding the peas to the steamer as well. I then drizzled the vegetables with some pure sesame oil, sprinkled them with some black sesame seeds and sea salt and voila! Lunch!

Steam. Season. Serve with some brown rice. Enjoy!