The rutabagas I planted last fall are finally ready for harvesting. Now the problem: How do I cook them?

Good thing I ran across “Starting with Ingredients: Quintessential Recipes for the Way We Really Cook.” This 1,000-page volume by chef Aliza Green organizes recipes by a single ingredient. In addition to vegetables, she includes other starting ingredients such as nuts, grains, poultry, fish and cheese.

Most of the recipes aren’t too complicated and there aren’t too many unusual ingredients. Both of those are musts for any cookbook that will take space on my kitchen shelf. Some of the recipes include ingredients I don’t cook with, such as heavy cream. But there are plenty of healthier options.

So what does chef Green suggest for rutabagas? Hmmmm, the Vegetarian Chili with Butternut and Rutabagas looks interesting. I’ll let you know if it’s any good.