Paula's mashed rutabaga recipe

From Paula Deen's Best Dishes show on the Food Network. (Vegetarians will want to lose the "streak o' lean," needless to say.)

New world record: 77.9 lbs / 35.4 kg.!

A giant rutabaga grown by Norm Craven of Cannington, Ontario, Canada, has established a new world record for a non-GMO rutabaga. Mr. Craven's rutabaga weighed in at a hefty 77.8 lbs. / 35.4 kg.

Despite ARSI's vehement protests over the years, the World Record Academy and Guinness Book of World Records will not accept weight and size records established by GMO's (genetically-modified organisms). In 2006, for example, Guinness refused to even acknowledge the existence of a 378.22 pound / 172 kg. rutabaga grown in ARSI's experimental labs on the ground that it was "genetically engineered."

Annual Rutabaga Curl - Ithaca, NY

Our good friend Steve Sierigk, Commissioner of the Annual Rutabaga Curl in Ithaca, New York, sends the following announcement about this year's competition and last year's highlights:

"We are beginning preparations for yet another great Rutabaga Curl...our eleventh annual! This year's event is scheduled for Saturday, December 20th at high noon!

"We have had quite a year. Our torch bearer set out on a goodwill tour of the U.S. earlier this summer. This generally goes off without too much incident; but this year our torch bearer was hounded and harassed unmercifully. It turns out that our Rutabaga Curl's Torch bearer (a Swede of great stature no less) was being confused with the torch bearer from another sporting event which was apparently not as popular as our own. Our torch bearer has finally come out of hiding and is fortunately making his way back to Ithaca, home of our Annual Rutabaga Curl. Unlike that other sporting event referred to earlier we welcome protests & protesters of all kinds as it only adds to the ambience that makes our Curling event great!

"Apparently another NY State county (Steuben) will hold their first annual Rutabaga Curl, fully sanctioned by the Commissioner. So our sport continues to grow.

"By the way early music scholars at Cornell found an early draft of George Frederic Handel's Messiah. The words were not Hallelujah! but rather Rutabaga! The first ever live performance of this piece will be unveiled at this year's Curl! We hope to have the piece on our rutabaga curl site soon after the event.

"Lastly a farmer friend sent me a link to a curious sport also involving the hurling of root vegetables...see below.

"Have A Great Winter!"

Thanks, Steve, for keeping us posted once again. We look forward to receiving the official results, which we assume will be delayed until January pending the outcome of the usual lab tests for performance-enhancing substances.

ARSI staff also appreciates the link to the Mangold Hurling Association the U.K. We've taken the liberty of forwarding it to Obie MacAroon III at his research station in the upper Amazonian basin of Peru.

PHOTO (above): ARSI #23PN237-432A, a genetically-modified, high-density rutabaga specifically designed for curling.

POSTER (top): Courtesy of Steve Sierigk, Commissioner of the Annual Rutabaga Curl.