Kohlrabi Kicks Butt

Okay, here’s a great website to check out for ideas about those wacky vegetables you don’t know what to do with. . . like Kohlrabi!

This is the recipe catalog from the Live Earth Farm CSA in California. This is what they have to say about kohlrabi. Honestly. . . it’s still in your fridge. . .right? So eat it up!

“A favorite way to eat truly fresh kohlrabi is to peel (like a potato; Andy doesn't peel his but I like to) the kohlrabi, slice it like you would jicama or carrots for a dip tray, and then eat the raw pieces plain or with lemon juice. “
Cooking tips:
• Kohlrabi doesn't have to be peeled after cooking.
• It's excellent cooked or raw. Try it both ways.
• Grate kohlrabi into salads, or make a non-traditional coleslaw with grated kohlrabi and radish, chopped parsley, green onion, and dressing of your choice.
• Try raw kohlrabi, thinly sliced, alone or with a dip. Peel and eat raw like an apple.
• Steam kohlrabi whole, 25-30 minutes, or thinly sliced, 5-10 minutes. Dress slices simply with oil, lemon juice and a fresh herb, or dip in flour and briefly fry.
• Sauté grated kohlrabi in butter, add herbs or curry.
• Add sliced or cubed kohlrabi to heart soups, stews or a mixed vegetable stir-fry.
• Chill and marinate cooked kohlrabi for a summer salad. Add fresh herbs.
• Kohlrabi leaves can be used like other cooking greens. Store the leaves and bulbs separately. The globe will last for a few weeks in plastic in the fridge.

Recipe Corner
Fall Stew with Kohlrabi
from The Rolling Prairie Cookbook, a book put out by an alliance of CSA farmers and families in Kansas.
serves 6
2-3 medium kohlrabi, bulbs & greens
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, cut in slivers
3 medium carrots, cut in 3/4" chunks
2 medium potatoes, cut in 3/4" chunks
1 C peeled chopped tomatoes
4 C vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tbsp. molasses

Separate leaves from kohlrabi bulbs. Peel bulbs & cut into large chunks. Derib leaves & cut into thin strips. Set aside. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions & saute for several minutes. Add kohlrabi bulb chunks, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, broth, bay leaf, oregano, salt, pepper, molasses & mustard. Turn up heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover & simmer for about 15 minutes, or until veggies are not quite tender. Add kohlrabi leaves & simmer, uncovered, for another 10 minutes, or until veggies are just cooked.

Sheperd's Pie is Yummy

Recipe Corner:
I love sheperd's pie because it can include any veggies you might have on hand. I use this recipe as a launching point and every time I make it, it's a little different. This page in my cookbook is riddled with notes and splatters from some good cooking. As a fairly staunch eggplant non-eater (I know, it's blasphemy. . . but I can't stand the stuff), I leave it out and add all kinds of other stuff. Included in my list of extras are: summer squash, roasted winter squash, corn, carrots, broccoli, extra celery, tofu crumbles (the frozen fake ground beef stuff), crumbled veggie burgers, bok choi, kale or other greens or anything else that's on hand. Yum! This recipe is really kid-friendly without the sauce. However, I think the Dilled Horseradish Sauce is what makes this really stand out as a favorite. Put the straight horseradish on the table for those who really want to clear their noses!

SHEPHERD'S PIE
Adapted from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest by Mollie Katzen
Preparation time: 45 minutes, plus 30 minutes to bake.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings

A deep-dish casserole with vegetable hash on the bottom and garlicky mashed potatoes on top.

Mashed Potato Topping
(Make this first):

2 large potatoes.
1 tablespoon butter.
1/2 cup milk.
3 large cloves garlic, minced.
Salt and pepper to taste.
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

Peel or scrub the potatoes, and cut them into 1-inch chunks. Cook in plenty of boiling water until soft. Drain and transfer to a medium-large bowl. Add the butter, garlic, and milk and mash well. Add salt and pepper to taste, and stir in the parsley. Set aside.

Vegetable Hash:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups minced onion
4 large cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 stalk celery, minced
1 pound mushrooms, chopped
1-pound eggplant, diced
1 medium bell pepper, minced
2 teaspoons dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
1 cup (packed) grated sharp cheddar
1/4 cup fine bread crumbs
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
Cayenne to taste
Paprika for the top
Dilled Horseradish Sauce (recipe follows)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 ºF. Lightly spray a 2-quart casserole or its equivalent with nonstick spray. (You can also use a 9 x 13-inch baking pan).

2. Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet. Add the onion andsauteté over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until it begins to soften.

3. Add garlic, salt, pepper, celery, mushrooms, eggplant, and bell pepper. Stir until well combined, cover, and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the herbs, stir, and cover again. Cook for about 5 more minutes, or until the eggplant is perfectly tender. Remove from heat.

4. Stir in the peas, 1/2 cup of the cheddar, the bread crumbs, and the vinegar. Add cayenne to taste. Spread this mixture into the prepared casserole or baking pan.

5. Spoon and/or spread the mashed potatoes over the vegetables. Sprinkle the remaining cheddar on top, and dust with paprika.

6. Bake uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes, or until lightly browned on top and bubbly around the edges. Make the sauce while the casserole bakes. To serve, spoon a little sauce onto each plate. Add a chunk of "pie" potato side-up, and spoon extra sauce over the top. Serve hot.

Dilled Horseradish Sauce
2 Tbs. Butter or Canola oil
1-2 Tbs. unbleached while flour (depending on desired thickness)
1 1/4 cups warmed milk
1 TBS prepared horseradish
a scant 1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbs minced fresh dill
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Melt butter or heat oil in a medium-small saucepan. Whisk in the flour, and cook over low heat, whisking often, for about a minute.

Whisk in the milk, and continue to cook over low heat, whisking frequently for another 5 minutes. Stir in horseradish and salt, and remove from heat. Stir in the dill and black pepper just before serving.

I'm in Delicata Heaven!

I love winter squash. Here are a few hints and tips from The Victory Garden Cookbook:

• Small chunks of squash are a good addition to soups and stews
• Squash cooked with pot roast or a braised dish of any kind will thicken the sauce nicely when mashed.
• Raw squash is a delightful snack or addition to a crudités platter
• Squash is low in sodium, so it’s a good choice for restricted-salt diets.
• Use the flesh as well as the blossoms for squash tempura. Just cut into thin, flat strips, dip in batter, and deep-fry.
• Freeze leftover squash—it’s delicious reheated.
• Use small amounts of cooked squash added to yeast breads or pancake batters to give color and moisture.
• Use pureed in soups.
• Store squash at 50-55 degrees in a dry spot with low humidity. (If stored below 50 degrees, squash will suffer chilling injuries and start to deteriorate.) Don’t put squashes in your basement—it’s probably too moist and they will be more likely to rot; an attic or any other cool, dry spot is your best choice.
• Winter squash stores so well that there’s no need to can or freeze it. However, cooked squash freezes nicely, and it’s a convenience to have it ready to eat.

So, don’t just use your winter squash as autumn decorations. .. eat it up!

Recipe Corner
It’s winter squash time! Yay! Our first year or two getting farm shares, we didn’t really know about delicata squash. In case you don’t know yet, delicata are long skinny winter squash. The look a bit like a more yellow and hardier cucumber. The skin is thin enough to leave on so you don’t have to peel it before cooking or eating. My favorite way to serve delicate is to cut it up into rings, scoop out the seeds and fry it up in some olive oil and salt and pepper and serve it like onion rings. . .yummy.
Here’s a recipe that I found at our farmer’s market a few years back. I think it might have been from Nash’s farm stand, but I’m not sure. I sometimes cook the delicata with the leeks and set aside while cooking the rest. Also good with baked tofu thrown in and served over rice.

Steamed Delicata with Tomato-Leek-Cilantro Dressing
2 lbs delicata
pinch of salt
½ cup cilantro
olive oil
1 cup diced leek
1 ¼ tsp. ground cumin
flaked hot pepper
pinch of cloves
2 tbs. cider vinegar
½ tsp. honey
2 med. Tomatoes

1. Cut squash lengthwise. Remove seeds. Cut into ½ “ slices
2. Set squash in steamer basket over boiling water. Sprinkle with salt and let steam until tender, but not falling apart
3. Chop Cilantro, warm oil in skillet over moderate heat. Add leek. Sauté until just brown, add cumin, hot pepper flakes and cloves. Toss a quick minute.
4. Reduce heat. Add vinegar, honey and tomatoes and toss a few minutes until juicy.
5. Remove from heat, stir in more olive oil and ½ of the cilantro.
6. Spoon over squash, top with remaining cilantro.

Lunch Time Yummies

Recipe Maven Musings:

I've been thinking a lot about school lunches. I imagine folks have gotten a bit bored of the usual lunch fixings and are looking for a few good ideas.
I recently was in Portland and went to one of their fancy upscale natural food markets called New Seasons. They had a handout on healthy school lunches that had some great ideas. I don't neccessarily believe all of what they have to say, but I'll quote it here the way they wrote it. Here's what it had to say:

Build a Better Lunch Box
A healthy lunch box will have 5 main components:
1. A whole grain food
2. A lean protein
3. A whole fruit (not juice, fruit snacks, or fruit rolls)
4. A vegetable
5. A low-sugar beverage such as water, plain cow's milk, rice milk, almond milk or soy milk. Be sure that non-dairy milks are calcium fortified.

Nutrient Dense Lunch Ingredients:
Whole Grain Foods: whole wheat or sprouted grain bread, whole grain crackers, whole wheat or sprouted grain tortillas, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, quinoa, rolled oats, low sugar granola

Lean Proteins: hummus, bean dip, deli turkey, fruit juice sweetened yogurt, string cheese, cottage cheese, cheese cubes, peanut butter, almond butter, beans and rice, leftover roast chicken or meat loaf, chunk lite tuna, egg salad or a hard cooked egg

Fruit: Orange slices, mango chunks, grapes, frozen blueberries (a good stir-in for plain yogurt), apples, pears, cherries, melon, peaches, nectarines, plums, small bananas, pineapple chunks, kiwi slices

Vegetables: snap peas, bell pepper strips, fennel chips, carrot sticks, yam or sweet potato oven fries, broccoli trees (steam, then chill), cauliflower (steam then chill), celery, cherry or grape tomatoes, radishes, corn onthe cob, lightly salted edamame (soy beans, find them in the freezer) in the pod.

Healthy Fats: walnuts, mixed nuts (raw, not "roasted" from a can- these are usually fried in oil), almonds, peanuts, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds.

Lunch Time Favorites

Jicama, Carrot and Cucumber Sticks with Lime and Chili Powder
Slice jicama, carrots and cucumber into sticks, sprinkle lightly with chili powder and throw it all in a baggie with a wedge of lime to squeeze on later.

Whole Wheat Pita Wedges with Hummus
Slice one whole wheat pita round into 4 to 8 wedges and store in a baggie. Spoon about 1/3 cup of your child's favorite hummus into a small portable container for dipping in the lunch room.

Fruit Kabobs: spear cubes of cheese, rolled up deli turkey, grapes, strawberries, melon chunks, or apple and pear chunks (soak for a minute in a little lemon water to prevent browning) on bamboo skewers.

Hummus Dippers: Send hummus with carrots chips, fennel chips, and bell pepper strips for a fun way to get some vegetables.

Cinn-nutty Apple Dippers: Mix peanut butter with a little plain low-fat yogurt and a sprinkle of cinnamon served with apple or pear slices to dip.

Ants on a log: smear celery sticks with natural peanut butter or almond butter and put raisin ants on top.

Crunch-factor Yogurt Send an 8 ounce cup of low sugar, fruit juice sweetened, or plain low fat yogurt in the lunch box. In a zip-top bag, combine some low sugar granola, nuts and sunflower seeds to stir into the yogurt at lunch time. Add some frozen, organic blueberries for a boost of antioxidants.

Just in Quesadillas: Make this ahead of time. Warm a whole wheat or sprouted grain tortilla with cheese and low fat refried black beans in the middle. Wrap with foil and refrigerate until lunch time.

Recipes:

We had a whole lot of summer squash at our house last week. Here are a few ideas for eating it up. I made up a random saute with summer squash, tomatoes, garlic and butter all cut up and sauted together. I added the juice of one lime, some salt and pepper and served it over gnocci that we had around. You could use lemon juice or change the flavor by adding some balsamic vinegar and serve it over pasta or rice and add tofu to round it out. Yummy.

Zucchini chocolate bread

Makes 2 loaves

1 3/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups grated zucchini
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Set the oven at 350 degrees. Lightly grease 2 9-by-5-inch loaf pans.

2. In a bowl, combine the sugar, eggs, and oil. Beat until well blended. Stir in the zucchini and vanilla.

3. Sift together the flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and baking powder. Add the flour mixture to the zucchini mixture. Stir just until blended.

4. Stir in the chips and nuts and divide the batter between the pans.

5. Bake the loaves for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the loaves cool in the pans for 20 minutes. Turn them out onto wire racks and set them right side up to cool.

from ''The Classic Zucchini Cookbook''