CSA Week #4

There's a real oddball coming in your share this week - kohlrabi! Kohlrabi is in the brassica family so think cabbage, broccoli, radish.... It's texture and taste is similar to the stem of broccoli or salad turnips. You can use the whole plant- greens and bulb. Greens can be used like or with kale and the bulb can be cooked with the greens or is also nice raw. Peel the tough outer layer of the bulb and trim off the greens and you're ready to go.  Here are a few recipes ideas:

Kohlrabi and Snap Pea Salad with Sesame Vinaigrette


Trim the stems off the peas and blanch. (Cook for a minute or two in boiling water until bright green. Drain and rinse under cold water. If you don't cool them off fast they will start to turn that yucky color green that usually comes to mind when you think of canned peas.)


Trim and peel kohlrabi. Set aside greens to use later with kale. Cut into thin semi-circles. If you have a mandoline for matchsticks or cuisinart with a grater blade, that would be nice also.
Combine with Peas and toss with a little rice wine vinegar, toasted sesame oil and mirin. Throw in some sesame seeds and cilantro to top it all off!

Kale and Kohlrabi 


Trim the stalks off the kale and and kohlrabi leaves, chop and wash in a salad spinner.
Saute in olive oil, garlic, scallions. When kale is tender season with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and chopped kalamata olives.

Pureed Kohlrabi and Mushrooms 
- from Farmgirl Fare. Check out this website for lots on gardening, lots of recipes and general farmy stuff.

Chenopods and Coconut


Cheno what? I'm talking about the family of plants that includes, spinach, Swiss chard, amaranth, quinoa, the pesky weed pig weed and more... The greens in this family have high amounts of oxalic acid in them - I won't get into that much right now, perhaps in a different post, but basically have you ever noticed that kind of squeaky, astringent feeling in your mouth after eating lots of spinach? Well the way to mediate that is cooking  these greens with dairy - every wonder why cream, butter and cheese go so well with spinach? At our house we've been playing around lately with coconut oil and coconut milk.  My new favorite greens recipe is to saute your spinach, chard, etc (yes, even kale, mustard etc.) and add in about 1/3 cup coconut milk when almost tender. Yum. Melt in your mouth greens. Seriously.