Kohl-what-i?

Kohlrabi! I had heard of this mysterious veggie, but had only seen it in person just this past week, when it showed up in my CSA weekly bag o' produce. I quickly Googled it for some basic info and recipes. Turns out, it's not that foreign and pretty tasty! Yes, it tastes like a sweet broccoli stem, minus the rubbery outer part. Yes, it is crunchy and amazingly fresh like jicama and good apples.









Mine were a gorgeous pale green. I haven't figured out what to do with the green tops yet...probably saute them or something later this week if they last that long. We also got a bag of kale amongst other produce, which I normally chow down on, but after a long winter of kale, I was like, "ugh!"






So, here are the two kohlrabi heads (they aren't roots) "peeled" with my knife and awaiting further instructions...











Turns out, they were destined to be julienned and made into this delicious Kohlrabi Salad! If we get this veggie again, I would definitely make a repeat of this dish! It was really quick and easy, even the toasting and grinding of the fennel seeds for the dressing. The flavor was beautifully fresh and the veggies perfectly crisp. Would be great alongside a veggie patty or something! Three and a half stars ***1/2, only because I think it could have used some red pepper strips or something else besides just the carrot and kohlrabi. We'll probably get more of these babies in the coming weeks, so here is the next recipe I think I'll be making....veganized, of course!
Speaking of fresh, I've been craving raw, fresh foods ever since the warmer weather hit this past month, and even before I made last week's amazing raw "cookies" (Come Bite the Apple Cookies), I was chowing down on this Cauliflower Couscous, also from Rawvolution. I can't emphasize how easy this was... or how delicious!! You just put the cauliflower florets into the food processor and ...voila!...it looks just like couscous! Add tons of fresh herbs (mint, cilantro and parsley) plus some kalamata olives, olive oil, lemon juice and probably salt and pepper and you have a raw, vegan, gluten-free, nutrient-rich dish! Not fat free, but good fats are our friends :) Four stars for this recipe, even after eating it all week long! (It makes a lot).

So, despite being fired up about raw cooking (I have some veggie cakes in the dehydrator at this very moment, for the week to come) and despite planning on eating as much raw as possible this summer, I still have to find a way to eat the produce from the CSA, including tough kale and shiitake mushrooms. I know enough about eating mushrooms that they usually need to be cooked. So, enter amazing dish from Vegetarian Times. I've had these Shiitake Fritters with Enoki Mushroom sauce in mind since I got the September 2007 issue they were featured in. But, not being one to cook a ton with mushrooms (although I love them!) it has taken almost two years to get to this recipe! Boy, I wish I had gotten to it earlier! Despite not having enoki mushrooms (the recipe said I could substitute others) and despite leaving out the shredded carrots, salt and pepper (just plum forgot), and despite adding twice as much water to the side dish of rice after I decided to half the rice amount because I knew we would never eat that much rice...it all turned out just fine! I scooped the extra water out of the rice, added the shredded carrot to the sauteed kale and with that amazing mushroom sauce, everything tasted great! The fritters were a little crumbly (I used flax instead of the egg- maybe next time I'll use two flax "eggs") but not that bad. Three and a half stars for this recipe! ***1/2

Meanwhile, my zucchini plants keep a-growin' along with the six or seven other herbs that I planted in my garden (nothing that great to show you yet). Can't wait for baked, stuffed squash blossoms! (I'll have to see if I can dehydrate those, too.)


Happy almost-June, everyone!
P.S. - Spellchecker didn't mind kohlrabi either, but it still has a darn time with: jicama, veganized, shiitake, enoki, and kalamata! Guess our spell-checker creator is an omni!