Great Salad Recipe for Kohlrabi

Remember my post on the Slate article "The Locavore's Dilemma?" I promised I would follow up with a report on my grated Kohlrabi seasoned with soy sauce and sesame oil, and I am here say that it was a success! I paired it with a seared Ahi Tuna salad of mixed greens with wasabi vinaigrette (courtesy of Rachel Ray) with a few alterations of my own. Here is the recipe:

Grated veggies
Finely grate 1 large carrot and 1 medium sized kohlrabi and place them in separate prep bowls
Add about a teaspoon or more of soy sauce to fully coat the veggies
Add 1 - 2 drops of sesame oil (very strong stuff, so be very careful when adding!)
Mix and set aside to marinate

Fava beans
I might end up doing a separate post on fava beans, because I love them, but here is the gist on preparing them:
Remove them from the pod as you would any other pea
Add them to boiling water until just tender, about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and shock in ice water. Drain again and remove outer skins by ripping off the tip and squeezing out

Dressing
1 teaspoon wasabi paste (more or less to taste)
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3 tablespoons virgin olive oil

Toss the dressing with a mixture of greens, add a forkful of grated carrots and kohlrabi and sprinkle the fava beans on top. Season with a few sesame seeds.

Grilled Ahi
When purchasing, make sure to confirm with the butcher that it is sushi grade so that you know it is safe to eat raw
Season Ahi steak with salt and pepper (or spice mix of choice)
Grill for a few minutes on each side to your preferred level of raw on inside
Slice and serve on top of the salad

This was a hit in my house. Hope you enjoy!

What to do with beets

A girlfriend of mine who started her first CSA subscription this year recently emailed me for help with what to do with her beets. I thought I would share my response here, as I suspect many people can find the purple veggie a conundrum.

The most basic way to prepare them is to season with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake them for a long time till they can be easily pierced with a fork (depending on how thick, up to an hour). You can throw either them in a roasting pan or just wrap them up in tin foil. Once they are cooked, immediately get them into a sealed plastic bag till they have cooled to the point you can handle them. That is how you can more easily remove the peel. However, expect to have your fingers stained for a few days regardless. And be careful of getting them on anything - it is a very strong color die!

Here are some recipes that while I haven't made myself, sound like a unique use of the beets:

1. If you have a way of slicing them real thin, this sounds good: Sweet Potato and Beet Chips with Garlic Rosemary Salt (Giada De Laurentiis)
2. If you have lots, you can pickle them: Pickled Beets (Alton Brown)
3. Here is a nice recipe without roasting them: Sweet Beet Dressed Slaw (Rachael Ray)
4. For a nice fall day, or would probably be good served cold: Beet and Fennel Soup (Cooking Light)

Also, if you ever get the beet greens, they are so tasty! Cook them like you would spinach or Kale - I love them!

Top Ten Mistakes Made by Farmer's Market Customers

Awesome post by EcoSalon . I'm guilty of a few of these, but I am learning.

My favorite one is to ask more questions. I've learned a lot by asking about favorite recipes, how different varieties compare and even trying to get to know the people we see week after week.

I would add a few mistakes:

• Forgetting to buy plants. At the Hollywood Farmers' Market you can buy starters of unsual, local varieties at dirt cheap prices. They are organic to boot!
• Not spreading the love. I have my regular stalls, but I try to buy all of my stuff in one place. Variety is the spice of life!
• Assuming everything is organic/pesticide free. If this is important to you, ask about their farming practices, you may be surprised.

What are your ideas?

It was what I did to the macaroni and cheese that made me seek professional help

My friend Jerry sent me this link to an article on Slate titled “The Locavore's Dilemma” and I wanted to share it with you all. The reporter, having hit a wall on “problem vegetables” in her CSA, seeks inspiration from a few chefs. She writes, “Cabbage, kohlrabi, collards, bok choy—everyone, it seems, has their problem vegetables. And, like me, many feel guilty about it.” This is exactly the reason I contribute to this blog, because I want to motivate people to take on these unusual, yet local/seasonal, vegetables, and because I want to be helped by you all as well. Please share your ideas! Anyway, the article is worth the read, if nothing else, to learn the conclusion about the macaroni and cheese. :)

I found a little inspiration myself in this article, from Mark Bittman, author of How To Cook Everything. When put to the daikon radish challenge, he suggested “raw, grated, with soy sauce and sesame oil.” I am thinking this will also work with my first Kohlrabi delivery of the year. Stay tuned!

Have you heard of Microgreens yet??

Next time you go out to eat, or swing by your farmer’s market, keep an eye out for the latest trend in produce; the Microgreen! It’s the newest addition to my CSA this year, and so definitely required a little research. There isn’t much out there, not even a relevant Wikipedia page! But, here’s what I found out: Microgreens are the young seedlings (sometimes with flowers) of soon to be greens and veggies, that are harvested in under 14 days. Think of them as the “new” sprout (minus the root), except these are full of flavor, color and come in pretty much every variety you can think of, including arugula, beet, chard, radish, peas, and even kohlrabi!! Check out Green Cuisine for an extensive list. I love their bright color and find that they add a nice pop of flavor to salads. You can also use them as a garnish on any summer soup like squash or asparagus, and they would also be great to add to an omelet or quiche. Impress your friends and family by adding these to your menu this week!

New Potatoes and Sustainable Fish

My local Farmer's Market has been open since the beginning of May and I have to say it makes menu planning a heck of a lot easier. During the winter I relied on websites, magazines and old favorites to get me thru the week, but it is just not as fun.

Perusing the stalls yesterday I came across one of my favorite spring treats: new fingerling potatoes. These babies were unearthed that morning and the skin is rice-paper thin. Mmm...Like most people, I grew up eating mostly russet potatoes which are fine for baking but why limit yourself when there are so many varieties out there? While I am not a huge of lettuce typically I could bypass the succulent purple lettuce. Pretty.

We love fish and seafood. We don't love the state of our oceans and try to be responsible with the fish we buy. Over the past couple of seasons we've gotten to know the fine folks at Linda Brand Crab and they are always very forthcoming with how the fish and seafood were harvested. I also wanted to point out this handy-dandy guide sustainable seafood.

So tonight we are enjoying some potatoes roasted with fresh herbs garlic and olive oil. Since one cannot live on starch alone, pan-fried up some Chinook salmon with Tom Douglas' salmon rub and served both along side baby lettuce salad drizzled with fresh buttermilk chive dressing.

Coming out of Hibernation

Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
and I say it's all right


We are one week away from the opening of the Portland Farmer's Market! I am beside myself with excitement. Over the winter we've tried to focus on buying local and organic as much as possible but at times couldn't resist the urge to eat avocado or a tomato here and there.

And, yes, it's been a long, cold, but not exactly lonely winter. In February we added to our menagerie by adopting 4 chicks. It's been a fun and educational experience. I look forward to telling you all about Ava, ZsaZsa, EggSlayer and what happen to Kanye.

Stay tuned.