Kohlrabi Scares Me!

Well, kohlrabi used to scare me. When I went to the farmers market yesterday, I decided to purchase a few and give them a whirl.

Speaking of the farmers market, things are so very SUMMER now aren't they? We've moved beyond spring, beyond chilly mornings, and beyond neverending mounds of kale at the weekend markets (but oh how I do love kale!). I suddenly find peaches, strawberries, lettuce and tender garlic shoots available. Though I did come 5 minutes too late to get the strawberries. Pity.

 

Are you, by chance, admiring the fabric in these photos? You should be. My fabulous sister made me these four fun place mats for my Christmas gift last year. I LOVE them. For a gal who tends to surround herself with grays, white, black and the occasional bright blue, these place mats were just the thing I needed to get me through the winter.

And now that its getting warmer outside, they fit in even more. Our dining area is pretty dark (deep red walls, dark wood floors), and these place mats bring some insta-joy to the space.

Dinner last night was fun fun fun to make. I'll be completely real with you and tell you I wasn't that thrilled with how the food turned out (so I won't put the recipes here to lead you astray), but I had so much fun making some healthy vegetarian food for dinner. And using fresh ingredients was fun too: eggplant, tomato, lettuce, radish, garlic, kohlrabi, sweet onions, fresh grated parmesan cheese (not all these are from the farmers market, just to clarify).

What's on your table this season?

Oh, I should at least share the basics of cooking kohlrabi in case you want to try it out too. First, peel the bulbs. The skin is tough and no fun to eat. Slice the bulb very thin, mix with olive oil, salt and pepper, and then bake in the oven at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Stir frequently to avoid browning. Add freshly grated parmesan to the top of the kohlrabi and bake for another 5 minutes. My mistake may have been not adding enough cheese to the kohlrabi at the end, so I'll try this again in the future. Next time, I'll make a roasted veggie medley with kohlrabi, peppers, carrots, potatoes, etc.

You can eat the green leaves of the kohlrabi too. Will be adding them to a stir fry sometime this week and I'll let you know how they taste.

Happy Monday!