Please come out to the Boulder Farmers’ Market this Saturday. I’ll be there from 8 to 2 at a SeedtoSpoon.com table and would love to chat about eating locally and seasonally! For directions, visit www.boulderfarmers.org. See you there!
Boulder Farmers’ Market on Saturday
9 07 2009Comments : Leave a Comment »
Categories : Uncategorized
How to Cook Kohlrabi
7 07 2009Not sure what that odd-shaped vegetable is that you saw at the market or got in your CSA delivery this week? Chances are, it was kohlrabi.
If you’ve never seen one before, kohlrabi has a green or purple bulb with firm stems and leaves shooting off of it. The entire plant is edible, though most people don’t get a chance to cook the greens since they’re often cut off before sale. (To find the greens intact you’ll probably have to shop at a farmers’ market or get one from your farm-share.)
Kohlrabi should be peeled before using, unless the bulb is very small; I tend to peel them regardless as nothing is more unpleasant than trying to chew a woody skin. With a taste similar to a radish or mild turnip, they are wonderful additions to salads and coleslaws, and can also be steamed, boiled or stir-fried.
Since I’m part of a farm-share and have more kohlrabi than I can use just in salads, I decided to make it a side-dish in its own right. This crisp and tangy Kohlrabi with Mustard Vinaigrette was a yummy counterpart to the mozzarella-basil quiche and artichokes on the table at dinner tonight.
Kohlrabi with Mustard Vinaigrette
Serves 3-4
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 kohlrabi bulbs, peeled and julienned
Salt and pepper to taste
Make the vinaigrette by combining the vinegar and mustard in a small, non-reactive bowl. Slowly whisk in the oil until emulsified, then season to taste. Toss a little vinaigrette with the kohlrabi and refrigerate any remaining dressing to use on other salads.
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Tags: how to cook kohlrabi, kohlrabi
Categories : In Summer, Recipes, Uncategorized
Zucchini Soup Recipe
5 07 2009
Summer is definitely here. Not that you’d know it by the weather, which dampened many plans this holiday weekend. But when 4 pounds of zucchini showed up in my CSA delivery, there was no mistaking the season.
Nestled among the turnips and lettuce and broccoli were three varieties of squash: yellow summer squash, dark green zucchini, and a lesser-known round summer squash with a light-green skin. Last year, in my first year of a CSA, I admit I didn’t know what to do with the round one. Now I’ve learned to use it in any zucchini recipe where you don’t need to showcase aesthetics. While the round one lacks the bright green pop from the skin and has more fleshy “insides”, it has the same mild flavor and can be eaten cooked or raw.
Faced with so many pounds of the stuff, I pulled out a recipe for Creamy Basil Zucchini Soup that had caught my eye last year in Sunset. Never having tasted zucchini soup before — it doesn’t headline many menus — I was a little hesitant, but I assumed that the generous cup of basil would save the day, if indeed the day needed saving. Another similar recipe from the June 2008 issue of Gourmet contains just 1/3 cup of basil for the same amount of zucchini.
Turns out, I had no need to worry about the soup. The zucchini is mild enough that it allows the basil to shine through with loads of summery goodness. After sautéing an onion and simmering 2 pounds of zucchini in chicken broth until tender, you puree it in a blender, resulting in a surprisingly thick and creamy texture. Indeed, if I had ordered it in a restaurant, I would’ve guessed the soup included potatoes or rice as a thickener. The recipe calls for pouring the soup through a strainer but I prefer a bit of texture and chose to leave some bits of zucchini and basil. In Gourmet‘s version, the soup is topped with blanched julienned zucchini — a nice touch, but an extra step that a busy home cook like me doesn’t have time for!
Click here for the recipe for Creamy Basil and Zucchini Soup.
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Tags: basil, round squash, round zucchini, summer squash, zucchini, zucchini soup
Categories : In Summer, Recipes
Healthy Cobb Salad
2 07 2009
Maybe it’s because I just returned from vacation where most of my meals were eaten out, or maybe it’s because the lettuce in my CSA delivery looked so good. Whatever the reason, I really wanted a restaurant-style Cobb salad for lunch today.
People who know me will find this weird, because I never order them off the menu. There’s always too much cheese, the eggs are rubbery, and the bacon is full of nitrites. But I’d just seen a recipe for Buttermilk Lime dressing in the Denver Post, and instantly I knew I would use it to make my own Cobb.
Typically, a Cobb salad includes bacon, eggs, tomatoes, roquefort, avocado and chicken, but the beauty of making your own is that you can tailor it to your tastes and what you have on hand. I started with a variety of organic lettuce called Freckles, with green and purple leaves. Then I added ribbons of smoked turkey (Hormel’s Natural Choice is preservative and nitrite free), sharp cheddar, organic tomato slices and croutons. On which note: it pays to read labels. The fat-free croutons I looked at had an ingredient list almost as tall as the bag. The sea salt and pepper version had just a handful, and only a negligible amount of fat.
Next, the dressing. I’m a vinaigrette kind of girl, but something about this recipe (from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook by Matt Lee and Ted Lee, and reprinted in yesterday’s Denver Post) caught my eye. Probably all the herbs: 1/4 cup of minced basil, 1/4 cup of minced parsley and 1/4 cup of minced green onions. Add in the juice of three or four limes, buttermilk, salt and a little extra-virgin olive oil and honey and you’ve got a much tangier, healthier version of the ranch that often drowns the Cobb.
Apologies that I didn’t get the finished salad on film. In all honesty, it looked so good that the kids and I ate it without giving the camera another thought!
P.S. A word about lettuce. When I first pulled it out of the CSA bag, it was wilted. I gave the leaves a quick wash then let them soak in a bowl of cool water for 15 minutes until they crisped up. Then I spun them dry, covered them loosely and stored them in the fridge. If you clean the lettuce right away, you’re more likely to make a salad because the “hard” part is already done.
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Tags: buttermilk dressing, cobb salad, organic lettuce, salad, salad dressing
Categories : In Summer, Recipes, Uncategorized
