Kohlrabi

It's been a great week at the farm with new items ready to harvest. Byron Center members enjoyed our first peas and parsley, and the Grand Rapids members received a bunch of the first cilantro of the season. Next week they will flip-flop. We also had Bok Choy, kohlrabi, red komatsuna and garlic scapes. We hope you're having fun in your new culinary adventures - we know it can be a little daunting to use everything in one week. If you're stuck for ideas, please feel free to email or message us on facebook, or search online, there are so many great recipe ideas out there. We'd also love for you to share any favorite recipes as a comment here on the blog or on the facebook page.

We also planted 5 rows in winter squash this week, a row of pumpkins, celeriac and cucumbers. Watermelon was recently planted as well as eggplant. The tomatoes and peppers are looking good - we'll be putting in posts soon as the tomatoes get taller. The cabbage is starting to bulb up - it will be ready in the next few weeks. It's looking like we'll have some scallions ready next week too. It's been so fun watching everything grow and seeing the rewards of our hard work.

We hope you'll come see us at the Wednesday night markets at the Fulton Street Farmer's Market 4-7:30 pm. Bring a friend, check out the awesome local vendors, and grab dinner from Bartertown operating out of the Silver Spork truck. It's a lot less hectic than Saturday mornings - parking is much easier too!

Other exciting news: we'll have vegetables for sale at Celadon New Town near Knapp's Corner on Thursday evenings, 6:30-7pm starting this week. If you've been too busy to make it down to the farmer's market, this is a great opportunity to come pick some up if you live nearby.

This week we wanted to share some information and recipes ideas for kohrabi. Kohlrabi gets its name from the German language - meaning cabbage turnip. It's a stout bulb is in the brassica family (which means it's packed with awesome antioxidants and vitamin C) related to cabbage and broccoli - tasting very similar broccoli stems. So how do you eat it? For starters, it usually gets peeled. You want to peel it thoroughly, there is tough fibrous layer under the skin that should be peeled too. Then you can slice it and eat it fresh, or grate it and use it in a salad or coleslaw. Or, you can cook it like you would broccoli - kohlrabi and cheese anyone? ;) That might be more appetizing to kids if your family eats dairy. You can also roast it in the oven with oil olive - cut them like you would potatoes to make oven fries. It's also often used in Indian cuisine - maybe try it in a curry.  You can also use the leaves just like you would kale - they taste great when sauteed with a little butter or olive oil. Don't have time to use yours this week - blanch it and freeze it. (to blanch: briefly boil just until tender, then submerge into an ice bath until cool.)

A variety of recipes ideas can be found here.

More here at the New York Times website.

Really nice photos and directions for kohlrabi salad here.

Some very interesting ideas here - including stuffed kohlrabi.

Have a great week. Thank you everyone for your encouraging words, we're glad you're enjoying the vegetables. It is an honor and a thrill to provide fresh organic food for you and your loved ones.