Cool Your Tastebuds with Kolrabi-Apple Salad

Thanks for starting to use the feedback boxes at the end of posts.  I'm hearing that you want more recipes, so here's one more to help you cool down and refresh your tastebuds after those stuffed poblanos.

Last week during my tour of area farmers markets, I bought some kolrabi.  I'd never had kolrabi before and I didn't really know what to do with it.  But I decided to buy some and figure it out.

I got it home, cut off a little piece, and gave it a taste.  I found it to be kind of like jicama in texture, but with a sweetness and a mild veggie flavor (some say it's like broccoli, but I found it to be more like early turnips).  The taste reminded me of a salad I'd made last fall with turnips, radishes, and apples, so I substituted my kolrabi for turnips and made a nice refreshing salad.  Give it a try.  I was never a fan of radishes, but I love them in these salads.  And I think the kolrabi was a great addition.  I'm not so great with exact amounts because I just love to play, but here's my best recreation.  Enjoy!

Kolrabi-Apple-Radish Salad
(This made ~2-3 servings, as a side dish)

• 1-2 kolrabi (sliced, I peeled half the skin off because I wanted to keep some of that beautiful purple color) --- in place of kolrabi, you can use 4 small, sweet white turnips
• 1-3 radishes, depending on your love of radishes (sliced)
• 2-3 stalks celery (sliced)
• 1 small apple, sliced thin
• ~1-1/2 tsp lemon juice
• ~1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• salt to taste

Just combine all the sliced/chopped (however you prefer them) veggies in a bowl.  Then toss with lemon, olive oil, and salt to taste.  Eat immediately or chill for later.  Keeps well for a few days. 

Have you tried kolrabi?  Tell us how you like to eat it -- raw?  cooked?  What's your recipe?


Eat Well.  Live Well.  Be Well.  Try Something New.

Tri-Market Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Over the last 8 days, I've been to 3 farmers markets in honor of National Farmers Market Week 2010.  Okay, you got me -- I'll use any excuse to hit the farmers markets.  I usually head to my local farmers market (in Newmarket, NH) on weekends, but this week I also went to Exeter on Thursday and Portsmouth today.  I love our local market, which happens to be the first town farmers market in our area that was open all winter long, but the Exeter and Portsmouth markets are much bigger and have a greater variety of produce.  I was in heaven!

I got all sorts of wonderful things and have been doing tons of cooking this week.  Tonight, using ingredients from all three farmers markets, I created these Tri-Market Stuffed Poblano Peppers.  I made mine with local sweet Italian sausage (from the Newmarket farmers market), but if you want to make this recipe vegetarian*, just make the veggies without the sausage and bulk them up with some brown rice and beans.  I'm sure I'll be making the vegetarian version soon because they were incredible!

Tri-Market Stuffed Poblano Peppers

(makes 4 peppers, 4 servings)

Here's What I Used:

• 4 poblano peppers [Portsmouth]
• 4-5 leaves dinosaur kale [Exeter]
• 1 medium sweet onion [Portsmouth]
• 8 roasted Roma tomato halves (I roasted my own tomatoes earlier in the week, but you could also use sun-dried tomatoes) [I roasted tomatoes from Newmarket & Exeter]
• 2 cloves garlic [Newmarket]
• 2 sweet Italian sausages (*see above for veggie option) [Newmarket]
• 1/2 cup sharp goat cheese ("cheddar"), crumbled [Portsmouth]
• olive oil to sautee filling

Here's What I Did:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Prepare peppers by cutting in a "T" pattern to remove seeds.
3. Prepare filling by sauteeing onion and garlic in olive oil until translucent and browning, add crumbled sausage and continue to cook until browned, and finally add chopped tomatoes and kale and cook another minute.
4. Stuff peppers with veggie & sausage mix.
5. Add crumbled goat cheese (or sharp cheddar or manchego?) to peppers.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until peppers are browned.

Do you love your farmers market(s) like I do?  Better yet, have you been eating from your backyard garden all season?

What have you created for dinner from your local, seasonal foods? 


Eat Well.  Live Well.  Be Well.  Eat Local.

Creative Cooking: Making the Most of What You've Got

With all the traveling I've been doing lately, I keep missing farmers' markets (and even grocery store trips), and I've found myself throwing together some interesting meals.  Today I'm sharing with you my Greens-Beans-and-Millet "Burgers", but keep your eyes open for my other interesting, healthy, and totally slapped-together concoctions, including Cherry-Vanilla Coconut "Ice Cream" (coming soon!).

I was driving home late last week, thinking about what I could possibly make for dinner without going shopping, and all I could picture in my fridge was a container of leftover sauteed veggies from the night before.  A couple nights earlier I had hung out with my good friend Sadie who's been on a homemade veggie burger kick of late.  So then it hit me.  I'd use my veggies to make some sort of burger.  It turned out really well.  I ate one that night and froze the rest, and it's been really nice to have homemade veggie burgers these past few days.

(Gluten-Free) Greens-Beans-and-Millet "Burgers" (photos below)

Step 1: The Sauteed Veggies (my leftovers)...

I sauteed the following veggies in olive oil and some Braggs' Liquid Aminos: 3 cloves chopped garlic, 9-10 sliced shitake mushrooms, 1 med. sliced summer squash, and a bunch of swiss chard leaves (and stems -- I like to chop up the stems like celery).

Step 2: Making the Burgers...

• Prepare the following ingredients:
• 1 cup leftover sauteed veggies, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup cooked millet (1/2 cup dry)
• 1 can Eden organic pinto beans, smashed (I used a potato masher) and refried with a dash of olive oil, salt to taste, and the juice from 1/2 lime
• Preheat oven to 350.
• Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
• Form into burgers/patties.
• Line cookie sheet with parchment paper (optional).
• Bake burgers on cookie sheet for ~30-35 minutes (everything is already cooked.  you just want your burgers to get a little crispy on the outside and hold together.).  Flip burgers after 20 minutes.
• Top with your favorite condiment (I used some hot sauce).  Remember that your burgers will hold the flavor of your sauteed vegetables.
• Enjoy!

So, the next time you find yourself saying, "There's nothing in here that's edible!", take a second look.

Feel like sharing one of your successful (or not-so-successful) desperate dinner creations?

Please inspire us with your story.

Eat Well.  Live Well.  Be Well.  Be Creative.

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