Kohlrabi Two Ways

My garden has been in full bloom for a while. I planted four kohlrabi starts early in the season and they recently became ready to harvest. I wasn't sure what to do with the alien-looking vegetables since I'd never tasted them before, so I decided to treat them as a root vegetable. If you grow kohlrabi or manage to buy bulbs with the greens still attached, don't discard the greens. They are very edible with a mild flavor similar to collards or turnip greens. One fully-grown kohlrabi produces a 2.5-4 inch diameter bulb with a large bunch of greens.

In addition to gardening from starts and seeds, I have also been growing the onions that sprout in my pantry. The greens are edible with a flavor similar to scallions, so I snip a few as the onion develops and toss them in my dishes. South African Smoked Seasoning can be found in a spice grinder at Trader Joe's. It's optional, but adds a great flavor to food, so I recommend picking up a jar of it or looking for a similar product in other stores.

Kohlrabi fresh from the garden.

Roasted Root Vegetables over wild rice and Greens and Beans.

Roasted Root Vegetables

2 kohlrabi
2 small sweet potatoes
1 vidalia onion
3 carrots
1 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
1 Tbsp minced fresh basil
1 Tbsp minced fresh oregano
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste
South African Smoked Seasoning, to taste (optional)

Preheat oven to 400F.

Peel kohlrabi and sweet potatoes, then slice into 1/4" rounds. Cut each round in half to make a half-moon shape. Peel and slice the onion. Slice the carrots into rounds.

Place all vegetables into a casserole dish. Toss with fresh herbs, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Cover dish and bake for 30 minutes. Remove cover from dish and bake another 20 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

Serve over wild rice or another grain of your choice. Season to taste with smoked seasoning, if desired.

Greens and Beans

1 bunch kohlrabi greens
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 onion greens, sliced thin (substitute 3 scallions if you don't have access to onion greens)
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
South African Smoked Seasoning, to taste (optional)

Wash the kohlrabi greens well. Remove the stems and tear or cut the greens into bite-sized pieces.

Heat the oil in a skillet. Add garlic and onion greens and saute for 1-2 minutes. Add the kohlrabi greens and saute for about 5 minutes, until greens are tender. Add chickpeas and seasonings. Cook long enough to heat the beans, then remove from heat and serve.

Cheesy Herbed Potatoes

I haven't been cooking much new lately since I've been fighting with bronchitis and asthma. I'm feeling a little better now and had a bag of baby gold potatoes, so I decided to make one of my family's favorite side dishes. I served them with Field Roast vegan Italian sausages and a second side of almond green beans.

Cheesy Herbed Potatoes

1.5 lbs new or baby potatoes, sliced thin
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp ground sage
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
1 Tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 425F. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, then spread evenly on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, stirring once halfway through baking, or until potatoes are soft and lightly browned.

Herbed Biscuits

These flaky biscuits are a great compliment to the French Lentil and Kale Soup. They are soy-free and whole grain.

Herbed Biscuits

2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 Tbsp dried Italian herbs
4 Tbsp coconut oil
1 cup non-dairy milk (I used almond)

Preheat oven to 450F.

Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Using a fork or your hands, cut the coconut oil into the flour mixture. Add the non-dairy milk and mix well.

Form biscuits and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Number made depends on how big you like your biscuits. I generally get 8-12 biscuits from this recipe.

Fruit-Infused Water

I have trouble getting Turbokid to drink water. His father has a juice habit and it has rubbed off on him. I've been encouraging him do drink more water by trying two different things. I either mix just an ounce of juice in with seven ounces of water in his sippy to give the water flavor, or I make up a pitcher of fruit-infused infused water. This is also good for people who need to drink more water but don't like it plain.

When I was pregnant with Messy Mouse, my midwives always had a huge pitcher of infused water out on the counter at the birth center. Every appointment, they had a different flavor. We had to avoid some of them because they contained mango or cherries, but the ones we could drink were greatly enjoyed by Turbokid. He especially liked any combination with strawberries. I dealt with morning sickness all nine months, so the ginger infusions were particularly refreshing.

Infused waters are easy to make. All you do is combine thinly sliced fruits and herbs in a pitcher, cover with filtered water, and let sit for 8 hours or overnight. Then just strain out the fruit and enjoy the water. You can even make smaller quantities in jars if you have a couple slices of fruit leftover from another cooking project.

It is fun to experiment with different combinations of fruits and fresh herbs or just combinations of fruits if you don't have fresh herbs on hand. Here are some tasty combinations to add to a pitcher (approximately two quarts) of water:

Lemon-Cucumber
1 sliced cucumber
1 sliced lemon
10-12 mint leaves
1 Tbsp thinly sliced ginger

Lemon-Basil
1 sliced lemon
1 sliced cucumber
8 basil leaves

Strawberry-Orange-Ginger
4 sliced strawberries
1 sliced orange
1 Tbsp thinly sliced ginger

Raspberry Lemonade
handful of raspberries
1 sliced lemon

Rosemary-Citrus
2 sprigs rosemary
2 sliced limes
1 sliced orange

Peach-Basil
1 sliced peach
handful of raspberries
8 basil leaves

Ginger-Pear
1 sliced pear
1 Tbsp thinly sliced ginger
1 cinnamon stick

Strawberry-Citrus
5 sliced strawberries
1 sliced lemon
1 sliced orange