Kohlrabi & Avocado Salad

The original recipe is here.



Ingredients:
- 3 medium Kohlrabi bulbs
- 2 ripe Avocados
- 3 Tablespoons Lime Juice
- 1 Scallion, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
- 6 Tablespoons extra-virgin Olive Oil
- 1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- Salt
- Fresh ground Pepper
- 1/4 cup crumbled Feta Cheese

Chop it up, mix it up, and serve. Yum.

My sister discovered this recipe after we got Kohlrabi from our farm share and had no idea what to do with it, having never heard of it before. So I'd eaten hers twice before I made it for myself last night.

I had only 2 kohlrabi bulbs, and 3 avocados, so that's what I used. I also didn't have scallions, but chose to use fresh garlic instead of powder, so I think the zing of fresh garlic mostly made up for the lack of scallions.

I also used an entire lime, since I just love all things lime lately, and the rest of the ingredients I didn't measure - just drizzled in what felt right. We didn't have any feta cheese, but I certainly didn't miss it, and even though I love feta in general, I didn't love it with this salad the first time Hannah made it, so no loss.

The main thing you definitely want to change about the recipe above is the amount of EVOO. Use less, no more than half as much. It is way too oily otherwise. The avocado adds fat already, so you don't need the extra oil for flavor.

And finally, my avocados were very soft, and I stirred things a little more than I should have, so the avocado cubes mostly got mushed up. Next time I'd hope for slightly firmer avocados (it can be really hit-or-miss with the grocery store's selection) and I wouldn't mix it up after each ingredient - I'd toss the avocado and kohlrabi with the lime juice (to keep them from turning brown, especially the avocado) and then wait to toss everything again until all the rest of the ingredients had been added.

Assuming most of you have never heard of Kohlrabi either, it is crunchy and white inside, a lot like jicama, altho it's supposed to taste more like broccoli (but I don't really taste the resemblance, which is good, because I don't much like broccoli). It looks like this, although the ones we've been getting are actually purple on the outside, and more bulbous - this picture makes them look more like brussles sprouts or something, which they don't at all. And if they're not trimmed, those little stalks are just the bottom of big leaves. Aah, here's a better picture:


Anywho, the questions:

Was the recipe easy to follow? You betcha!
Did it taste good? It sure did! It's a new family summer favorite, in fact.
Would you make it again? I'll probably keep making it as long as the CSA keeps giving us kohlrabi!

Sangria

Ingredients:
1 bottle dry red wine (750 ml is standard bottle size) (I used a cheap red table wine)
2 c gingerale
1 c orange juice
1/2 c brandy (you can use cheapo stuff for this recipe)
1/2 c cointreau (triple sec is also fine, I just had cointreau on hand)
1 lemon, sliced
1 orange, sliced
2 limes, sliced
1 big, glass pitcher (so you can see the pretty citrus slices!)

The sliced citrus fruit is mainly for decoration - just slice it with the skin on (make sure to wash first and peel off any stickers), throw away the very ends, and toss all those pretty cross-sections into your pitcher.
Add the rest of the liquid ingredients.
Stir well.
Pop it in the fridge, and serve it cold! Over ice or straight.
One tip: I know from puting whole citrus fruit into tea that you don't want to make it way ahead of time, or the skin on the fruit will end up making the whole thing taste bitter. It takes a while for this to happen, so it will still taste great for your whole party, but if you want to make it ahead of time just don't add the fruit until the end. Better to refrigerate all the ingredients separately and then throw it together right before you serve it. It won't last long, trust me. This stuff goes down WAY too easy.

I've loved Sangria for a year or so, and was reminded how easy it would be to make myself when I went to my cousin's baby shower. Her mother-in-law makes some REALLY delicious sangria. I may or may not have had two full cups, in those BIG plastic party cups. YUM.

I was having a little gathering recently and decided to make it for myself, so I looked at a few recipes for it on allrecipes.com, and just kind of cobbled together what sounded good to me. I decided to go with all citrus and no apples or strawberries etc. just for the look of it, but other recipes call for additional fruit as well. I did NOT use simple syrup or sugar (I know the baby shower sangria had simple syrup in it) because I like the dry red wine still discernable, plus I figured there was plenty of sweetness already being added from the liquor, OJ, and gingerale. I was right. So I say NO to adding additional sugar!

I still want to get a hold of my cousin's mother-in-law's recipe, which I believe was simpler, but this was DELISH and I would make it again in a heartbeat. It was a really big hit at the party too - even the two pregnant ladies each had to try a teensy sip!

Was the recipe easy to follow? Heck yes! You just measure, pour, and stir.

Did it taste good? Way too good for my own good! Luckily at this party I was playing the hostess, so I only ended up having one small-ish glass because I wanted everyone else to be able to enjoy it! Next time I'll buy a double bottle of wine and make twice as much.

Would I make it again? I think I've answered this question already, don't you? I might even make it again tonight, all for myself.