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!

Sloppy Joe

Believe it or not, I had never made this for myself before. As in, from scratch, not from a can. Well, let me say, it's a great crock pot dish for a picnic or outdoor party.

Ingredients:
3.5 lbs lean ground beef
2 onions, diced
2 green bell peppers, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced (or more, to taste)
1 can (12 oz) Contadina tomato paste
1 jar medium salsa (your favorite salsa - mild is fine too, or super hot!)
1/8 c ketchup
1/4 c grainy mustard
1 Tbsp mustard powder (or more, to taste)
1 tsp garlic powder
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Cook onions and bell peppers in a little bit of olive oil until tender.

Add minced garlic & cook for a few more seconds

Add ground beef; continue to cook until beef is done.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer everything from the pan into the crock pot, leaving behind all the liquid fat and other juices.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Set your crock pot for whatever length you like (how long until you want to eat dinner?); I did 4 hours.

If your sloppy joe has liquid sitting on top, it's probably from the salsa. Just cock the lid for a while until it cooks off.

Serve on a hamburger bun or your favorite sandwich bread - I used whole wheat sliders (mini hamburger buns), and it was delish! Another serving suggestion: cole slaw, on the side or right on top. Or cheddar cheese. Or whatever you want.

This makes a lot, but it is definitely freeze-able, or good for a big party, or great as leftovers all week long. Also great for re-purposing as a pizza topping, into a casserole, on a baked potato, over pasta (I can vouch for the yumminess of sloppy joe pasta sauce, which I did later in the week)...use your imagination!

I specifically mentioned Contadina tomato paste for two reasons: first, I wanted more than those tiny cans or tubes, and this was the only brand at my supermarket in a bigger can; and second, because of the ingredients: tomatoes. No preservatives, no salt, no spices - the lable says simply, "Ingredients: tomatoes." And that's what I like to see. I can add my own spices, thank you very much! Also, the recipes I looked at all called for lots of ketchup, but I love the richness of tomato paste, so I used it instead and added the salsa for some additional liquid (or my "sloppy joes" would have just been "joes" because they would have been so dry!)

Was the recipe easy to follow? Yup! Another simple one cobbled together from online recipes based on what I thought sounded good.
Did it taste good? It did, and it does! I'm looking forward to leftovers tonight.
Would I make it again? Definitely! Might even branch out with some additional ingredients, like mushrooms (which I forgot to buy, whoops!), or try it with ground turkey instead. Or try a vegan version with chopped-up mushrooms and black beans instead of meat!

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.

Whip It Up 2009 is almost here!

Next week starts Whip It Up 2009! I'll be posting one recipe per week on this blog, and I'm pretty sure all of my recipes will include veggies (and/or fruit!) from our CSA subscription. So exciting!

My only worry is the electric range. So far, I haven't cooked on it enough times to get REALLY frustrated, but just enough that I am planning to avoid cooking anything complicated until we get the propane range. I've already burned rice twice, so next time I'm reverting to the oven method that saved me at our VA apartment, which also had an electric range: preheat the oven to 375, and once the rice boils, pop on the lid and stick it in the oven. Otherwise it gets too much direct heat on the bottom of the pot!

One thing I will have to wait for the propane range to make: cream sauces. Too finicky for electric! I think when we do get the propane range, I will celebrate by making Portobello Mushroom Lasagna from Ina Garten via RA during Whip It Up 2008. And hopefully I'll use the loaf pans to make individual lasagnas again, since it worked out so well a few years ago and I haven't gotten around to trying it again. Yay for delicious gift-giving!

Lemon Cornmeal Cake

I don't have my own picture to post because we've already eaten it all up. So yummy!

My new favorite thing is lemon and lime desserts. They're so refreshing! I love a few bites of a rich, chocolate dessert, but it doesn't have the staying power of a tart, sweet, citrucy lemon cake.

This was so easy and pretty, I highly recommend it for your next brunch. I used the leftover crushed blueberry sauce in my oatmeal all this week, too.

Without further ado, I give you Lemon Cornmeal Cake!

I followed the recipe exactly (one exception: I had white cornmeal, not yellow, but it's the same thing, and the barely-yellow color in the resulting cake was so pretty that I'd even recommend white cornmeal if you have it!), although next time I would use less sugar all around, and I'd make less glaze and thin it out more with additional lemon juice.

I recommend juicing an entire two lemons into a bowl, after zesting them both to get the full tablespoon of zest you need for the cake, plus some more for the sauce. Then whatever juice you have leftover from the cake and glaze (I used more than it called for already, and would use even more next time with less sugar for a thinner glaze), just dump the rest into the blueberries and cook it until you have the consistency you want.

The blueberry sauce does great in the fridge for a week, and probably more, but here's betting it won't last that long! Using brown sugar with the blueberries is inspired. And the dark purple texture of the blueberry sauce against the barely-yellow cake and white glaze is so pretty! But not quite too pretty to eat. YUM!

Spice-crusted Cauliflower & Broccoli and Gyros

Paul made it, and followed this recipe pretty much exactly. It was so delish!! The spices were just wonderful. Mild and delightful, and so flavorful! Yum.

Two nights ago Paul defrosted the lamb we had in the freezer, ground it up with the Kitchenaid attachment, and made us Gyro meat using this recipe to go with the tzatziki sauce I had made using this recipe. I used fat free Greek yogurt, so I didn't have to drain it at all. Also, I just shredded my cucumbers with the bigger side of a box grater, didn't even bother to remove the seeds. It was QUITE delish, although of course not nearly as healthy as tonight's dish.

Hope you enjoy! I especially recommend the spiced Cauliflower & Broccoli. That reminds me: I really want to try my sister's cauliflower curry!!

Chiang Mer II

Tried it again, this time including mushrooms and cilantro as promised. But I also added a full 6oz can of tomato paste and a drained 14.5oz can of diced tomatoes (no salt added). Then I made one other change, after Paul surprisingly was willing to try it: I used extra-firm tofu instead of chicken.

Ingredients:
EVOO
1 onion, diced
2 or 3 carrots, diced
1 to 3 cloves of garlic, finely diced, or to taste
1 package pre-sliced baby bella mushrooms (or plain ol' white mushrooms)
1 pack or two handfuls fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1 pack extra-firm tofu
1 6-oz can tomato paste
1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes (no salt added)
4 to 5 Tablespoons of mild curry paste
1/2 pack (1/2 lb) spaghetti or fetuccini


Please ignore the indisputable proof of my alcoholism in the background and just focus on the foreground.

Drain tofu, slice into cubes, and spread in an even layer on paper towels. Top with a cutting board (or something flat and stiff) and top with a few heavy kitchen objects. This is to press the tofu a bit and get out all the extra moisture. Leave it like this until you're ready to cook it.

Next put the water on to boil for the pasta. The rest of the meal should take just a little longer to cook than the time to cook the pasta start to finish.

Sauté the onions, carrots, garlic, and mushrooms in a teensy bit of EVOO until soft. Add tofu and continue to cook until tofu is heated and veggies are starting to brown.

Add curry paste and stir to coat everything. Cook until heated.
Add tomato paste and stir to coat everything again; keep cooking!
Add diced tomatoes, and cook until everything is hot.

At this point, pasta should be finished cooking and drained; add it to the pan and stir it all up. Remove from heat and serve!

The curry paste I use has PLENTY of salt in it, so I haven't added any anywhere else; also, it's spicy enough for me already, so I didn't add any pepper, but you certainly could, or you could use a hotter curry paste to begin with.

We both liked the tofu! It basically had the consistency of mild cheese like you get in some Indian dishes, and tasted like the sauce. And it was much healthier for us! I'm excited and plan to purchase extra-firm tofu to substitute in to more dishes from now on. I'm also excited that we now have a really delicious and not-too-difficult dish we could prepare for a vegan guest.


Yum!