Kohlrabi and Apple salad

I grew my first kohlrabi! Not all of my seeds became plants because some bug was eating all the cruciferous seedlings, but a good half dozen pulled through. I love growing kohlrabi - you can also eat the greens, which makes this vegetable a twofer! I so far make the greens Ethiopian-style with onions, garlic and maybe ginger, with butter or spiced ghee, water, and a longer cook time.

I harvested this first kohlrabi thinking I might just eat it raw with some toasted spice and salt, but then saw this Bon Appetit recipe and decided to get a little fancy. The fancy is maybe a result of talking food all weekend with my friend, and her going into detail about a $1200 dinner (for 3) at a fancy Persian restaurant in New York that sounded exquisite. Especially because somebody else was paying! This lead to dreaming of post pandemic trips. If there ever is a post-pandemic time, which, well, is hard to say.

So, until then, fancy food can be attempted at home. This shaved kohlrabi and apple salad was really nice. I am listing the original recipe below, though I substituted almonds for hazelnuts, and aged cheddar for Parmesan because it is what I had. (Cheddar wasn't bad, but Parmesan would be best!) Do be sure to peel your kohlrabi to get the tough outer layer. Inside is a soft, crisp, very pale interior that matches the apples, which just have that sliver of red b/c I didn't peel mine. *Also, it turns out my 1970s mandoline is on it's last days, at least on the thin slicer setting, so I used a vegetable peeler and that worked fine. It was just a bit more tedious.

Kohlrabi and Apple Salad

½ cup blanched hazelnuts (or almonds)

2 medium kohlrabi (about 2 lb. total), peeled, thinly sliced on a mandoline

1 tart apple (Pink Lady or Crispin), peeled/cored, thinly sliced on a mandoline

½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or white balsamic vinegar

Kosher salt

½ cup torn fresh mint leaves, plus more for serving

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 oz. Pecorino or Parmesan, shaved (about ¼ cup) 

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Toast hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing occasionally, until golden brown, 10–12 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop. *I did this all on the stove tip b/c it's hot and I do not have A/C.

2. Toss kohlrabi, apple, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vinegar in a medium bowl; season with salt. 

3. Add ½ cup mint and gently toss to just combine.

4. Toss toasted hazelnuts and oil in a small bowl to coat; season with salt.

5. Divide kohlrabi salad among plates and top with seasoned hazelnuts, Pecorino, and more mint.

 

Last night's dinner was this salad, plus leftover pork roast and a cucumber salad of mint, dill, cucumbers, lemon juice, and a little mayo. Yum.  

Cabbage Saute with Onions and Apples

I made this cabbage dish last night and it was nice and tangy, and good on this windy day. I put some bacon in mine because I had some and it seemed a fine idea. I think I made three different cabbage dishes this week - a beet soup with cabbage and some kraut, an asian style slaw, and now this. Cabbage and onions (and the root veggies) are a steady item if you have not been to a grocery store in awhile!

This recipe is from the Mill City Farmer's Market site, which has several good seasonal recipes that they post regularly from their vendors. I wonder if Farmer's Markets will be happening this summer? Maybe just the produce stands and not the ready-to-eat food cart type ones? Who knows.

I added a jalapeno to this recipe, and forgot to put in my dried tarragon from the garden (they suggest 3 T of fresh tarragon if you have it). They also suggest additions of grated beets or fennel bulb for some variation.

Cabbage Saute with Onions and Apples serves 2-3
1/2 small head cabbage, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 apple, peeled, cored and sliced
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
2 T apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon honey
salt to taste
Fresh cracked black pepper
1 jalapeno, diced
*Top with crispy bacon (optional)

1. Place cabbage in a large bowl and add ½ tsp salt and toss to combine. Set aside while you prep the other ingredients.
2. In a large sauce pan, add the butter or olive oil and the onions. Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the apples, caraway seeds and cook until apples wilt a bit. Then add the cabbage, the apple cider vinegar, honey and salt, and cook on medium high, stirring often.
3. Taste as you go to find your texture preference. This is especially good the next day when cooked down quite a bit. Add water, stock, white wine, or cider if you find it needs more moisture.
4. If adding bacon: I cooked mine on the side to get nice and crispy and topped the cabbage at the end. You could also cook your bacon at the start, alongside the onions and integrate it into the dish.

Winter Kohlrabi Salad

I bought a kohlrabi at the grocery store last week because I hadn't had any in awhile, and because it is one of the still local veggies available at the co-op. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it, until I found this Food 52 recipe for this lovely salad. I didn't have any cilantro, and I still thought it was great. In lieu of cilantro, spinach or arugula would also be good. This salad will become a winter staple.
*I also used this dressing on a green cabbage/carrot/apple salad with good results!

Winter Kohlrabi Salad 
1 head kohlrabi
1 apple (I used pink lady) 
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sesame oil
¹/₂ tsp chili flakes
1 pinch cumin
¹/₂ teaspoon fish sauce
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

1) Peel the kohlrabi. Cut it and the apple into matchsticks, or julienne with a mandolin.
2) Mix all dressing ingredients and pour over veggies. Stir to combine.

Apple Pie with double (grain free) crust

This year I poted to go for a gluten free Apple Pie for Thanksgiving (I seem to flip flop between pumpkin and apple on alternate years.) I neglected to get a photo, but want to remember this recipe because it tasted great. The crust got a bit soggy by day three, but still tasted good - it was almost like it just had a crumble top.

I used a recipe from Comfy Belly, a blog whose grain free biscuits are also great. This Apple Pie recipe is a double crust with apples that you cook in a saucepan. Note to self: cut apples in large pieces so they don't get too mushy when cooking. Also, press the bottom crust into the pie plate, and use care when rolling out the top crust. Mine tore a bit, but it actually looked good that way in the end - I just layered it a bit. It was rough and homemade looking that way.

I used only a Tablespoon or so of honey in the whole recipe split between crust and filling, and about 1 1/2 Tablespoons truvia (1 T for the filling). It was not overly sweet, but was sweet enough and will not elevate blood sugar!

(We also brought squirrel organ pate and cauliflower mashed potatoes to dinner. The pate was a initially met with some doubt, but all gave it some thumb's up after trying it.)

"Paleo" Apple Pie

I made a really good apple pie for Thanksgiving. I finished it off yesterday morning and am already wanting more! Ah, the time of holiday treat eating. I blended a bunch of recipes and was happy with the end result. The only thing I'd tamper with next time is the crumble topping...it didn't get crispy and was a little more soft/chewy. I didn't actually mind that, but will experiment some more.

The crust is a pecan crust from Elena's Pantry. The only thing I changed was to add a little sweetness to the crust. I only added one date - it seems neglegable to use just one, but that is what I did! I also baked mine differently than she does because I pre-baked it a bit and did the filling with mostly cooked apples. The whole pie baked together for only 15 minutes. Making grain free pies is really much easier than the old gluten kind - at least not needing to roll out crust and wait for it to chill and all that business. I found it quite pleasant. You could easily reduce the sweetener in the filling (or use part stevia) - I was winging it and it turned out not overly sweet.

Pecan Pie Crust
1 1/2 cups pecans
1 medjool date, pit removed
1 T coconut flour
1/8 tsp salt
1 egg

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees. Grease/butter/ghee a 9" pie plate.
2. Pulse pecans and chopped date in a food processor until mixture resembles course gravel. Add coconut flour, salt and egg and pulse until the mixture thickens and starts to form a ball.
3. Spread nut crust mix into pie plate, making sure to smooth it evenly on the bottom and sides. I found it nice to wet my fingers so that the mixture didn't stick to my fingers. It took a little patience, but the whole thing spread pretty easily.
4. Bake in the 350 degree oven for 10-14 minutes. The crust will start to brown slightly and will look more firm. I poked a few fork holes on the crust to let any steam/air out as it baked. Let crust cool a bit before filling with apples.

Apple Filling
7-9 tart apples
juice of half a lemon
4 T butter/ghee
3 T honey
2 T coconut sugar
1+ tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 T coconut flour

Core apples and cut in thick slices Heat butter in a large pot and add apples once it is melted. Add remaining ingredients. Cook for about 20-25 minutes on medium heat. You want the apples to cook, but not get too soft or mushy; stir gently to coat apples in the sweet butter sauce throughout cooking time. You also want liquid to reduce a bit.

Crumble Topping: Mix the following ingredients in a food processor until crumbly/sticky.
4 dates, pit removed, chopped
2 T pecans
2 T almond meal
2 T butter or ghee

For pie: Once apples are soft and mostly cooked, spoon apples into pie crust. I had a little remaining liquid which I poured over the apples. Top pie with crumble topping.

Bake for 15 minutes in 350 degree oven. Serve!

Fennel Apple Salad

This weather! Hurray! I left for Mayday yesterday morning thinking it would be cool and cloudy, and it turned out it was sunny and warm and the clouds just disappeared from the sky. I brought a nice Mayday picnic for the parade of tea, roasted chicken, and a really tasty salad which was a jumble of fresh veggies: avocado, fennel, tomato, parsley and cabbage. I am experimenting with fennel more often - it is so good chopped up and added to a salad.

Today I wanted something that was mostly fennel, so after perusing a few recipes I decided to try one of fennel and apples. I modified it some (hers is more lettuce-y), and it turned out delicious. The fresh lemon juice and zest are especially nice, and the walnuts. I added in fresh green onions from my garden and a few chives for a little savory zing.

Fennel Apple Salad   
(serves 2 large or 4 small salads) 
1 large/2 medium fennel bulbs
1 apple (a tart one is nice)
1/2 c chopped parsley
1/4 c toasted walnuts, chopped
1-2 green onion, chopped fine 
1 T fresh chives, chopped fine
Freshly ground pepper 
sea salt 
1/2 lemon, juice and zest 
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
 

1. Trim the fennel (so you have just the bulb) and slice super thin. I used my mandoline for this, but you can also use your fancy knife skills. Slice the apple the same way.
2. Toast walnuts for several minutes on a dry cast iron skillet for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Chop.
3. Toss the fennel, apple, parsley, green onion and chives in a medium size bowl. Top with lemon zest and lots of freshly ground pepper and a sprinkling of salt. Mix the lemon juice and olive oil together, and pour over the top of the veggies. Stir again.
4. Sprinkle walnuts over the salad and serve. This is also really tasty the next day when the fennel and apple have absorbed the dressing. Yum!

Happy Mayday!

Apple Cabbage Bacon Slaw

It seems that I like bacon on anything these days...which may be partly due to the fact that the Beeler bacon ends were on sale at Mississippi Market a few weeks ago, so you could get two pounds for $4. I got many packages to put in the freezer, and now I have such bounty!

I was scrounging around my somewhat bare fridge and cupboards this week for dinner, and upon finding cabbage, apples, and aforementioned bacon, I looked up some slaw recipes. The one I settled on tasted great - more tangy than creamy, and both sweet and savory. I only had a little cabbage, so I used carrots to supplement (which turned out fine, but I think it would be better with 100% cabbage). And I got to use the first garden chives of the season!

Apple Cabbage Bacon Slaw
6 strips bacon, cooked and chopped
1/2 head of napa cabbage (green or red) *I used some carrots too
2 Mcintosh apples, unpeeled, halved, cored, and sliced thin
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 red onion, sliced thin
1/2 bunch of fresh chives, chopped

Dressing:
1/4 cup grainy mustard
1/4 cup mayonnaise
Pinch of sugar
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Start by cooking the bacon until it is crispy (lately I do this in the oven because it is way easier. Just put the slices in a baking pan at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, and it's done). Put all slaw ingredients in a bowl. Mix dressing ingredients together, and then fold into the slaw.

PS. The dressing on this slaw is really tasty (especially with homemade mayo), and one absolutely would not need the bacon in there if carnivorous or pork eating was not their thing.

Pizza: Sauerkraut, Apple, Cranberry and Pesto Tomato

This weekend brought Eren and Naomi to town for anniversary and birthday celebrating, Barebones, and some seasonal feasting. Pizza was selected for Saturday dinner. I got the crust recipe from Baking Illustrated (my go to for always perfect baking) and we tried a couple of different toppings. Topping one involved some recently finished sauerkraut and an amazing Sauerkraut/Apple/Cranberry recipe from a canning class KP and I took earlier this month. Topping two included leftover Cilantro Pesto and roasted tomatoes. Yum. Perfect early dinner pre-Barebones and to celebrate the years of love among us.

Pizza Dough (makes enough for three pizzas) *hand kneading version
1/2 c water
1 envelope instant yeast
1 1/4 c. water at room temp
2 T extra virgin olive oil (just realized I forgot that part!!)
4 c bread flour (Up to half can be wheat - I went 1 c wheat/3 c white)
1 1/2 t. salt

Sprinkle yeast on warm water and let stand until the yeast dissolves and swells (about 5 minutes). Add remaining room temp. water and oil and stir to combine. In separate, deep bowl, combine half the flour and salt. Add the liquid ingredients and use a wooden spoon to combine. Add the remaining flour and stir until a "cohesive mass" forms. Turn out to a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (7-8 minutes), using as little dusting flour as possible. Form the dough into a ball, put it in a deep oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel and let rise until doubled in size: 1 1/2-2 hours. (Note the wheat flour will slow rising time a bit.) When risen, press dough to deflate, divide into three balls, and stretch/pull with hands to form crust.
*Baking Illustrated recommends a pizza stone for perfect pizza. Sprinkled semolina/corn meal or parchment paper allows you to transfer the uncooked crust to the pizza stone that you want to have pre-heating in the oven. Cook pizza hot - 500 degrees, and remove when crust is turning brown and toppings are sizzling (6-12 minutes).

Pizza One: Sauerkraut with Apples and Cranberries and Squash
*Makes 3 pints (which you then would can, 1/2 the recipe for a more manageable amount to consume before it goes bad!)
1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
1/2 c. light brown sugar
3 large sweet apples - peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
1/2 large onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
1/2 c. dried cranberries or cherries
1 t. caraway seed
1 t. fennel seed
1 bay leaf
4 c. fermented sauerkraut and juice

Combine apple cider and brown sugar in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil to dissolve sugar. Add onion, apple, cranberries and spices and simmer gentely until apple is tender. Stir in sauerkraut and juice. *If canning, heat mix to 180 degrees, fill scalded jars leaving 1/2" headspace and process for 25 minutes.
We put this mix on the pizza with some baked squash and cheese. Yum. Toss a little salt on too for some improved flavor.

Pizza Two: Spicy Pesto Tomato
Cilantro Pesto: food process 1/2-1 bunch cilantro with nuts (almonds or walnuts), salt and pepper, parm cheese, and olive oil. Sorry I don't have better amounts, I don't think you can go wrong though!
Roasted tomatoes
2ish T. Red Onion, chopped
2ish T. Jalepeno, minced
Cheese!

Plum-Apple Top Crust Pie

This recipe is another Smitten Kitchen one - the top crust just looked so delicious I couldn't not make it. And there were some gorgeous plums at the co-op this week...I can't remember the kind, but they are this beautiful dark red color. The crust is a little easier than the standard - you cream the butter and sugar and use an egg rather than water. Also, because it puffs up a bit and you dish it up like cobbler, it doesn't seem so fragile. Just roll it out and plop it on. The grated lemon/orange rind is amazing in the crust...and I ate it with ice cream rather than whipped cream. YUM. I want pie every night.
Apples, squash, and pumpkins are abundant. Pie season is upon us.