week 4

Cooking in Season
week 4

I was picking for this weeks basket and thought, wow – looks a lot like last week. The cucumbers are poised and ready, with tiny little pickles sitting next to their happy yellow flowers. The tomatoes are little green pebbles atop giant happy green plants. The peppers are tiny versions of their future selves, kinda waiting for the hot sun that July usually offers. The basil is going crazy. The purple beans are threatening to produce. The unique pole beans are climbing but not flowering. I am sneaking under the potatoes, pulling out the new tender potatoes a little at a time. I apologize for any knicks and cuts from my trowel. The skins are really thin right now.


Our berries are so spread out and it takes hours just to get a cup. I can’t even imagine picking enough for jam or a bunch of pies. After his huge melon patch endeavor, Travis is looking around trying to find out where the berry patch will be. The blue berries at work are huge and covered with tiny berries that I stare at every day, just thinking that they are blushing a little more. The transition colors from green little berries, to blush, to purple… I am still waiting for the blue part.

We are slowly sneaking kohlrabi in the baskets. It is a very underappreciated vegetable. We tried the purple variety this year as it was said to be a bit sweeter and I have a second planting of the green variety for later in the season. Kohlrabi isn’t a root but an enlarged stem right above the ground with the leaves coming right off like flower petals. It is very high in potassium and fiber and low in calories. I like to ask people what it tastes like just to hear the responses, which are usually a combination of two veggies like – a cross between a potato and a turnip or a radish and a cabbage.
I cut mine up into thin slices like coleslaw and throw it in salads. Jason’s grandmother from Austria loves kohlrabi, but I forgot to grab the recipe.

Here is a simple kohlrabi salad recipe from epicurious.com that is a summer time fast food.

• 3 medium kohlrabi (2 pounds total)
• 1/2 small red onion
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons drained capers
• 2 ounces mâche (lamb’s lettuce; 4 cups) or other small tender lettuce
• Equipment: an adjustable-blade slicer
Peel kohlrabi. Slice very thin with slicer and put in a bowl.
Slice onion very thin with slicer, then rinse in a sieve and pat dry. Stir into kohlrabi.
Stir together lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of pepper, then stir in oil and capers. Pour over vegetables. Toss with mâche, then serve immediately.
Enjoy,
Janeé