Hello, Kohlrabi!

Oh haaaaaaiiii there. Yes, I know. It's been a while. Nearly a year, in fact. I've been around the world again for work (Santiago-related post to come) and we've mostly been repeating prior recipes and enjoying what's in the freezer from last season's cooking marathons.

This week's CSA haul included the largest kohlrabi I've ever met. For those who are unfamiliar with kohlrabi, you can read about it here. About the size of three tennis balls and weighing in at nearly 2 pounds, this was huge.  Usually, I prepare it by fry-cutting it, tossing with olive oil, sea salt and cayenne and roasting it in the oven.

Today however, is a different story. I'm just back from two and a half weeks in southern Poland - another work trip. Long hours, late nights, little choice of what to eat or when to eat it. I did, however, experience lots of types of slaws. Cabbage, carrot, more cabbage, beet…the Poles have mastered the art of the slaw.

And so, inspired by the lunch ladies at the company canteen at our office in Southern Poland, I bring you:

Kohlrabi-Beet-Carrot Slaw

1/2 pound kohlrabi, shredded using the large hole side of the grater
3 large carrots, scraped then shredded
1 large beet, peeled then shredded
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon balsamic vinegar
sea salt
black pepper

Whisk together the olive oil, lemon balsamic (you could substitute with lemon juice, if you have no lemon balsamic), sea salt and black pepper. Set aside.

Shred the kohlrabi, carrots and beets using the large hole side of the grater. Toss together in a bowl. Add the oil & vinegar mixture. Mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate until ready to eat.

Serve as a side dish with chicken or fish…or add to a green salad for color and flavor.

Veggie Burgers that Hold Their Shape AND have Flavor

I've been searching for a veggie burger recipe where the burgers would both hold their shape and have some flavor. These fit the bill!

Ingredients

• 1 cup of dried chick peas, soaked overnight in 2 cups of water
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• To taste:
• Chiplote powder
• Chili powder
• Garlic powder
• Salt
• Black Pepper
• Oregano

Directions:

• Drain chick peas
• Pulse in blender until coarsely chopped
• Add onion and spices
• Pulse till well mixed
• Mixture should hold together when formed into a ball
• Don't overmix...you don't want it too soft or it will fall apart when cooking!
• Using a 1/3 cup measuring cup, form into uniform patties. This mixture makes @7-8 patties this size.
• Turn patties onto parchment on a plate and refridgerate until firm. I kept mine in the fridge overnight. 
• To cook, put 3-4 tablespoons olive oil in a non-stick frying pan. Heat the oil. 
• Add patties, with enough space between them that you can flip them. 
• Cook 2-3 minutes per side, till the sides get golden brown and slightly crispy.
• When both sides are cooked, transfer to a baking dish and bake in the oven for another 7-9 minutes until firm and centers are cooked. 

These burgers were very tasty with fresh tomato, lettuce and ketchup. 

Connecticut Strawberry Ice Cream

24 hours - farm to freezer.

Ingredients:

• 2 quarts of fresh strawberries, washed, hulled, quartered
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
• 2 pints heavy cream

Directions:

• Macerate strawberries in 1/2 cup of sugar until well juiced.
• Add vanilla to strawberries
• Mash or blend strawberry mixture. I used a hand immersion blender.
• Add heavy cream and the rest of the sugar. 
• Mix well. 
• Add to ice cream maker, according to the manufacturer's directions. 
• When ice cream has reached the desired firmness, transfer to a freezer container. 
• Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap into the mixture to work out any air bubbles.
• Put in freezer until ice cream is well set. 
• Homemade ice cream is even better on the second day, when the flavors have set!
• Scoop into bowls and serve. 

Yellow Curry & Lemongrass Tofu

This is pretty spicy, but adding some lemon juice and honey while cooking really rounded out the flavor.

Ingredients:

• 1 package extra firm tofu, drained, pressed, and cubed
• 1 small jicama, diced
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 small red pepper, diced
• 1 pound bok choy - firm ends diced and leaves chopped
• 1 bunch cilantro, washed and minced
• 1 -2 teaspoons yellow curry paste
• 11 oz coconut water (one can)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried lemongrass
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 - 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 - 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon honey
• sea salt

Directions:

• First, make a marinade for the tofu cubes. In a bowl, combine yellow curry paste, coconut water, dried lemongrass, garlic powder, soy sauce and sea salt to taste. The marinade will be very spicy... so add the yellow curry in small amounts and adjust to taste. Mix well. 
• Add tofu cubes to the bowl, covering completely with the marinade. 
• Set aside.
• In a large saute pan, add olive oil and diced red pepper. Saute over high heat. 
• As red pepper begins to cook, add carrots, jicama and the firm ends of the bok choy.
• Saute the firm vegetables until all begin to cook.
• Reduce to medium heat and add some of the marinade liquid to the pan.
• Using a slotted spoon, remove the tofu from the marinade, and add to the vegetable mixture.
• Gradually add more and more of the marinade to the saute pan, gently folding in the tofu and vegetables.
• As the liquid heats up, add the chopped leaves of the bok choy and the cilantro.
• Add lemon juice and honey
• Fold all ingredients together
• Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until the greens are cooked.
• Serve with your choice of rice

Chick Pea Crusted Baked Tofu

Last week, I tried a second version of veggie burgers, using canned chick peas, onions, egg and a host of garlic and oregano spices. The flavor was wonderful, but like my prior attempt at veggie "burgers", the texture just wasn't there and the mixture wouldn't hold a shape.

So, today, I tried something different. I crumbled the remaining chick pea mix onto a cookie sheet and lightly toasted it into a breadcrumb-like texture.

Then, I drained and sliced some firm tofu, bathed it in egg and dipped it into the chickpea crumbs.
Next, I baked it on a cookie sheet at 475 for 35 minutes, flipping it once.

Here's lunch today:

Chick Pea crusted Baked Tofu, roasted beets and kale chips.

Easy Baked Plums for Breakfast... or Dessert

This easy dish can be breakfast or dessert...depending on how you pair it.

Ingredients:

2 Fresh plums, halved, pits removed

1 tbsp butter

1 tsp honey

cinnamon

Directions:

• Heat the oven to 475 F.
• Halve the plums and remove pits.
• Place plums skin-side down on baking dish.
• In the center of each plum half, put 1/4 tbsp of the butter and a dab of honey
• Sprinkle with cinnamon
• Bake for 10 - 15 minutes, until plums are soft but skins still intact.

At breakfast, serve with vanilla yogurt and granola garnish.

For dessert, serve with vanilla ice cream. 

Either way, YUM. 

Making Bread: Baguettes

All bread recipes should start with the following caveat: "It's not as hard as it seems, it just takes some planning."

Today in the Andrews' kitchen, another adventure in bread-making is underway. I'm experimenting with baguettes, following the CIA recipe but changing up the proportions of bread flour and whole wheat flour. In fact, I used 100% whole wheat flour in the poolish (that's the pre-ferment that I started last night) instead of bread flour. We'll see what happens.

Here's the poolish recipe, in weight as per CIA instructions:

156 grams whole wheat flour
156 grams water, 55 degrees F
.3 grams yeast

• Mix by hand until combined. There will be little lumps.
• Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Then remove and let stand at room temperature for 12 - 18 hours before using.
• The poolish with ferment and rise, and there will be bubbles on it. 

Dough Recipe:

269 grams water, 85 degrees F
476 grams flour (I used about half whole wheat, and half bread flour)
3 grams yeast
14 grams salt
312 grams poolish

Mixing the Dough

• Put the water in the bowl of your mixer and add the poolish.
• Mix on low speed for about 2 minutes to break down the poolish.
• Combined the flour, yeast and salt, and add to the poolish.
• Mix the dough for 4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the mixer bowl and flip the dough to combine thoroughly.
• The dough should be sticky and hold together in a ball.
• Place the dough in a large lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

First Proof

• Allow to rest and ferment in a warm place for 45- 60 minutes until dough springs back halfway when touched lightly.
• Place dough on lightly floured board and fold it into thirds.
• Place back in bowl, covered for 30 minutes.

Second Proof

• Line a baking tray with cloth napkin or kitchen towel.
• Flour the towel.
• Place the dough on lightly floured board and divide it into four 6 oz pieces.
• Shape each piece into 8 inch oblong
• Place the loaves seam-side down on the floured towels, cover with cloth
• Allow to rest and ferment in a warm place for 45-60 minutes until dough springs back halfway when touched lightly
• 20 minutes before the end of second proofing, pre-heat the oven to 500 degrees F.
• 10 minutes before baking, place a tray with 3 cups of warm water below the baking area of the oven to help produce steam 

Baking

• Place the loaves lengthwise on a baking tray lined with parchment.
• Keep the seam on the bottom.
• Spray the top and sides of each loaf lightly with water
• Let sit for 5 minutes, then score the top of each loaf with a sharp razor 
• Spray loaves lightly again. This will help add steam and allow the loaves to expand.
• Transfer loaves to the oven and immediately reduce temperature to 475 degrees F.
• Bake for 12 minutes
• Rotate loaves in the oven and remove the steam tray.
• Bake for 8-10 more minutes more.
• If at the end of the baking, the crust isn't thick enough, turn the oven off and leave the bread in the oven with the door cracked for 4-6 minutes more.
• Remove from oven and place on cooling rack