Fennel And Kohlrabi Salad

So this week we have Fennel and Kohlrabi.  I begane searching for Kohlrabi recipes and discovered this this delicious sounding one, AND it looks VERY simple.

I am going to a grilfriend's house with my kids on Friday - and this should go very well with the burgers... (NEVER show up to someone's house empty handed.... totally crass.)


Found it here
http://helengraves.co.uk/2008/03/luxurious-omelette-cake-with-fennel-and-kohlrabi-salad/

Fennel and Kohlrabi Salad

• 1 medium kohlrabi
• 1 medium fennel bulb
• small handful rocket (optional)
• 1 clove of garlic
• sea salt
• black pepper
• wholegrain mustard
• large lemon
• capers
• extra virgin olive oil

To make the fennel and kohlrabi salad: Slice the fennel as thinly as you can and add to a bowl of cold water and the lemon juice. Slice the kohlrabi and then pare strips off each slice with a vegetable peeler (this is to get wafer thin slices). Add to the bowl with the fennel.

- To make the lemon-caper dressing: Crush the garlic with a generous pinch of sea salt in a pestle and mortar. Add some black pepper and a heaped teaspoon of wholegrain mustard. Stir together.

- Add the juice of 1 large lemon, the capers and twice the amount of olive oil. Whisk to emulsify.

Drain the water from the salad and place in a bowl with the rocket if using. Add half the dressing and stir to coat.  Use the rest - to drizzle over top

tomato, zucchini, onion, beet tops, and fresh basil pasta

I am trying very hard to get as many veggies into my youngest son, Jordan, who decided while we were camping that he was immune to Poison Ivy.  He took Poison Ivy leaves and crushed it into his ankle not once, not twice, BUT 4 TIMES!      Dolt!                                                                    He ended up going to the doctor, and is now on a 21 day supply of prednesone, (Spelling?) and a plethora of other items.   SIGH... I heard about this great twitter account called  ShitMyDadSays - that made me laugh so hard.  I am thinking perhaps I should start one called  ShitJordanDoes....

So this recipe is all about getting AS MUCH of the fabulous bounty that we get from Whole Village in Alton, Ontario , into ONE MEAL!  

For those who might be confused, Alton is a village located in the town of Caledon.  

SO I am still supporting local business!

tomato, zucchini, onion, beet tops, and fresh basil pasta

In a large skillet, saute the red onions that we received - I used 4.

When sauted, add rough chopped whole tomatos. Let simmer until the tomatos begin to break down. Don't get all weird about the skins, they are fine... (grin) Add chopped zuchini,  rough chopped beet tops and let simmer until it breaks down into a chunky sauce.  About 20 minutes.

Cook pasta on the side.

When ready to serve throw in the fresh chopped basil and then toss on the pasta.  Add Parmesan.

FABULOUS!

I also had a few extra tomatos from my own garden  - so on the side - I chopped up tomatos, 1 cucumber that we received, part of the fresh basil, and mixed up.  Tossed with salt, pepper, Extra Virgin Olive Oil
(Do I really need to stipulate that one??? I mean are there still people out there using plain olive oil? - or am I going to need to do a blog on Oil???  sigh) 
and toss in chunks of goats cheese.  Serve on the side of the pasta - perfect!

Magical Basil, fragrant and lovely

Magical Basil - fragrant and lovely

Carrot Sambal

Many years ago a woman that I knew had this fantastic condiment, like nothing I have ever had before!  Very Spicy - but refreshing as well!

She had told me I believe that it was a North African dish , and used of all things carrots.

She had wonderful recipes and ideas with food, and I do miss her contact - but distance has made it impossible to keep in touch!

Here is the Recipe

Ingredients:


1 pound carrots grated,
2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp fresh hot chilies, finely diced (Depending on taste)
1 tsp cane sugar

Mix all together and place into small mason jars - you can keep in the fridge for almost 1 month.
Enjoy!

Bacon, Leek and Red Lentil Soup, Cucumber Raita

Bacon, Leek and Red Lentil Soup


Cook bacon, (Or pancetta) in pan - then remove when cook - drain fat - and reserve a small amount. Cook chop leeks and garlic in the fat, when soft and golden, add the bacon (or pancetta) back in along with 6 cups Chicken Stock, and 2 cups red lentils and 1 sweet potato chopped into bite size pieces.

Let cook, until all is soft. about 30 minutes

Use a Hand blender and partially puree it. Serve...

Cucumber Raita

2 cucumbers - peeled, cut lengthwise in half - seeds removed and roughly chopped
1 large container of plain yogurt
1/3 cup minced cilantro

Mix together and serve as a side dish to any hot curry dishes - absolutely delightful!

New load of Veggies

Here is this week's line up.

2 Swiss Chard
2 broccolli heads
1 pound basil
4 cucumbers
2 pounds beans - green and purple
2 bunches carrots
2 zucchini
2 bunches beets
12 heads of corn
2 leeks
red onions
tomatos


I put the beets down immediately using the pickled beets recipe from last week - and found that it made a 1.5 litre jar of sweet pickled beets.  http://freakinveggies.blogspot.com/2010/08/sweet-pickled-beets.html

Swiss Chard

Steamed in a large pan until wilted (using small amount of water)
add 1 tbsp Hoisin sauce
1 tbsp - soy sauce
3 tbsp seasame seeds

Serve!



BEANS
Beans - tear off end with fingers (Using a knife can brown the edges)
Place in Ziplock bag and freeze.  I do not blanche them.  I used to years ago - but discovered that it made no difference - except use more time... so I skip that step now.

I also did not wash them - to prevent moisture going into freezer bags - I will wash them when I pull them out to use.


Zucchini has been used to make more pineapple zucchine bread
http://freakinveggies.blogspot.com/2010/07/zucchini-pineapple-bread.html

Cucumber and Leeks are used here
http://freakinveggies.blogspot.com/2010/08/bacon-leek-and-red-lentil-soup-cucumber.html


Our family is definitely feeling better eating this.    Enjoy!

Grilled Morrocan Vegetables

For a number of years I was a Chipotle freak.... adding it to everything, soups, rice dishes, grilled meat... now it seems that everywhere I look I see Chipotle!  Of course I am now tired of Chipotle, and have moved on to my new favourite spice flavour...

Morrocan..

This spice blend - is one of the only ways that I SAVOUR lamb.... and it is amazing on chicken, pork, and rice dishes.... 

We went camping this week, and we had a bunch of Zucchini and Eggplant to grill on the barbecue.
EVERYONE loved this one.

Now you can make the blend - then using a silicon brush lightly apply olive oil,  and sprinkle the spice blend over both sides.  Fabulous!

Morrocan Spice Blend 

• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp ground ginger
• 1 tbsp sea or himalayan salt
• 2 1/4  tsp black pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 1/2 tsp cayenne
• 1 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 3/4 tsp ground cloves

Sweet Pickled Beets

Just got home from a week of camping - so I had my neighbour pickup my goodies from the CSA.

Green and Yellow Beans
Orange and Yellow Carrots
2 bunches beets
2 bunches of Kale
garlic
onions
tomatos
summer squash
Zucchini
cucumber


NOw is the perfect time to discuss beets and pickling them!  You can also throw in the smaller carrots that you received.

As much as I love pickling things - I find that pickling foods - makes them all taste alike.  SO whether you are pickling cucumbers, beets, egg, cauliflower or carrots, if you use the same brine recipe - there seems to be very little variation in the taste. 

So - when I do Pickles, I throw in 1 Red hot chili pepper, and TON of garlic, and dill....  they are irresistable!   I already did 18 jars last year - and still have a bunch... (SIGH) because I forget that I have them in the cold room - and when I open up a jar - and it becomes empty - I can buy new cucumbers - toss them back in the brine and leave them in the refrigerator.... you can do this over and over... (Which I DID) and now have 18 jars of the 23 that I made last year left over.

Ok- so back to Beets...  the beets that I received this week are perfect for pickling - because they are small and bite size.... so are the carrots...


Pickled Beets
Cook small beets until tender. Plunge in cold water and slip off skins. Cover them with Spiced Vinegar and simmer for 15 minutes. (Very small carrots may be pickled in the same way.)

  

SPICED VINEGAR:

• 4 cups Apple Cider Vinegar **
• 2 cups cane sugar 
• 1 tbsp. cinnamon 
• 1 tbsp. white mustard seed 
• 1 tsp. cloves 
• 1 tsp. allspice 
• 1 tsp. salt 

Mix ingredients and boil for 3 minutes. This can be used over several sweet pickled recipes.

 

Keep in refrigerator for 1 month or more, and I have not reused this mixture before... although knowing me - I will try. You can use your dishwasher to sterilize the mason jars, place the lid in a glassware bowl and pour boiling water over them - when you are ready to fill - pull out the mason jars, fill them quickly - place the lids securely on - and place in a large size pot with water boiling for 15 minutes. - Can be stored on the shelf in your cold room.

These are especially delightful in the winter at Christmas time!

 

** Apple cider vinegar - has the most amazing health properties, there have been small studies to indicate that Apple Cider Vinegar - helps to reduce glucose levels in the blood, making it very helpful to diabetics.

Taken from this site    http://www.webmd.com/diet/apple-cider-vinegar

Diabetes. The effect of vinegar on blood sugar levels is perhaps the best-researched and the most promising of apple cider vinegar's possible health benefits. Several studies have found that vinegar may help lower glucose levels. For instance, one 2007 study of 11 people with type 2 diabetes found that taking two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar before bed lowered glucose levels in the morning by 4%-6%.


High cholesterol . A 2006 study showed evidence that vinegar could lower cholesterol. However, the study was done in rats, so it's too early to know how it might work in people.

Blood pressure and heart health. Another study in rats found that vinegar could lower high blood pressure. A large observational study also found that people who ate oil and vinegar dressing on salads five to six times a week had lower rates of heart disease than people who didn't. However, it's far from clear that the vinegar was the reason.

Cancer . A few laboratory studies have found that vinegar may be able to kill cancer cells or slow their growth. Observational studies of people have been confusing. One found that eating vinegar was associated with a decreased risk of esophageal cancer. Another associated it with an increased risk of bladder cancer.