When I was a girl, I'd lie on my stomach for hours reading my grandmother's collection of New Yorker cartoon books. One that I remember was of a formally dressed man being carried out of a rather ritzy house on a stretcher. Just before he's loaded into the waiting ambulance, he says goodnight to his hostess: "I'm terribly sorry. I think it most have been the kohlrabi." What made the cartoon even funnier was that my aunt had crossed out the last word and written in "meatloaf" -- apparently that was her least favorite meal.
My dear friend Rachel commented on my recent CSA post. Of course, anyone who is missing out on a farm experience is more than welcome to visit me (nudge nudge!) and I'd be delighted to take you to the farm. As an added bonus, there's a right-of-way through the farm to a fairly interesting-looking piece of conservation land that probably links up to Walden Pond somehow. (RP -- remember that on that train ride we took in 1974 out to Concord to visit your aunt, we went right past Walden Pond?)
Rachel knows (or should know) that I'd do anything for her. So I decided some disclosure (about kale) and research (about kohlrabi) were in order. Fairly recently, I've conquered my fear of kale. When I originally asked about it at a coop "case share" meeting long ago, I was told that it was a bitter rubbery vegetable. I've since discovered that it's wonderful steamed with a little sauce on top, or chopped up into soup.
But kohlrabi -- I've never dared venture into that world. So, just for Rachel, here's a very short primer on kohlrabi: http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/food/256. From this link I've learned that despite its appearance, kohlrabi is not a root vegetable but something like a tumor on the stem of a plant. Hmm. Very attractive sounding; the taste sounds more intriguing. I may have actually eaten it at some point without knowing what it was. And perhaps this summer, I'll have another opportunity.
Oh, and another story. Years ago (20?) I visited Rachel in California and accompanied her to a farmer's market. I was stunned that she was able to buy gorgeous fresh luscious vegetables, unlike anything I was able to find at home. When we got back to her house, she opened her refrigerator and started removing the unused vegetables from the previous week. Rather than use them, she threw them away to make room for the latest arrivals. But the old veggies were more attractive than what I was able to buy in New England at that time of year -- I was so jealous! As I was joining the CSA this year, I thought back to that experience and thought that at long last, I, too, will have access to absolutely fresh food. Can't wait.
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Thank you for that link! I'm all over kohlrabi now, and imagine how disappointed I'll be if Farmer Vicki decides not to plant any this spring. I read this post to Bob and he said, about my disposal of old vegetables, "Profligate!" I'd claim you made the story up, except that I just put half a head of unused broccoli in the trash this morning, suggesting that I have not mended my profligate ways in all these years.
My dear, if Farmer Vicki somehow dashes your hopes for summer tastes of kohlrabi, I'll find you some, put it in a box, and send it to you! And to defend your honor, I would have gone along with the idea that I made the story up, but of course, there is recent evidence that cannot be denied. (And it sadly sounds like it's the kind of evidence that should not be eaten in order to hide it).
I picked my first CSA box up today! Oh the excitement as I unpacked snappingly fresh green onions and wonderfully fragrant packets of rosemary, not to mention spinach and potatoes and boc choi. Woo hoo. I made a curried potato and spinach soup, and vowed not to throw out a single vegetable. I will use them all! There will be no (uneatable) evidence left! You have shamed me into less wasteful behavior. Thank you. And when does your first box arrive?
Oh goodness! I didn't mean to shame you. I was actually quite impressed that you had access to such fresh vegetables that you could just cavalierly toss ones that looked decent by New England standards. It made me realize how pathetic our selection at home was!
Unless you count the overwintered (and supersweet) parsnips we got on our first visit to the farm, we don't start getting boxes until June. Then again, it snowed this week, and though most lawns have reappeared, our super-cold yard is still covered in white stuff.
BTW, a friend told me about a great dish she makes -- she boils pasta and potatoes together, then tosses in sauteed shallots and rosemary and salt. Yum. But the soup sounds delicious too.
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