And I quote: “Kohlrabi (German turnip) is a low, stout cultivar of the cabbage that will grow almost anywhere.” Now that’s my kind of vegetable. You can keep your hothouse flowering melons and peppers – “will grow almost anywhere” is exactly what I’m looking for in a vegetable, especially if that tenacity is combined with…
Fall
Pasta with Rainbow Chard and Stilton Cream Sauce
Here’s the concept: pasta + greens + very light cream sauce = deceptively elegant, super easy dinner in a hurry with stuff you have lying around. The exact pasta, greens and cheese can be mixed to suit whatever you have on hand. This version is Orecchiette with Rainbow Chard, Tomatoes and Stilton. Chard (like its…
Beet Greens with Bruschetta
I remember back when I bought a lot more produce at the store. A women picked out a few bunches of top-on beets and took them to a produce employee. “Can you cut the tops off these for me?” she asked, “I don’t want them.” I hovered near the Asian veg section, eavesdropping and mildly horrified….
Fall The Wife
I’ve been thinking about this. Fall is my favorite harvesting season. If I had to marry a vegetable growing time of year, it would be Fall. Spring is a virgin. She makes you wait. You want Spring in April, but she doesn’t actually put out until late June. I’m all for keeping it buttoned up…
Plum Perfect Galette
You know how people say “easy as pie,” when something couldn’t be simpler? Well, sorry pie, there is something simpler, and tastier: the galette. Oh, sure, you might argue that a galette is just a French pie, and in a way you’d be right. But this flat, simple, rustic (galettes are always described as rustic, which I find…
Roasted Beet Salad: Three Variations
Not everyone loves beets. Good, more for me. I love roasted beets tossed with a simple vinaigrette. The technique is dead simple and lends itself to multiple variations. I pick my beets at around golf ball size. I’d like to say that’s because they are sweetest when they are small, but truthfully I’d love big,…
Lacinato Kale and Roasted Sweet Potato Salad (Plus Variations!)
Kale is a hearty green. It is tough and fibrous and people think you have to cook it to make it palatable. But kale can be fabulous raw, in big-time cold weather salads that double as a meal. One of my favorite combinations is finely shredded raw Lacinato Kale (also called Tuscan, Cavolo Nero, or Dinosaur kale) with…
Rosemary Salt Rubbed Pork Chops
The pork chops aren’t from the garden, obviously. But this time of year you need to be grateful for what you can harvest. And a year-round flavoring in my kitchen is garden-grown rosemary. I step outside the kitchen at least once a week and snip from the rosemary hedge alongside the house. I’ll cut a…