These are some of the more interesting-looking vegetables found in the CSA share.  Celeriac, we'll talk about later.  But Kohlrabi and fennel - we can eat ...today!  If it were not for the CSA program, I would not know about these vegetables.  I did not grow up eating them and would not be adventurous enough to pick them up at the store.  So let me tell you about them now.   

Introducing the Kohlrabi...
Kohlrabi, brakes down with Kohl = cabbage and rube or rabi (Swiss German) = turnip.  This cold loving member of the brassica (cabbage) family is low in calories, high in fiber, and a good source of several vitamins and minerals. The swollen stem of the kohlrabi is the part we eat. 

Until it is harvested, it balances on a tap root giving it a sputnik-like appearance.  They come in two colors: green and purple.  The flesh in both cases is white.  The results of a blind taste test Farmer Paige did, did not result in any significant taste difference between the two.  So rest assured - whichever you chose today, you're taking home a good one. 

The taste is very mild and thus quite versatile - throw it in with your potatoes for a variation of mashed potatoes.   Braise it, boil it, stuff it, slice it, steam it, julienne it, roast it, or saut� it.  But my favorite way to eat it: cut off the leaves to save for later (as a cooking green), peel off the skin and eat!  It crunches just like an apple and is very juicy and refreshing, just less sweet.  The sweetness comes with the cooking.  I roasted one up and was surprised at how sweet it became.  It went really well in an omelet - then again, what doesn't?

Introducing the Fennel...
Fennel is also crunchy and slightly sweet, and is popular in Mediterranean cuisine. It reminds me of hand on its side in the earth - with a few extra fingers.  The stalks are topped with feathery green leaves near which flowers grow and produce fennel seeds. The bulb, stalk, leaves and seeds are all edible. Fennel belongs to the Umbellifereae family and is therefore closely related to parsley, carrots, dill and coriander.  Fennel is high in vitamins A and E, calcium and potassium. 

An interesting side note: fennel plays a role in Greek mythology.  Hesiod writes of Prometheus (the one responsible for bringing fire to man):  "He hid fire, but that the noble son of Iapetus stole again for men from Zeus the counselor in a hollow fennel-stalk, so that Zeus who delights in thunder did not see it."  Yeah fennel!
 
To store fennel, trim the stalks at the bulb and store stalks and leaves with the bulb in a plastic bag. They will take up less room this way. When it is time to use the bulb be sure to rinse it well as soil can hide in some of the layers.
 
It has a mild anise-flavor to it which is problematic for me until I tried some of Farmer Brandon's fennel-carrot "miripoix" which is the ratio of 2 part diced onion, 1 part diced fennel and one part diced carrot.  Now traditionally, miripoix contains celery, and the beautiful thing about fennel, is that it can easily substitute for celery in any recipe.  Brandon saut�ed red onion in olive oil until soft, then added the carrots and fennel.  He let them simmer a while and added some white wine and salt: delicious!

If you are looking for more recipe ideas for these and other vegetables, I recommend the Simply Recipes blog.  Elise Bauer began the blog recording her family's recipes and the list has grown!   

Highlights:  We sampled our first cucumber of the year: they are on their way! On Friday we had the largest group of folks visiting the farm: 200 conventional farmers from the Farm Bureau. 

If you would like to get a guided tour of the farm, this coming Saturday at 10:00, Farmer Brandon will be giving a tour.