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Glass Encrusted Pork Chops

1 pyrex baking dish
2 succulent, free range pork chops (you’ll probably have to scour multiple local farmer’s markets to find these)
1 small head of garlic, cloves separated but skin left on
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
1/2 c. dry white wine

Preheat oven to 425. Place pyrex baking dish in the oven so it will preheat as well. It’s important to use a pyrex dish to get the proper glass shard crust on the pork.

Heat a skillet over medium high heat, add olive oil, then whole garlic cloves and saute for about 5-6 minutes, until golden brown spots start to appear. Remove cloves from oil and drain on a paper towel. Add pork chops to pan and cook for about 4 minutes per side, until starting to turn golden brown and making your mouth water.

Using tongs, transfer pork chops to preheated dish in oven and sprinkle garlic cloves over the top. Deglaze hot skillet with wine, and bring to a boil Reduce by half.

Once deglazing liquid has reduced, pour over pork chops and pan. Watch pyrex pan EXPLODE before your very eyes, adding a dangerous yet crunchy glass crust to your succulent, free range, hard to find pork chops…. Get over shock of the explosion, then clean up glass shards that can be found all over the kitchen. Order a pizza from your local pizza joint, drink a glass of wine, and lament the loss of your pork chops.

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POP-CHINK! That’s the sound the pyrex pie dish made when it exploded all over my dinner..

Though I lost my dinner, I did learn a valuable lesson about pyrex baking dishes — they are sensitive to heat differentials! After a quick google search on ‘boiling liquid makes preheated pyrex explode’ I came across the following explanation of exploding pyrex :

Pyrex is made of glass. When glass changes temperature rapidly it can undergo “thermal shock.”

The text book definition of thermal shock is: “Stress produced in a body or in a material as a result of undergoing a sudden change in temperature.”

When a Pyrex bowl is heated or cooled rapidly, different parts of the bowl expand or contract by different amounts, causing stress. If the stress is too extreme, the bowl’s structure will fail, causing a spectacular shattering effect. <— yes, it sure will (Jen’s comment)

The main way to avoid this effect is to be mindful of how quickly you change the temperature of Pyrex. Stove tops and broilers conduct heat quickly, and will likely cause the bowls to fail. Taking a bowl directly from the freezer and putting it into a hot oven might also trigger breakage.

Also, pouring 212 degree liquid into a 425 degree pyrex pan may cause it to explode…

So, I guess I’m in the market for a new pie pan. I’m obviously going to avoid Pyrex — at this point, it seems it’s just a brand name rather than a stamp of quality. According to the same website as above:

Pyrex bowls were originally made of something called borosilicate glass, which is very resistant to thermal shock. Currently, Pyrex is made of soda-lime glass, presumably as a cost-cutting measure, as soda-lime glass is very inexpensive. Also, Pyrex is no longer made by the original manufacturer, and is essentially a brand name, rather than a material.

I’m thinking Le Creuset — do you have any other suggestions?

Summer Squash and Roasted Tomato Timbales
makes 2 timbales

- 3 fist sized round green summer squash, or an equal amount of small zucchini or other summer squash
- olive oil
- between 4 and 12 roasted tomato halves, depending on size (see recipe below)
- 8 or so large basil leaves
- 3 - 4 T. farmer’s cheese or good quality ricotta

Preheat broiler. Remove the tops and very bottoms of summer squash and slice into thin rounds, about 1/8 inch thick or less (if using long instead of round squash, slice vertically into long strips). Lightly brush a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Place slices on baking sheet, and brush the tops with a small amount of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil for about 5-6 minutes, until top is beginning to turn golden brown. Flip slices over, and broil and additional 4-5 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool somewhat. Turn oven to 400 degrees.

Lightly brush 2 -1 cup ramekins with a small amount of olive oil. Place one squash piece flat in the bottom of each ramekin. Using about half of the roasted squash, line the sides of the ramekins with overlapping slices. Place a quarter of the tomatoes in the bottom of each ramekin. Pat a quarter of the cheese into each ramekin on top of the tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top cheese with two basil leaves, pressing gently. Place one or two roasted squash slices on top of the basil. Repeat layering: tomatoes, cheese, salt & pepper, and basil. Top with remaining squash slices, and fold over any edges so you have a little roasted-squash-sealed package. Place ramekins on baking sheet, and heat in oven for about 8-10 minutes, until warmed throughout. Remove ramekins from oven, gently loosen edges with a small spatula or knife, turn timbales out onto a plate and remove ramekins (either by placing a plate on top of ramekin and flipping over, or by deftly flipping hot ramekins face down onto a plate). Enjoy!

Roasted Tomatoes
- Small tomatoes (1.5 inches is ideal, though you can use larger or smaller tomatoes)
- Salt & Pepper
- Thyme (fresh or dried)

Preheat oven to very low, about 225 degrees. Slice tomatoes in half vertically (or if using larger tomatoes, quarter them) and place cut side up on a rimmed baking pan. Sprinkle each tomato half with salt, pepper, and a bit of thyme. Roast for about 1.5 hour, or until tomatoes are very soft. Flip tomatoes so the cut side is down. Roast an additional hour and a half, or longer until tomatoes have reduced in volume by about half. Use tomatoes immediately, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week (though mine never last that long!). If the tomatoes are on the smaller side, you will need to reduce roasting time to about 1 hour per side.

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Last weekend I saw the first tomatoes of the season at the Palo Alto farmer’s market! Greenhouse-raised? perhaps. Unusual variety? not so much. Super delicious after over six months without eating a fresh tomato? absolutely.

Not only did I find the first tomatoes of the season, but I found some lovely green summer squash, which I haven’t seen in even longer than six months! These two exciting farmer’s market finds, plus some farmers cheese I had at home and fresh basil from my trusty indoor basil plant, combined wonderfully to make a gastronomically and aesthetically pleasing vegetable dish that is happily at home on the center of the plate.

I had never heard of the word timbale before I came across Patricia Wells great cookbook, ‘Vegetable Harvest: Vegetables at the Center of the Plate’. Similar to ‘tagine’ and ‘casserole’, the word timbale refers to both the cookware, as well as the food cooked in the cookware. In the book she has a delicious-looking recipe for roasted eggplant and tomato timbales, which I based this dish upon.

Not too difficult, and not too fussy, these vegetable timbales have a clean, fresh flavor and an almost melt-in-your-mouth texture. I can imagine a late summer version of the dish using entirely raw ingredients and served slightly chilled (tomatoes, dill, cucumbers, and feta; chioggia beets, mint, ricotta, and strawberries; zucchini, sweet corn, cilantro, and farmer’s cheese… to name a few). Geez, I see the first tomatoes, and I’m already imagining August! Silly me — how foolish it would be to miss out on other equally mouthwatering late-spring/early summer combinations: asparagus, new potatoes, and dill; spring onion, green garlic, and spinach; leek, potato, and sage; snap peas, basil, and broccoli — all with cheese, or course — use your imagination and the possibilities are endless!

That being said, do you have any ideas for tasty or unusual combinations? I’d love to hear them!

Beet Towers with Farmers Cheese and Oranges

2 medium beets, washed, greens removed
1 small orange (Cara-cara are my favorites)
~ 2-4 T. farmers cheese or good quality ricotta
Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Wrap beets in a foil packet and roast for about 1 hour, or until beets are tender and can be easily pierced with a knife. Carefully open foil packets and allow to cool (this can be done up to a day in advance).

When beets are cool enough to handle, slip off skins and trim top of beet so that it is a flat surface. Place the beets on their sides and slice into 1/3 inch or so slices, keeping the slices in order.

Cut the bottom and top off the orange, then peel using a serrated knife to cut away the peel and all of the white pith. Cut the orange into thin slices — count the number of beet slices that you have, then cut that many orange slices, minus two.

Place the bottom slice of one beet on a plate or small cutting board. Take about 1-1.5 t. farmers cheese and spread it evenly over beet slice. Top with orange slice. Sprinkle the layer with a small amount of pepper. Place the next beet slice on top of the orange, and repeat layering process — beet, cheese. orange, pepper — until you’ve used the whole beet. Repeat to assemble second tower.

Makes 2 towers

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Ah, beets. My trusty standby — ready to be prepared and enjoyed in the same old ordinary way (roasted, plain), yet always willing to be a player in my latest experimental recipe. It’s hard not to appreciate a vegetable that is so bold, yet so flexible.

This latest beet creation, oddly enough, came out of the fact that I both 1) love ricotta cheese and 2) am extremely picky about it. I was at the Milk Pail Market the other day, a european style open-air grocery in Mountain View, CA that has a fantastic and diverse cheese selection, and I, as always, checked the cheeses to see if they had started carrying any other ricotta than the factory produced kind. Every time I go there, I check for good ricotta, and alas, every time I check, I am disappointed (though I regularly put in written and verbal requests for Bellwether Farmers ricotta). Anyhow, this check/disappointment cycle has been going on for nearly a year now (since I started shopping there), so I decided that instead of just sulking, I would see if there were any other options, namely a good farmers cheese or quark. Much to my delight, the Milk Pail does carry a hand-packed artisan farmers cheese, which is very similar to ricotta, except slightly drier.

Farmer’s cheese is very mild, with a slightly grainy texture. It’s great for spreading on breads, using in pastas, mixing with herbs — basically anywhere you would use ricotta, you can substitute farmer’s cheese. Both texturally and taste-wise, it goes extremely well with beets and other roasted vegetables. It is mild enough to allow the vegetable flavor to shine through, and at the same time, the contrast of soft roasted vegetable and textured grainy cheese is wonderful.

But back to the recipe — the most time consuming part of this recipe is actually roasting the beets; once that is done, the towers come together in a few short minutes. I served mine at room temperature, though they would also be delicious if you popped them in a medium oven for a few minutes (10 minutes at 325 or so) to warm everything. Also, roasting the beets can been done up to 2 days in advance, but do not assemble the towers until close to the time you are ready to served them, as the crimson beets will stain the cheese and oranges a fiery pink.

Anyhow, as you might have guessed from the blog title, beets are my favorite vegetable, and I’m always looking for new ways to prepare them. Do you have any ideas? Also, what’s your favorite vegetable, and how do you like to prepare it?

Thank you to everyone who participated in this month’s Fresh From the Farmer’s Market Blog Carnival! The breadth and depth of the submissions were fantastic! I hope you can find the time to check out what everyone has to say!

Previous editions:
Fresh From the Farmer’s Market #1
Fresh From the Farmer’s Market #2

Photo From Feeding Maybelle

Welcome Spring!
When spring arrives, sometimes you just want to sing its praises! Maybelle’s Mom from Feeding Maybelle sent a lovely article about her first market trip of the season, and some of the things she found there. I especially enjoyed her discussion about how the market is about building community in our often urban-yet-isolated lifestyles.

Springtime Farmer’s Market Recipes
Katy over at Sugarlaws shares a recipe for Smoked Pheasant Salad using smoked pheasant from her farmer’s market that looks absolutely delicious. I’ve never tried smoked pheasant, but love all sorts of smoked fish (different, I know :) ). I particularly like smoked meats when served at room temperature or slightly chilled — another favorite around here is new potato salad with smoked trout, dill, and a little creme fraiche.

Valereee, the Cincinatti Locavore, sent a recipe for Sorrel Soup that looks gastronomically stupendous. Sorrel, with its lemony bite, is one of my all time favorite spring greens both for cooking and eating raw. It can be a little hard to find, but is definitely worth searching out (or growing yourself)! She mentions a local source for sorrel if you’re in the Cincinnati area.

Photo From Fresh Cracked Pepper

Up near Lake Ontario when the weather was still cold and wintery, Jen at Fresh Cracked Pepper would warm herself with a hearty, comforting meal of farmer’s market Poulet en Cocotte (Chicken in a Pot), boiled beets, steamed broccoli, and a wild rice pilaf with cranberries and almonds. With a scrumptious dinner like that you almost wish winter would stick around!

I let out a similar squeal of delight to that described over at Ecosalon when I saw the first asparagus of the season at my local farmer’s market. Ecosalon offers an article entitled Seasonal Eating: The First Asparagus, complete with a delicious sounding recipe for Tuna Nicoise Salad with New Potatoes, Asparagus, and Wasabi Vinaigrette. Yum!

Manjula from Manjula’s Kitchens sent a wonderful video on how to make Aloo Gobi (Spicy Cauliflower with Potatoes). Endearing and informative, her videos teach us how to make real, home-style indian cuisine from daal to puri to gulab jamun. Absolutely lovely!

Choosing Ethically Sourced Meat… or Raising it Yourself!
Ellen recounts a visit to family-owned Wheel-View Farm that raises Belted Galloways and Scottish Highland cattle, as well as pastured chickens. (And for any of you in the northeast, she mentions that this idyllic farm ships frozen pastured beef over a large portion of the eastern sea board). As a follow up, she offers Close to the Source, recounting a later trip to the farm spent learning about and getting to know the cattle — they’re so friendly one tried to eat her hair!

Photo From Fowl Visions

Carole offers a fascinating pair of articles discussing raising chickens and roosters. It seems like more and more people are taking the plunge and keeping a few chickens in their backyards in order to have a constant supply of fresh eggs. The first article, Little Known Facts About Raising Chickens in Your Backyard lists some really interesting facts, like ‘there are more chickens on earth than people’, as well as ‘to encourage laying of eggs, place a golf ball or plastic egg in the nest’. The second article, What to do with Rooster Spurs, provides helpful information about just that.

… Or Choosing No Meat At All.
Lane from Vegan Bits sent an interesting article about how environmentally speaking, vegan eating trumps local eating (and of course these need not necessarily be mutually exclusive!). One thing you might notice about shopping at the farmer’s market is that vegetables become more of a centerpiece on the plate, and introducing vegan dishes happens quite naturally — for example, one of my favorite summer is dishes is tomato and avocado salad which is vegan through and through.

Skyler offers an interesting discussion on choosing a vegetarian lifestyle over an omnivorous one. He sites factors such as environmental impact, health, and animal rights as a few of his reasons. Choosing whether to eat meat or not is a very personal decision, and not all diets work for everyone. But, if you do choose to eat meat, I hope you will source it ethically.

Travel and Food
Sarah from The Eclectic Female sent an article about how to eat well on your vacation in other ways than eating out. Some of her suggestions include searching out open air farmers markets, finding roadside stands, and finding local grocery stores. I must say, I agree with her suggestions of finding roadside stands while travelling, as some of the best food I’ve ever eaten has been from places just like these — Mom and Pop shops on the side of a lonely road.
Thanks again to everyone who submitted articles for this month’s Fresh from the Farmer’s Market Blog Carnival! I truly enjoyed reading everyone’s contributions!

The next Fresh From the Farmer’s Market Carnival will be published in the beginning of June. The deadline for submission is Thursday May 29th, and articles can be submitted here. Thanks again!

Homemade Tofu

14 oz. dried soy beans, soaked overnight in water
water
2 t. gypsum (used in beer and wine making — check your local asian market or home-brew store for this ingredient)

Special Equipment: tofu mold (can use milk carton), blender or food processor, cheese cloth, thermometer

Dried Soy Beans

1) Prepare tofu mold:

Method 1: Rinse a 2 quart milk container. Lay the container on its side, and using scissors or a knife, cut out one side of the container. Reserve the cut side, as you’ll use it to press tofu later. Cut and fold the top/spout and secure with duct tape so that it lays flat and container looks like a mini shoe box, minus the top. Poke holes on at least three sides of the container so that water can drain out of it as you are pressing the tofu. Secure the shape of the container by making a rectangle out of chopsticks, skewers, or some other stick-like things, securing the corners with rubber bands or twist ties. Place the rectangle around the milk carton, and adjust until it’s the right size. Secure the whole thing with duct tape (I swear, making the mold is the hardest part!!!)

Method 2: Buy a proper tofu mold

Method 3: Improvise something!

Tofu Mold from 2 qt milk container, minus securing chopsticks or skewers

2) Drain soaked soy beans. Pour beans into a blender or food processor and add enough water to just cover. Puree until you’ve achieved a smooth consistency. (You may need to do this in batches)

Soaked Soy Beans

About to Puree Soy Beans

3) Measure the amount of puree that you have and take note of it. Spoon the puree into a large, heavy-bottomed pan, and add an equal amount of water (I used a 5 qt. dutch oven and it was *barely* big enough)

4) Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat so that mixture is at a slow boil, and cook for 30 minutes, stirring often. Skim off and discard any foam that rises to the top.

Mixture before skimming

Mixture after skimming

5) Meanwhile, mix the gypsum with a small amount of water in a small cup or bowl until it dissolves. Line a large sieve or colander with a double layer of cheesecloth. Place colander over a large bowl. Pour mixture into colander and allow to drain for 3-4 minutes. The liquid is the soy milk (just like you get from the container!!), and the solids are called okara and are used in various Japanese dishes. Remove strainer with okara and either discard or save for later use.

6) Insert thermometer into soy milk. When the mixture has cooled to 155 degrees, add gypsum mixture. If liquid has cooled beyond this point, place soy milk in a pot and heat until it reaches 155 degrees, remove from heat, then add gypsum. Within 1 or 2 minutes you will see curds starting to form. Allow mixture to stand undisturbed for about 25-30 minutes.

Tofu Curds

7) Line mold with a double layer of cheesecloth. Pour mixture into mold. Place reserved carton side on top, and gently press with your hands for two or three minutes to drain some of the liquid. Once a good amount of liquid has drained off, squarely place carton side on top of tofu and evenly weight with 5-10 lbs — I used a 5 lb bag of grain plus two cans of food. For medium firm tofu, press for about 15 minutes. For firm tofu, weight for 20-25 minutes or longer. The firmness of your tofu is entirely determined at this stage by the amount you weight it with, and for how long. If you’re unsure, simply remove weights every now and again and press tofu with your finger to check on it. When it has reached the desired consistency, carefully remove tofu from mold and store in a container of water. Use within 3-4 days. Enjoy!

Pressing Tofu

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I can’t say for sure what possessed me to decide to make homemade tofu. Most likely it’s because I’ve heard tofu called both ‘one of the most natural and healthful’ as well as ‘one of the most processed and adulterated’ foods in the vegetarian (or in my case, ethically omnivorous) diet. This dichotomous description made me want to make it from scratch and to see for myself what it actually entails to make the wobbly cream bean curd that I eat at least two or three times a week.

Making tofu from scratch is a fairly involved endeavor, but worth it if you have the urge to know where your food comes from and how it’s made. Summed up, the steps are: 1) find a place that sells soy beans (not that easy! try your local asian market), 2) soak the beans overnight, 3) puree the soaked beans with water, 4) cook the puree, 5) drain the mixture to separate the mixture into soy milk and okara (the solids), 6) add a coagulant and wait, and finally 7) pour into a mold, press, and drain the tofu. It’s possible to start with soy milk and eliminate steps 1 through 5, but for the true ‘Make it From Scratch’ experience, this won’t do.

On of the highlights of making your own tofu is that you can make it as silken or firm as you desire. I like my tofu a wobbly medium — just dense enough that I can cut it into cubes and it will keep its shape, but no more… I think it should jiggle a little bit when I touch it :). Extra firm tofu rarely makes it into my kitchen as I find it far too dry; if that is the only type of tofu a tofu-newbie tries, I can see how she would come away with a bad taste in her mouth — however, a piece of moist, perfectly wobbly medium tofu can be something to write home about.

My favorite way to cook tofu is extremely simple: heat a non-stick skillet over medium high heat, cut tofu into 1 1/2 inch cubes, add to dry pan, and cook for about 4-5 minutes until a nice golden crust develops. Loosen tofu from skillet and flip onto a different side. Cook for 3-4 more minutes until a nice crust develops on this side. Turn tofu one more time onto a different side and cook until it develops a crust. I find that 3 out of 6 sides is a good number, though 2 or 4 or 5 or 6 is fine too — I usually base this on what else I’ve got cooking and whether it’s ready or not!

So, you might be wondering, how does homemade tofu compare to store-bought tofu? Well, homemade tofu is pretty darned good, but is a fair amount of effort. My farmer’s market is lucky enough to have vendors who sell homemade tofu for the very reasonable price of ~$2-3/lb, which is just as good as homemade tofu and far less effort. All-natural organic tofu stacks up pretty well too — not as good as homemade or farmer’s market tofu since it has inevitably been sitting around for longer, but it’s still tasty nonetheless. I have tried quite a few brands and really like Wildwood Organics tofu, as well as Hodo Soy (I think this is only available around the Bay Area — this is the bulk tofu at the Rainbow Grocery if anyone is an SF Rainbow shopper). Lots of Asian groceries carry freshly made tofu for ridiculously cheap prices too — i.e. 6 or 7 blocks for $1 — since they’re selling them fresh, I assume that no other strange additives have gone into the mix. Many tofus have lots of chemical preservatives and additives, and these I avoid like the plague — make sure to check the label before you buy!

Anyways, if you do decide to be adventurous and make tofu at home, I’d love to hear about your experience! Also, what are your favorite recipes or ways to prepare tofu?

Skillet Roasted Celeraic with Potatoes, Celery, Olives, and Sage

4 slices bacon, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces *see note below
1.5 lbs of celery root and yukon gold potatoes (I used 1 celery root plus 2 potatoes)
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced into moons
5-6 kalamata olives (or other cured black olives), chopped
1 T. fresh sage, chopped
1-2 oz shredded manchego cheese (about 1/2 c) (any hard salty cheese will work)
1-2 oz shredded mozzarella or provolone
Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat a heavy well-seasoned cast-iron (or other non-stick skillet) over medium high heat. Add the bacon and saute until mostly crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon from rendered fat and drain on a paper towel. Reserve rendered bacon fat in a small bowl or container.

Allow skillet to cool until it can be handled. Meanwhile, using a sharp knife, peel the celery root and thinly slice into rounds (1/16 inch thick). Scrub the potatoes and thinly slice into rounds the same thickness as the celery root.

Once the skillet is cool, brush the bottom and sides with some of the rendered bacon fat. Layer 1/4 of the celery root and potato slices into the pan, brush with some of the rendered bacon fat, and top with 1/3 of the fresh celery, 1/3 of the crumbled bacon, 1/3 of the olives, and 1/4 of the sage, manchego, and mozzarella. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Repeat for two more layers. Make one more layer of celery root and potato slices, brush with bacon fat, and top with remaining sage and cheeses. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Tightly cover the skillet either with its lid or with foil. Bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for 25-30 more minutes, until potatoes and celery root are tender and the edges are golden brown. Either slice into wedges directly in the pan, taking care not to scrape the pan, or transfer to a cutting board with two spatulas and cut there.

Enjoy!

*Note: Try to find all-natural and ethically sourced meat (i.e. at the Farmer’s Market, raise your own, etc) if you choose to consume it.

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Every now and again I’ll wake up and decide that today I need a mental health day. The feeling strikes at the oddest times — not when I’m particularly stressed out or busy at work, but rather when things are on the quiet side and contemplation seems like a plausible idea rather than a far off notion.

Anyhow, a couple of weeks ago, this feeling struck for not one, but TWO days in a row… I could barely fathom writing C++ code for 8 hours straight in my dimly lit window-less office, even if it does have to do with rock and roll :) … No, all I wanted was to sit quietly at home doing my slightly more active version of meditation — cooking vegetables.

It’s not just the act of cooking for me, it’s also *what* I’m cooking — cooking vegetables puts me in a more relaxed state than, say, baking, cooking meat, or grilling. There’s something about handling vegetables, especially those that I buy locally at the farmer’s market where I am completely sure and comfortable about their origin that simply puts me at ease…

Anyhow, on this particular mental health day, I decided to cook up a feast for my solitary lunch — a cara-cara orange, skillet roasted celeraic, sauteed dandelion greens, a salad with homegrown lettuce, and yes, a lunchtime glass of red wine. I sat, nibbled, contemplated, listened to my surroundings, and let my thoughts wander where they might…

I developed the habit of long, solitary, contemplative lunches about five years ago while working on a project about field recording in Europe. I would find a little restaurant to sit at on a square or plaza, order some food, setup my equipment, and just listen and record. I would later sift through all of the recordings and create sonic sketches out of my recordings… these days I do less recording, and my long solitary lunches are more an act of relaxation and delving into the present moment rather than a creative effort; both are valid pursuits in my eyes.

But I digress.

The skillet roasted celeraic that was part of my lunchtime feast turned out wonderfully — crispy and golden on both the top and bottom, dotted with savory sage and salty olives, and topped with melty parmesan cheese — low fuss and super delicious. Making skillet roasted vegetables is quite similar to making a gratin, the main difference being that there is no liquid involved. If instead you wanted to make this into a gratin, simply pour cream or broth over the layered sliced celeraic and potatoes, then bake as directed. Perhaps on your next mental health day (or before!) you can give this a try.

Quick Purple Kohlrabi Pickles
Adapted from Linda Ziedrich’s The Joy of Pickling

3/4 lb young purple kohlrabi bulbs, stems trimmed, and cut into large matchsticks (do not peel) (about 3 2-inch bulbs)
3/4 t. fine grain sea salt
1/2 c. unseasoned rice vinegar (or if using seasoned, leave out the 1 T. sugar called for in the recipe)
1/2 c. water
2 medium garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
Zest of 1/2 a lemon, in strips
1 T. sugar
1/4 t. black peppercorns, crushed
2 thin slices fresh ginger
1/4 t. hot pepper flakes

In a bowl, toss kohlrabi with salt. Let stand for about 1 hour

Drain the kohlrabi and pack into a pint jar or other piece of tupperware. Bring the remaining ingredients to a boil and immediately pour them over the kohlrabi and mix. Cover and let cool to room temperature.

Once cool, place jar in the refrigerator. Let pickles mature for about 1.5 - 2 days. Pickles will keep (refrigerated) for about three weeks. Enjoy!

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Ever since I bought Linda Ziedrich’s book The Joy of Pickling, I’ve had pickles on the brain… not the typical pickles one usually imagines — you know, made with cucumbers, puckering-ly salty, sour, sweet, or vinegar-y, filled with preservatives, usually used as a topping for hamburgers…. No, my mind has been filled with all sorts of unusual and unique pickles spanning the gamut of the food spectrum — cantaloupe pickles, pickled eggs, squash pickles, pickled figs, pickled beef tongue (?!), green tomato pickles, miso pickles, half-sour cabbage, kimchi, and turnip pickles to name a few…. oh yes, and kohlrabi pickles of course!

I was walking through the farmer’s market last weekend when I came across a vendor selling big, beautiful bunches of purple kohlrabi. Kohlrabi is a bulbous vegetable with dark green leaves that is a member of the cabbage family; whereas most cabbages put their energy into producing a large and dense head of leaves, kohlrabi puts its energy into producing a large bulb that has a similar texture to the core of a head of cabbage. Most often you’ll find green kohlrabi, but if you’re lucky, you might find some purple kohlrabi at your local farmer’s market. Since I had intentions to make a quick pickle that day, yet hadn’t decided what type, I purchased a bunch of purple kohlrabi and decided that these would be the inaugural pickles.

Besides the bulb, the green leaves of kohlrabi can be eaten — simply use them like any other mild yet sturdy cooking green. After using the bulbs to make these pickles, I stripped the center stems of the leaves and made creamed kohlrabi greens that turned out beautifully (chop and steam the greens, add a little sour cream, horseradish, butter, and nutmeg — yum!). The leaves are actually quite tasty — less bitter than collard greens, but with the same hearty yet velvety texture…

And finally to the pickles! These quick pickles take only about two days to mature, as opposed to most pickles and krauts that take time on the order of weeks or months rather than days to mature. With the addition of lemon zest and red pepper flakes, these end up having a lovely complexity not found in most store-bought pickles; also, they’re slightly vinegar-y, but not too sour and not at all salty. Additionally, since these are ‘quick’ and not meant to be preserved, you don’t have to mess with properly canning your pickles — just drop the ingredients into a jar, shake, shake, shake, and that’s it — no boiling or processing is needed.

As for pickling itself, I’ve got lots of plans for the upcoming summer — pickled okra, watermelon rind pickles, red miso celery pickles, quick carrot pickles, and of course, some more traditional cucumber pickles (made with the Suyo Long and Mexican Sour Gherkin cucumbers from my garden!). Do you pickle at all? if so, what are you favorite things to make?