FARM SHARE 3!!

Alright, it seems that this blog doesn't want me to be able to type next to pictures this week. Well, poo. So to punish it, I am going to make it hold GIANT pictures of beautiful food. That'll teach it!

Take a gander, if you will, at this week's bounty!

Let's see, in the vegetable share we had lettuce, scallions, cabbage, kohlrabi and something called pea tendrils that I had not heard of before.

The fruit share was a quart and a pint of strawberries and a pint of cherries!

And it was a banner week for bread and cheese. We got a loaf of sourdough with garlic and a block of some amazing cheddar that felt like butter on my tongue.

You may notice some dents in the bread and cheese and a certain lack of fullness to the quart of berries. You know how sometimes the food doesn't last the day? Well, sometimes it doesn't even make the car ride home unscathed! I was like a jackal on a carcass with that bread. Just gnawing away. And the cheese was a bit of an embarrassment as well. Although I did have the self control not to bite chunks out. I did break off a piece delicately with my nearly clean fingers. The strawberries, I just jammed down my gullet and threw the hulls out the window like a horrible litterer. But vegetable matter doesn't count as litter. I looked it up. 

So what did I do to this food?

Well first I emasculated the kohlrabi.Just chopped his little tendrils off. And then I peeled him and cut him into sticks with an eye towards preparing kohlrabi home fries. I am not even sure if I am going to post the recipe. It was not pretty.

Okay, it doesn't look so bad right now, does it? Kind of apple-like. That potato peeler was completely useless against the tough skin of the beastie.

Then a dipping into a nice friendly bag of flour.

And a warm bath in some olive oil. For some reason, this is the last picture I took of them. After this I put them on some paper towels to absorb some of the grease and sprinkled them with cumin. Like the recipe suggested! They tasted like blocks of somewhat tender wood. Not my finest hour! I was going to force the family to try one, but even I am not that cruel!

Let us go, then, to the next recipe - Pea Tendrils with Crimini Mushrooms and Leeks. Or as I call it - Pea Tendrils with Regular Old White Mushrooms and some farm share scallions! Look at that garlic from last week's farm share! Still helpful! And if you look in the back corner you can see some of the bread and cheese which I could NOT STOP EATING!!!

Here are the scallions being cooked in some butter.

Have I mentioned my love for my Pampered Chef chopper thingy lately? It is so handy for the garlic.

And look how beautiful the pea tendrils are! They even have little flowers on them. Oh pea tendrils, would that I had just enjoyed you in your pretty flower bedecked state rather than trying to, well, cook you.

The tension builds as I add the garlic and mushrooms! Surely this must be a good idea.

The tendrils are placed ever so gently into the pan.

After the first stir.









And this is as far as the pictures go. After a minute or two it might as well have been spinach! I should have just put them on a salad or something. I just can't abide cooked greens. Even beautiful, flowry, tendrily cooked greens. Oh the humanity. I tried to eat them, but even the butter couldn't save them from just grossing me out. A little raspberry walnut balsamic vinegar on these babies raw and they would have been delicious. Alas, I cooked them and it was all for naught...

The cabbage and lettuce will be Aunt Ginger's delicious crunchy salad. I found a link here for something surprisingly similar. And yet they did not thank Aunt Ginger. Citations, people! Humble Bean's photos put mine to shame though. Very beautiful.

And here are the recipes for those of you who don't know a cautionary tale when you see one!

 

Kohlrabi Home Fries

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN

1 1/2 to 2 pounds kohlrabi

1 tablespoon rice flour, chickpea flour or semolina (more as needed) 

Salt to taste

2 to 4 tablespoons canola oil or grapeseed oil, as needed 

Chili powder, ground cumin, curry powder or paprika to taste

1. Peel the kohlrabi and cut into thick sticks, about 1/3 to 1/2 inch wide and about 2 inches long.

2. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a heavy skillet (cast iron is good). Meanwhile, place the flour in a large bowl, season with salt if desired and quickly toss the kohlrabi sticks in the flour so that they are lightly coated.

3. When the oil is rippling, carefully add the kohlrabi to the pan in batches so that the pan isn’t crowded. Cook on one side until browned, about 2 to 3 minutes. Then, using tongs, turn the pieces over to brown on the other side for another 2 to 3 minutes. The procedure should take only about 5 minutes if there is enough oil in the pan. Drain on paper towels, then sprinkle right away with the seasoning of your choice. Serve hot.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Advance preparation: You can cut up the kohlrabi several hours before frying. Keep in the refrigerator.

Nutritional information per serving (based on lower range in ingredients, 4 servings): 117 calories; 7 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 milligrams cholesterol; 13 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 34 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 3 grams protein

Pea Tendrils with Crimini Mushrooms and Leeks

Makes 4 servings

    3 tablespoons butter

    1 cup thinly sliced leek (white and pale green parts only; about 1 medium)

    2 garlic cloves, minced

    8 ounces crimini mushrooms, sliced

    8 cups pea tendrils, left intact

 

Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add leek; cover and cook until leek is soft but not brown, stirring often, about 7 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high; add garlic and mushrooms and sauté until mushrooms begin to brown, about 7 minutes. Add pea tendrils; cook until pea tendrils just begin to wilt, tossing often, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.