Kohlrabi for Father's Day

We just got back from a long weekend trip to Albuquerque to attend a memorial service for my father’s father.  My grandfather actually passed away in December after living 92 full years.  My grandmother, who is still doing well, waited until this weekend to hold the memorial service so that more family could travel and be together for the service.  Was it just a coincidence that it happened over father’s day weekend?

So this morning as I sit down at the computer, my head is full of thoughts of my dad’s childhood and my stomach full of New Mexican food.  Is it just coincidence that the two recipes for kohlrabi I find lead me back to dads and the southwest?

For those of you new to this unique vegetable, kohlrabi is a lovely, alien-looking vegetable from the broccoli family.  The bulb, which grows right above ground, is the desirable part.  Peel it, since the skin is quite woody, and then enjoy it cooked or raw in all sorts of recipes.

First, here is a bit written by a CSA member from Angelic Organics in Illinois*:

My dad tends a small vegetable garden in suburban Cleveland. When I was a boy and it was time for kohlrabi, I followed my dad to the garden. He pulled a kohlrabi from the earth, snapped off the leaves, and peeled it with his pocket knife. My father sliced the vegetable, and we ate it together. It was crunchy and sweet. Standing beside my dad in a garden was the only way I had ever eaten a kohlrabi. Now, when I bring the farm vegetables home, I stand in the kitchen and slice a kohlrabi for myself. I think of my father.

*Angelic Organics is the farm I worked at before I came to Chelan.  This excerpt comes from Farmer John’s Cookbook, which is available in the market.

Second, here is a recipe that combines some unique flavors for a protein-packed salad.  You will find that the kohlrabi might remind you of jicama, which was a regular treat at my family reunions growing up.  I suggest serving it with Juanita’s chips (available at the market), but if I really want to be reminded of my dad, I’d have to go straight fro the Fritos.

SOUTHWEST RADISH AND KOHLRABI SALAD

½ head of lettuce, washed, dried, & chopped
1 bunch radishes, sliced
1 medium kohlrabi bulb, peeled & sliced into thin half-moons
3 hardboiled eggs, cut into wedges
1 16 oz can kidney, black, or red beans, drained & rinsed
1 cup corn, blanched fresh, frozen & thawed, or canned
1 cup Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, or cheddar cheese, cubed
¼ c. thinly sliced green garlic or green onions

Dressing:

1 c. salsa
½ c. orange juice
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
2 Tbsp cilantro, chopped (optional)

Combine dressing ingredients in a jar & shake to mix. Toss over combined salad ingredients & serve with quesadillas, corn chips, etc.

Looking over old photo albums with my Grandpa Airmet two years ago at our last family reunion in Albuquerque before he died.

No, my dad never introduced me to kohlrabi, but he did introduce me to gardening in his wonderful patch out back, full of not only vegetables but perennial flowers and native plants and a compost pile that was the source of endless fascination for him.  His dad, my grandpa, was also a gardener, tending lovingly to the tomato plants and the roses he grew in his hot Albuquerque backyard.

And if we ever get some sun, I look forward to biting into the first tomato of the season up here, and contemplating my line of roots back to the southwest.