How You Can Improve Your State of Mind with Kohlrabi and Fresh Herbs
“Something smells delicious,” said two neighbors as they walked past our house while my husband was tending the grill. “What are you serving for dinner?”
The lamb chops smothered with Dijon mustard and fresh rosemary from our garden did smell delicious. Rosemary, if you didn’t know, has all sorts of curative qualities from restoring memory to enhancing blood circulation to being an anti-oxidant. Rosemary also enhances the taste of lamb.
A winning combination when planning a menu, consider a side dish to go with grilled meat that might feature sauteed kohlrabi and tomatoes. High in magnesium and calcium, kohlrabi is loaded with vitamin C-the vitamin that is an anti-oxidant and helps to cure wounds.
We’ve been growing Rosemary for several years. It’s a hardy herb that easily lives through a Maryland winter.
Kohlrabi, however, is something new this year in the garden. I thought the name was from the far east, but this less known vegetable is northern European in origin. Just to change things up a bit, my husband Peter who does the planting, decided to try out some new vegetables- ones we didn’t know much about. Kohlrabi is one of them. He also planted a whole bunch of cowpeas. (I’ll blog about those cowpeas another time because they are still being harvested. There’s a lot of labor involved in getting those tiny cowpeas out of their pods!)
We both thought kohlrabi was an Asian vegetable because of the sound of the name, but its origin is actually north European. It is, however, great in a stir fry. Sometimes called a “Stem Turnip” the name kohlrabi is a derivative of the German word for cabbage turnip.
Kohlrabi does best, according to gardening experts, planted in late spring or early summer, and should be harvested when the bulbs are two inches in diameter, before they become woody and tough. We left Annapolis to visit with family for a few weeks and when we returned, not only had the weeds taken over a good portion of our planted bed, but the kohlrabi was just about ready to harvest.
I had to think fast.
Everyone knows how much better tomatoes taste, plucked from the vine in your own backyard. One of the reasons they taste so good is because by being allowed to ripen naturally on the vine, their sugar content is maximized and their natural red color shows they are full of lycopene a powerful anti-oxidant. It’s the same with kohlrabi, only kohlrabi rich in different anti-oxidants named carotenoids.
Fresh picked, the bulbs taste crisp and sweet. To prepare the vegetable for eating, wash it well and peel or cut away the thick tough outer skin and the tough base. You’ll be able to feel the difference in texture. As you peel and slice or dice, you may notice the smell might remind you of bok choy.
Last night I pulled out six kohlrabi plants to cook as a side dish. The leaves are edible and keep for approximately four days. I used only one cup in the recipe I created. I’m going to try using them in another recipe focused on leafy greens. Grow your own greens and they possess anywhere from ninety to thirty percent more vitamin C than the lettuce you purchase at the grocers.
Last night’s menu featured baked sweet potato, grilled pork tenderloin marinated in a jerk sauce of brown sugar and soy with fresh cilantro and sauteed kohlrabi with fresh picked cherry tomatoes. Here’s the simple recipe for the kohlrabi.
Sauteed Kohlrabi
Ingredients
4 cups of diced kohlrabi (cut into slices and then cut into rectangles or squares)
3 diced or crushed garlic cloves
1 cup of chopped kohlrabi leaves
½ cup of cherry tomatoes cut in half
Equal parts olive oil and sesame oil- enough to cover the bottom of the pan
Note: if you are buying kohlrabi at the grocer that has no leaves, you can use fresh parsley as a substitute.
Directions
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat until it sizzles (test by sprinkling a drop of cold water)
Add your garlic and as it begins to brown add the kohlrabi. Let it cook a few minutes and then add in the leaves and tomatoes. You can taste the kohlrabi as you cook and perhaps add a dash of salt. The dish is ready to serve when the tomatoes are soft. And if the rest of your dinner is still cooking, turn off the burner and cover.
This is the kind of recipe that can easily be expanded to add a multitude of vegetables. And it you want to go vegetarian, just add in a batch of fried tofu.
What we put inside our bodies, each time we eat a meal or a snack, does affect out health. Eat something fresh and delicious and it can perk up your spirits. Next week I’m going to include a recipe that uses fresh Dill, another wonderful herb.
But back to the subject of kohlrabi, high in calcium, potassium and magnesium, kohlrabi is composed of a water-soluble fiber that helps reduce glucose and cholesterol levels. It can be served roasted, boiled and mashed, fried or raw. Considered by many health experts to be a “superfood,” I think kohlrabi can also provide some interesting Writer’s Prompts.
WRITING PROMPT
What’s in a name? Have some fun with the name Kohlrabi and use it in an unconventional way. Perhaps it is the name of your character and you can explain how they acquired their name or perhaps it is the word to break a magic spell. Where does your imagination take you?
Or use kohlrabi as a food and take it to the extreme. What would happen if someone only ate kohlrabi? Or in a future world attempting to “regreen the planet” maybe it is a requirement that everyone plant Kohlrabi in their garden and eat so many grams of kohlrabi each day. How large could a Kohlrabi bulb grow and how many people might it feed? As a writer, have fun creating an alternate reality or write a true story about the first time you tasted kohlrabi. It can be delicious but not everyone has the same palate. It’s our differences and the conflict that ensues that can create a compelling “page turner.”
Let me know how you do, and if you like writing prompts and recipes don’t forget to sign up for FREE on WordPress, Medium or Substack to receive an email each time I post. Remember, next week I’ll include an easy recipe with fresh dill. It’s summer, not a time to labor too hard and I’ve learned it’s the ingredients that are the most important, not elaborate preparation.
Thank you for reading and check out my new landing page at Nadjamaril.com.
Originally published at http://nadjamaril.com on July 15, 2024.
