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Contest Closed! Stay tuned for the winner – Win This Book: Farmer John’s Cookbook

by Sarah Wolf · July 16th, 2009
Books, CSA/Tuv Ha'Aretz, Community Agriculture, Contest, Cookbooks, Food Writing, Seasonality, Vegetables

kohlrabi

So you’ve just opened your CSA box to an unfamiliar sight—a strange-looking bulb with long leaves sprouting every which way. After asking Google, your hippie aunt, two of your neighbors and a guy in line with you at Trader Joe’s, you finally figure out that the mystery plant is called kohlrabi. Great… now what do you do with the giant bag of it in your fridge?

For the solution to this and other similar dilemmas, turn to Farmer John’s Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables, a witty and practical collection of recipes organized by vegetable and season. Since the book comes straight from a CSA-supported farm, it’s geared perfectly towards the needs of eager (but sometimes bewildered) shareholders. The recipes, which range from sweet to savory, include such creative items as Rosemary Lemonade, Baked-Beet-and-Carrot Burgers, and Sweet Zucchini Crumble. To add a little spice, they’re interspersed with essays, tips, quotes from CSA shareholders, and some funny tidbits. Apparently, for example, “Alice B. Toklas described kohlrabi’s taste as ‘having the pungency of a highborn radish born to a lowbrow cucumber.’”

Wishing you had a copy on hand for dinner tonight? You’re in luck – we’re giving away a free copy of Farmer John’s Cookbook to one randomly chosen lucky commenter! Just tell everyone the most inventive dish you’ve made with your CSA produce by Friday, July 24 in order to be entered to win.

Photo of kohlrabi from thebittenword.com on Flickr

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14 Responses to “Contest Closed! Stay tuned for the winner – Win This Book: Farmer John’s Cookbook”

  1. Avigail Says:
    July 17th, 2009 at 11:06 am

    I made Mark Bittman’s beets with walnut & garlic sauce. I threw in the green beans I had from the co-op as well.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03.....4mini.html

  2. chyk Says:
    July 17th, 2009 at 1:31 pm

    i make what i call super nutrient pizza. i use the tomatoes and kale from the CSA, blend it all to make an almost pesto, throw it on top of some whole wheat pizza dough with some CSA garlic and enjoy!

  3. Alix Says:
    July 17th, 2009 at 5:58 pm

    I already have this cookbook so I won’t enter but I just want to say I love it! I blogged about it earlier, and shared the beet-carrot burger recipe which is one of my favorites!

  4. Margaret Says:
    July 19th, 2009 at 9:06 pm

    I made a delicious frittata with leftover beet greens. I sauteed some onions and garlic then added the greens and some zucchini. I roasted some sweet potato with a little bit of olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper and added them to the pan as well right before adding the egg. It turned out to be a great combination of flavors.

  5. Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster Says:
    July 20th, 2009 at 1:49 pm

    Some of us from the Tenafly CSA have been trying to get creative with the massive amounts of squash and zucchini we are getting. So I think the perfect food from a Jewish CSA would be zucchini latkes. I’m making them for dinner this week.

  6. B. Deaner-Cohen Says:
    July 21st, 2009 at 2:05 am

    Turkey Spinach Burger
    all CAPS are veggies from our CSA]

    Here is a recipe adapted from July’s Prevention magazine which called for frozen spinach. I’m including it because we have made it at least 4 times on our George Forman grill. It cooked more evenly than our standard burger. [One week we substituted SWISS CHARD--after that we stuck with spinach]

    1 lb. ground turkey [we tried both regular and white meat Empire]
    SPINACH [to taste or however much we got that week from the CSA]
    2 Tbsp bbq sauce
    1/2 tsp salt
    1/4 tsp pepper
    Whole wheat pita
    Tomato slices
    LETTUCE leaves
    oil
    OPTIONAL: garlic, GARLIC SCAPES, ONION

    1. Saute garlic, onion and spinach in oil.
    2. Combine turkey, spinach [drained just a bit], bbq sauce, salt, pepper. Shape into 4 burgers — maybe more depending upon the amount of spinach used.
    3. Grill patties, turning once.
    4. Serve in whole wheat pita with tomato and lettuce or on a bread of your choice.

  7. Hilla Says:
    July 21st, 2009 at 9:59 pm

    I made carrot-top pesto, with the green tops of the carrots, toasted pine nuts, garlic, nutritional yeast, olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. I was inspired by a delicious carrot-top pesto at Ubuntu Restaurant in Napa. I learned that the carrot tops don’t need to go to waste.

  8. dory Says:
    July 21st, 2009 at 10:52 pm

    Simply diced, with carrots and tomatoes and cucumbers in a salad. Lemon juice and chives and salt and pepper.

  9. Avigail Says:
    July 22nd, 2009 at 8:09 am

    WOAH! Carrot tops? Hilla, that’s awesome – my CSA organizers implied that I could eat them but they had never tried and had no suggestions for how to eat them. I’ve just been fantasizing about feeding them to an imaginary pet bunny, but in reality dropping them off at the farmer’s market compost on my way home from the CSA (same deal with my radish greens).

    Would you post the full recipe sometime soon?

  10. Marushka Says:
    July 22nd, 2009 at 3:34 pm

    Red lentil pancakes, with leftover red lentils, instant coffee, tomatoes, and plenty of rapadura or brown sugar. Serve in October on a crisp night, with hot chocolate, warm stories, and a Jack’o'lantern centerpiece filled with pumpkin soup.

  11. ~M Says:
    July 23rd, 2009 at 3:16 pm

    Gluten-free zucchini pancakes! Soo good!

  12. Hilla Says:
    July 24th, 2009 at 1:25 pm

    Hi Avigail, sure thing..

    (keep in mind that carrot tops have a much more subtle flavor than basil, so don’t expect it to be just like regular pesto)

    Carrot Top Pesto

    1 bunch carrot tops, leaves only
    2 scallions (or 1 large CSA one), whites and greens
    1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted (be careful not to burn them!)
    2 teaspoons nutritional yeast*
    1 teaspoon ground flax seed (optional)
    1/3 cup olive oil
    1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
    salt and pepper, to taste

    Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth. If desired, add a little water to thin it out.

    *Nutritional yeast makes it pareve/vegan and lower in fat that parmesan, but you could certainly use parmesan.

    If you try it, let me know what you think!

  13. Karen Says:
    July 24th, 2009 at 2:51 pm

    I’ve been getting more and more creative about soup, especially here in Houston where the winter shares are full of greens. Nowadays I don’t even open a cookbook, just saute some onion & garlic and start throwing in whatever greens have sat too long in the fridge. My last soup also included CSA potatoes and was super yummy then and last week when I popped a serving out of the freezer and into the microwave. I usually use a vegetarian broth made from my pareve chicken bouillion.

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