The US Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration both have a role to play in regulating some of this terminology.  The problem is, some terms are well-regulated, some are poorly regulated, and some are entirely unregulated.  And that not only leads to consumer confusion, it opens up a grey area for companies to paint a picture of their food that might not be totally accurate.

So, let’s wade through at least some of the more popular terms out there to get a better idea of what they actually mean, and how they’re regulated.

ORGANIC: Let’s start here because it is probably the most well-regulated by USDA.  If you see “100% Organic” on a label, that means the product contains only fully organic ingredients.  If you see the word, “Organic,” without any other qualifiers, that signifies the product contains 95% or more organic ingredients.  If you see, “Made with Organic Ingredients,” then the product contains at least 70% organic ingredients.  So, even if you didn’t know the percentages related to the terminology, you at least get a sense of the organic nature of a product.

NATURAL or NATURALLY RAISED: Things get pretty dicey from here on out.  For instance, the term “natural” is really poorly regulated.  The Food Safety and Inspection Service of USDA maintains a legal definition for “natural”: that the product contains no artificial ingredients or added coloring and is only minimally processed.  There are some requirements to using this term: the food product label must explain what is meant by using the term “natural.”  BUT, this definition only applies to meat and poultry products…and that’s it.

“Naturally raised” is a similar term used on food products, but one that means even less than “natural.”  Another branch of the USDA maintains the definition for “naturally raised,” meaning an animal is raised without growth promotants or antibiotics.  This definition, however, doesn’t require any sort of label with an explanation of the term.  AND, an animal can be raised without the use of antibiotics or growth promotants, but could still be raised on feedlots and can be processed into a product that is in no measurable way any “healthier” or more sustainable than a comparable product.  So, even though you might think “naturally raised” would proffer some sort of health or other benefit, it doesn’t necessarily.

FARM FRESH: “Farm-fresh” is all together unregulated.  It’s just a marketing term, so really if a product originated at a farm and wasn’t spoiled when it was bought, it probably could be considered ‘farm-fresh.’  This is a very nice example of what some people call ‘green-washing.’

GRASS-FED, CAGE-FREE, and FREE-RANGE: Terms like ‘grass-fed,’ ‘cage-free,’ and ‘free-range,’ are all dubious in their usage.  Each has some regulation behind it, but that regulation is lax and doesn’t reflect the image most people have when they see these terms on food packaging.  ‘Grass-fed’ only means an animal was fed 100% grass (it does not have to be out on pasture all the time; rather it could be fed harvested grass within a feedlot).  It could also have been fed hormones and antibiotics.  So, even though the term ‘grass-fed’ suggests a cow out on a green hill munching on grass, this is probably not close to the reality in many cases.

‘Cage-free’ and ‘free-range’ are both poorly regulated terms as well.   If a hen is cage-free, it is raised and lays eggs outside of cages.  However, it is still likely living in a barn or warehouse, quite possibly in very crowded conditions (which often require de-beaking, or the unanesthetized cutting off of the birds’ beaks).  It might or might not have actual access to the outdoors, and if it does, it can just as likely be an enclosed concrete area as actual pasture.  Similarly, with ‘free-range,’ outdoor access must be provided the animal, but the length of time and the quality of that outdoor area is not regulated.

TAKE HOME MESSAGE: Since we buy food far from where it was produced, we can probably rely on organic labeling to tell us at least a little bit about how a product was produced.  But we can’t rely on terms such as ‘natural,’ ‘farm-fresh,’ ‘cage-free,’ or ‘free-range’ to tell us much about the healthfulness of a food product, its environmental impact, or how animals were treated in the production of the food product.  I would go so far as to say you should avoid putting any stock in these green-washing type terms.  Instead, and especially for animal products, the best thing to do is to try to purchase from local producers who you can question about production and animal handling practices.  When it come to fruits and vegetables, relying on organic labeling is at least a step in the right direction.  But better yet, knowing where they come from, who produced them, and how they were produced, is the absolute ideal.

Eating locally is our specialty, but today I want to remind you how important it is to drink locally.  I mean water, of course!  It’s a precious resource in these parts, and it’s important to use it wisely.  Water in plastic bottles is exposed to bisphenol-A, a hormone disrupting chemical.  BPA is especially prone to leaching into fluids in plastic bottles when it is hot, so if you must drink from a plastic bottle, please do so without exposing that bottle and its contents to the heat of your locked car.

Find a BPA-free plastic bottle (they are marked as such), or a metal bottle, and carry filtered local water with you throughout the day.  Be sure to drink proactively.  It is so dry in our climate, especially in late spring and early summer, sweat evaporates before we see it and we are not easily cued that we are losing water.  If you wait until you’re thirsty, it may be too late.

And, as summer drags on and it gets hard to drink enough plain water to stay adequately hydrated, here’s a suggestion from customer Erica Goble.  Her first Chow Share was the one with the beautiful bag of herbs.  She has been using them, even the bay leaves, to flavor her afternoon water!  “My coworkers now ask me what’s going in the water today,” she shared, “but I think they are intrigued.  I am starting to look forward to the fresh flavors and I find it to be a great, refreshing break.”

We’ll get into other hydrating ideas like gazpacho, fun beverages, etc., as summer progresses.  If you have any you’d like to pass along, please do!  We love to hear from our customers.

But did you know, Northern African cuisines are equally as healthy?  Moroccan, Tunisian, Iraqui, Turkish, Ethiopian…they all have health benefits as well!  These cuisines are PACKED with great spices like paprika, curry, cumin, turmeric, all the goodies that routinely get press for their powers to do everything from fight aging to prevent Alzheimer’s disease.

I gave you a recipe for kale this week (see your recipe packet) that uses a spice mix called harissa.  It originated in Tunisia, and it is wonderful on greens, barbecue, to spice up pasta…it will work in many dishes calling for red pepper flakes.  I have found it at World Market here in Phoenix.

I am also giving you a recipe here for something else I love, berbere spice mix, which originated in Ethiopia.  Love, love, love it on lentils!  (I learned the first time making it, that it is the best remedy ever for stuffy sinuses…it had me sneezing the whole time I was making it!  It is pungent!)

You can make a batch of berbere ahead of time and store it for up to 2 months in the refrigerator.  Even though it has a lot of ingredients, they are all easily found in most markets.  I have made it a habit to keep some around at all times so I can use it for a quick saute.

We are lucky to live in a climate where we can eat from so many cuisines, hope this little tip expands your list of favorite recipes!

Berbere Spice (from Sundays at the Moosewood Cookbook)

2 teaspoons cumin seeds
4 whole cloves
½ teaspoons cardamom seeds (crush cardamom pods with a wooden spoon to remove the seeds)
½ teaspoons whole black peppercorns

¼ teaspoons whole allspice
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
½ teaspoon coriander seeds

5 small dried red chiles
½ teaspoon minced fresh ginger
¼ teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
2 ½ tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Heat a skillet on medium-low. Add the first 7 ingredients (cumin seeds through coriander seeds) to the skillet. Toast the spices, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes.

Cool the toasted spices and add them to a spice or coffee grinder. Add all the other remaining ingredients to the spice grinder as well. Grind to a fine powder.

Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator.

As the person at Chow Locally who is in charge of helping all of you appreciate and create with locally grown foods, I loved reading about how the professionals do it!  I will be sharing a recipe or two in the future in your recipe packets when the ingredients work with our weekly harvest.

Most importantly, this book is a fundraiser, with a portion of the proceeds going to benefit local food banks.  On a tour of the Desert Mission Food Bank last week, Derek and I learned that one in four Phoenix children goes to bed hungry.  That is just not acceptable for us to accept as a community, especially a community that loves food and has the luxury of assuming there will always be some on their table.  Anything that we can do while noursihing ourselves that turns around and nourishes others is important to participate in.

Many of the recipes in this book highlight our upcoming summer fare — chiles, tomatoes, zucchini, with an equally mouthwatering percentage taking you into the fall bounty of squash, pecans, and sweet potatoes.  Whether you are looking for inspiration for yourself, a unique Mother’s Day gift, or a special Christmas gift for someone who happens to love Arizona, this cookbook deserves to be on a shelf near you!

100 Years, 100 Chefs, 100 Recipes is published by MMPR Marketing, who also happens to be our new share pickup location in Arcadia (next to Postino’s at Campbell and 40th Street).  You can order the publication through our website.

This week’s Chow shares include a brand new item — wheat berries from Ramona Farms.  We’re excited about this, and hope you enjoy some new adventures in the kitchen!  Many thanks to ASU nutrition student Sarah Jones for her research and writing about them.  We hope this information launches you on some new adventures in your kitchen!

Unless you have Celiac Disease or are gluten intolerant, you likely consume wheat (Triticum aestivum) in some form on a regular basis.  Whether it is bread, bagels, English muffins, cereal, tortillas, crackers, cookies, etc., it is a common staple in a typical North American diet.  Wheat is thought to have been first cultivated in the Nile region and is the world’s third most common cereal crop, second to rice, with corn being the most common.  Unlike other grains, wheat has a relatively high amount of gluten, the protein that provides the elasticity necessary for breadmaking and produces the “highest-quality bread and baking flours.” 

What you may not be so familiar with is the term “wheat berry,” which is the entire unprocessed wheat kernel (minus the hull) and is comprised of 100% of the original kernel.  In order for it to be classified as a TRUE whole grain, all of the bran, germ and endosperm must be present.

The bran, which is the rough covering, has very little nutritional value, but is packed full of insoluble fiber (insoluble fiber acts as a sponge as it moves through the digestive system).  The germ is the main concentrated source of vitamins (particularly vitamin E and some B vitamins), minerals and protein.  It should be noted that the germ contains polyunsaturated fat, therefore unless it has been “defatted”, should be refrigerated or it will quickly become rancid.  The endosperm is full of starch, protein, niacin (vitamin B1) and iron.  According to the World’s Healthiest Foods website, one cup of cooked wheat berries has 151 calories, 5.6 g of protein, 34 g of carbohydrates and 8 g of total fiber.  There are also other types of whole grain berries related to wheat.  I have experimented with barley, spelt, kamut (kah-MOOT) and rye berries.  Kamut, in particular, is two to three times the size of most wheat, is high in protein and has a delicious nutty flavor… but that is for another blog! 

Perhaps now you are saying, “I want to incorporate wheat berries into my diet, but I don’t know what the heck I do with them?!”  This chewy, dense and nutty grain can be used in salads, as a breakfast cereal, pilaf (in place of rice), in chili, as a base for pudding, in risotto, etc. – wheat berries are incredibly versatile!  This week you were lucky enough to receive Ramona Farms durum wheat berries in your Chow Locally box, so be sure to check out some of the links to recipes that use the ingredients in your box!  On a final note, I found this quote by Julia Child that sums up how I view cooking and with Chow Locally providing the tools to make it happen, you cannot help but be inspired to get in the kitchen and start creating, “You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces – just good food from fresh ingredients.”  I could not have said it better myself! 

BASIC COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

Rinse and boil (with or without a bit of salt) for about an hour; drain and rinse once more (some instructions I found said to soak overnight, but some others said they do not need to be soaked overnight).  If they are too chewy for you after one hour of cooking, add more water (if needed) and just cook them a bit longer!  Here is a basic recipe for cooking wheat berries from Eating Well magazine.

RECIPE INSPIRATION:

Wheat Berry Salad with Raisins, Beets and Citrus Vinaigrette

Ingredients used from Chow Locally box: wheat berries, beets, spring onions and carrots.  This salad would also be a great over Maya’s Farm magenta Batavian head lettuce and/or the Agritopia Farm spring salad mix.

Roasted Root Vegetable and Wheat Berry Salad

Ingredients used from Chow Locally box: wheat berries, turnips and carrots (possible recipe additions from the box include: chopped red Russian kale and spring onions).  This salad would also be a great over Maya’s Farm magenta Batavian head lettuce and/or the Agritopia Farm spring salad mix.

Wheat Berry Black Bean Chili

Ingredients used from Chow Locally box: wheat berries (possible recipe additions from the box include: chopped red Russian kale, carrots, turnips and top the chili with spring onions).  Pair this with a green salad drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice and S/P to taste.

Creamy Orange Spiked Wheat Berry Pudding

“An intensely vanilla and orange flavored pudding made with chewy wheat berries and spiked with rum.”  Citrus is still in season and this would be a perfect spring dessert!

References:

1. Herbst, Sharon. Food lover’s companion. Third Edition. Hauppauge, NY:Barron’s. 2001, 667-668. Print.
2. Brown, Amy. Understanding food principles & preparation. Fourth edition. Belmont, CA:Wadsworth. 2011, 350. Print.
3. “Wheat: in-depth nutrient analysis.” The world’s healthiest foods. 2012. The george mateljan foundation, Web. April 5, 2012. <http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrientprofile&dbid=133>.

 Pictures: 

1. http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Wheatberries.jpg/220px-Wheatberries.jpg&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheatberry&h=165&w=220&sz=22&tbnid=wAGeuG5tYXRQoM:&tbnh=86&tbnw=115&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dwheat%2Bberry%2Bpicture%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=wheat+berry+picture&docid=PtUxGp8ZBMaVEM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=UyF_T9urDaTW2gX16JXuBg&ved=0CE4Q9QEwCg&dur=1794.
2. http://wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grains-101/definition-of-whole-grains

Spring is upon us! With Easter right around the corner, you may be planning big family dinners and traditional Easter-egg decorating. Instead of shelling out for store-bought egg dyes, consider using foods you have on hand to create unique and natural egg dye. Before dye-ving in, let’s talk a little more about the health benefits of eggs, particularly organic, free-range eggs.

Rotten Reputation

Eggs are one of the best and cheapest sources of quality protein. Don’t be fooled by the myth that eating the yolk will raise your cholesterol. The cholesterol we get from foods accounts for only a small percentage of cholesterol that makes its way into our blood. Saturated and trans-fats from fried foods, sweets and other packaged foods are a bigger contributor to blood cholesterol. But that’s a whole other blog topic for another day…

While we’re at it, let’s ‘crack’ another egg myth: “All the protein is found in the white of the egg”. WRONG! Actually, half the protein in the egg is found in the yolk, along with numerous other vitamins and minerals.  Eggs are also rich in carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, which are powerful antioxidants important for eye health.

If that was not convincing enough, recent research from the Rochester Center for Obesity Research found that women who ate 2 eggs for breakfast in the morning ate 29% less calories at their next meal compared to women who had a bagel breakfast with the same amount of calories. Researchers believe the protein content in eggs, which is 6 grams per large egg, is the main factor in keeping people feeling full longer and therefore eating less.

Cracking Down on Organic vs. Conventional Eggs

1) More humane. Chickens are allowed to pasture and roam free of cages filled with their own waste.
2) Safer. Contrary to conventional eggs, salmonella or other food-borne infections have not been tied to organically farmed eggs.
3) More nutritious. The breed of the chicken and what it is fed is what affects the nutrition of the egg. Chickens that eat only organic feed and are raised without the use of hormones or pesticides, produce organic eggs. Less fat, corn and other fillers in their diet produces an egg with less fat (and thereby less of an effect on your blood cholesterol), more omega-3 (anti-inflammatory properties) and overall better nutrition!
4) Inexpensive. At $0.43 per organic, free-range egg you get 6 grams of belly-blasting protein that makes an egg-cellent addition to any meal.

You can purchase organic, free-range, LOCAL eggs from Chow Locally.  Go ahead and do it now before you forget! Don’t worry, I will wait…

OK, now that you will have fresh, organic eggs ready to pick up this weekend, let’s talk about why you want to avoid pre-packaged egg-dying kits.

The Truth Shell Set You Free

Many artificial colorings are derived from petroleum and are permitted by the FDA to contain trace amounts of lead, mercury and other heavy metals. While limited research is available as to whether health issues can be directly tied to consumption of these colorings, it certainly doesn’t hurt to avoid them. And besides, making your own is fun! Get the whole family involved for a great activity and opportunity to discuss the rich nutrients that are found in nature.

Getting Started

Gather saucepans, bowls, white vinegar, measuring spoons and cups, and of course hard-boiled eggs. If you have yet to master the delicate art of hard-boiling eggs without mushy or green yolks, see my tried and true directions below. If you are a culinary genius or dye-ing to get started, skip to the DIY Natural Egg Dye directions.

Simmer Down!

Cooking perfectly, hard-boiled eggs can be frustrating. Try these tips and you will be an eggs-pert in no time!

1) Let your eggs sit at room temperature instead of straight from the fridge. If you want them to be easier to peel, wait a couple days from purchase to hard-boil them.
2) Place eggs in saucepan (with a lid) and fill with water about an inch above the eggs.
3) Bring to boil, cover pan with lid and remove from heat for 16-17 minutes (For large eggs).
4) Drain eggs from hot water and place in a bowl with ice and cold water from 3-4 minutes. This stops the cooking process and prevents that ugly green color from appearing on your yolk.
5) Remove from ice bath and refrigerate until ready to eat or dye!

DIY Natural Egg Dye

While the truest colors are derived using white eggs and soaking them overnight in the dye, the multi-colored eggs that you will get from Chow Locally will provide a delightfully tinted background to your Easter egg canvas. Experiment with the natural egg colors and dyes for a truly unique coloring experience.

Here are some ideas for foods and spices you can use to create colorful eggs. I experimented with purple cabbage, a blend of turmeric and paprika, and green tea.

For cabbage, bring 4 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of vinegar to a boil and add about ¼ of a head of cabbage (chopped). Immediately remove from heat and allow it to cool to room temperature.

Drain cabbage to remove solids from the anthocyanin-rich liquid left behind.

For spices, use 2 tablespoons for each 1 cup of water + 2 tablespoons of vinegar. For teas, use 4 tea bags per 1 cup of water + 2 tablespoons of vinegar. 1 cup of liquid will cover about 2 eggs. Bring water and vinegar to a boil and pour desired amount in a bowl with spices or teas. Stir and cool to room temperature.

I finally put to good use all the almond butter, salsa and mason jars I’ve gathered! Using jars made the overnight storage in my fridge much easer.

Ta Da! The final result – beautiful, natural and above all, nutritious Easter eggs!

(From left: purple cabbage, turmeric/paprika, and green tea). The paprika did not dissolve so it made a speckled egg, but easily came off with too much handling.

Raid your freezer, dig in your spice cabinet, and use whatever colorful produce you can find to experiment with nature’s rich colors. Have fun and enjoy the bounty of produce and breezy weather that Spring brings!

Chow Locally offers organic, free-range eggs along with a variety of fresh produce that supports local, organic farms. Be sure to put in your egg order (and any extra produce you may need for dye) by Wednesday!

Health and Happiness,

Christi Wheeler, MS, RD

Christi Wheeler is a Registered Dietitian and owner of Superior Sustenance, LLC. She provides private nutrition consultations for adults and children for disease management or prevention. See www.SuperiorSustenance.com or email her directly at Christi@SuperiorSustenance.com.

For more information:

Contaminants in Artificial Colors

Nutrient benefit of eggs

Eggs for weight loss

For more ideas on what foods and spices to use:

For tips on how to add nature-inspired designs to your colored eggs

Organic vs. Conventional eggs

I also realized in making the switch, that a pretty high percentage of the pro-inflammatory fats (those that cause chronic disease like diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, for example) in my diet, and in my clients’ diets, was coming from salad dressing.  It was such an irony, that they had switched to salads in an attempt to be healthy, but hadn’t considered that the dressing might be problematic. 

Most commercial salad dressings are made with soybean oil, which is high in omega-6 fatty acids.  Get too much of that, and it is hard for any omega-3′s you might be getting, in food or supplement form, to have a chance to do you good.  In addition, corn and soybean oil, the most common oils used in commercial dressings, are often made with genetically modified products…not what you want to put on that beautiful organic salad!

The cooking oils with the best fatty acid profiles for making salad dressing are olive and canola.  If you’re not already making your own dressings, spring, with all of the beautiful greens and herbs we’re getting, is a great time to experiment.

I asked some local foodies to share their favorite vinaigrette recipes so you have a collection to work with.  What I find interesting is that some had definite recipes, others just guidelines.  I was excited to be able to share that spectrum of thoughts with you, to illustrate that recipes are guidelines, but they can always be improved on. 

Barefeet in the Kitchen Blog

This dressing is so versatile, I’ve used it on salads, roasted vegetables, and drizzled it over chicken in a wrap. Just a touch of sweetness with the tang of the balsamic, I imagine this is going to be a staple in my home for years to come.

The Best Balsamic Vinaigrette
recipe by Chinese Grandma

2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly crushed black pepper, finely ground
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the honey, balsamic, mustard, salt, pepper and garlic. Add the oil and whisk thoroughly to combine. Continue whisking until the dressing is fully emulsified.

Store in a jar with a lid and refrigerate. Shake well before serving. Enjoy!

Denise Clayton, Denise Is Cooking

This is my favorite all purpose vinaigrette. I love it with salads which feature fruit (roasted peaches–brush some of the vinaigrette on the praches prior to roasting–with heirloom tomatoes, goat cheese, red onion, baby arugula or other yummy greens and some fresh torn basil is a goodie).

Sometimes I will take any I have leftover and marinate pork tenderloin in it. Then, throw the pork, along with some sliced apples and onions in a crockpot for a yummy combo. Thyme and shallots love pork. 

Sharon Salomon, Contributing Writer, Edible Phoenix

 I don’t have a “favorite”. I do like citrusy vinaigrettes. So during orange season, squeeze some oranges, add a splash of sherry vinegar, a few drops of honey, a little salt and pepper and whisk in some canola oil (I think a neutral oil tastes best in this kind of vinaigrette). Voila.

Valerie Griswold, Chow Locally Customer

I was just reading about salads & vinaigrettes not too long ago in the book I’m reading – “The Everlasting Meal – Cooking with Economy & Grace” by Tamar Adler. She is really changing how I approach my chow share so you should definitely recommend her book to chow peeps. This is what she says about dressing salads

Some people were fascinated but refused the gift.  Others loved the gesture, but most didn’t even know what it was, and those who did…had no idea what to do with it.  My friends Ivonne, Rhonda and I chuckled at the thought of dozens of well-dressed but puzzled-looking people walking around downtown Phoenix with a leafy purple vegetable in hand.

The poor kohlrabi.  It’s kind of like the Chinese Crested in dog world.  So unique looking it generates stares, but only a few love it enough to want to live with it.

Which is sad, because it’s such a great vegetable!

These guys are starting to feel a little lonely and dejected!  So on behalf of gaining a little more respect for this vegetable, I would like to share a few kohlrabi fun facts with you. 

Ten Things You May Not Know About Kohlrabi

1.  Kohlrabi grow above the ground.  The bulb is not a root, and it is not a root vegetable.  You can cook with the greens any way you would cook with kale.

2.  Kohlrabi are not genetically modified. The bulb we eat is actually part of the stem that nature has programmed to swell. 

3.  Kohlrabi are the most commonly eaten vegetable in the Indian province of Kashmir.  That explains why so many recipes out there using them are Indian.  And in the context of this beautiful photo above, kohlrabi should be thought of as exotically beautiful, not freakishly ugly.

4.  If you want to really impress your friends who think they’re hip because they DO know what a kohlrabi is, starting calling it by its Kashmir name, monj, or its Hindu name, nookal.

5.  Contrary to rumor, kohlrabi cannot fly and they are not a remnant of the Russian space program.

6.  Of all of the vegetables I have ever developed recipes for, kohlrabi comes in consistently as one contributing significantly few calories to the finished product.  One half cup of raw kohlrabi has about 19 calories.  Simply put, if you want to eat something that fills your belly but not your diet plan, get friendly with kohlrabi.  It’s hard to make it fattening!

7.  Kohlrabi gets its name from combining the German words for cabbage, kohl, and turnip, rabe.

8.  Because it is in the same family as foods like cauliflower, brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, and broccoli, it has the same super cancer-fighting chemicals their better-known cousins contain.

9.  In 800 AD, the emperor Charlemagne ordered that kohlrabi be grown in lands that he reigned.

10.  Kohlrabi is experiencing somewhat of a culinary renaissance.  It was featured in a week-long New York Times feature last week, a series with some great recipes worth trying.  We believe, once you do, you too will come to respect the bulb.

We’d love to know what you’re doing with YOUR kohlrabi, so we can all learn, and next time we gift them…you’ll be fighting for one of your own! 

Theming the week around one cuisine de-complicates the shopping list and the budget, and helps to leave me with leftovers that go well together.  So the beautiful colors that popped out of my box last week, were my inspiration to cook Indian.  Those exotic brights and the pending Academy Awards brought Bollywood to mind…and these beauties just couldn’t be wasted on something mundane! So Indian it had to be.

In the theme of Indian film, my Oscar snack was kohlrabi chips, tossed in toasted sesame oil and soy sauce and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds before baking.

Bollywood-inspired Movie Watching Soy-Sesame Kohlrabi Chips (serves 6)

1 bunch kohlrabi greens, separated from kohlrabi bulb.

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon light soy sauce (you can dilute regular soy sauce by mixing 1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce with 1 ½ tablespoons water).

3 tablespoons sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Wash and towel dry greens.  Separate stalks from greens. (You can add these to vegetable broth if you make your own from leftover vegetables.)  Cut greens into chip-sized pieces.

Toast sesame seeds in a skillet over low heat until they just start to turn brown; remove from heat.

Measure sesame oil and soy sauce into a large mixing bowl.  Stir in sesame seeds.

Add kohlrabi greens and toss thoroughly until they are evenly coated and the sesame seeds are sticking to them.

Place chips on a baking sheet, being careful to arrange them so that they are not overlapping.  Bake for about 10 – 12 minutes.

When removing from the oven, be sure to let chips air dry before placing in a storage bowl.  Otherwise the ones on the bottom may become soggy.

Calories 104, 10 grams carbohydrate, 5 grams protein, 7 grams fat, 0 grams cholesterol, 116 mg sodium.

I used the rest of the kohlrabi to make “sukke”.  This recipe is adapted from one I found on aayisrecipes.com.  Jaggery is much like piloncillo, the brown sugar cones you can find at Ranch Market or other Latin grocers.  I used plain brown sugar and it worked just fine.

Technicolor Purple Kohlrabi Sukke

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 cup kohlrabi, cut into small pieces
½ cup onion, cut into small pieces
¾ cup coconut fresh or frozen
4-5 red chilies
½ teaspoon coriander seeds
½ teaspoon tamarind 1/2 teaspoon
½ teaspoon jaggery or brown sugar
1 teaspoon olive or canola oil
salt

Boil kohlrabi chunks in water for about 5 minutes, until crisp-tender.

To make the masala, heat 1/2 teaspoon of oil and fry coriander seeds for a short time, just about a minute. Grind them with coconut, jaggery, red chilis and tamarind by adding just sufficient water (do not make the masala too watery).

Heat remaining oil and fry onion. Add cooked kohlrabi and ground masala. Add salt and cook till masala is done and the dish is almost dry.

Calories 128, 19 g carbohydrate, 2 g protein, 6 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 59 mg sodium

On to that beautiful bright lights chard.  I went with a curry.  I learned from this exercise, that many of the vegetables we associate with Mediterranean cooking, are also popular in India.  You don’t always have to cook like the Italians to be healthy! If the same ingredients are used in different ways, you’ll still get the benefit.

This was so easy and so delicious it has hopped onto my “in a hurry and in a pinch” list.  The rest of the ingredients I needed were already in my kitchen so throwing this together was a breeze!

Bright Lights Big Dish of Swiss Chard Potato Curry

Place potatoes in a large pan, cover with water. Bring to boil. Boil 4-6 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add potatoes, sugar, cumin, salt and cayenne pepper.

Cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir in Swiss chard and tomatoes. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, simmer 4-6 minutes.

Calories 114, Carbohydrate 21 grams, protein 3 grams, fat 3 grams, cholesterol 0 mg, sodium 327 mg.

I rounded out the adventure with a dal-inspired spinach soup.  It was perfect for the brisk spring evening.

Dal-lywood Lentils and Spinach

1 cup split peas soaked overnight in water (yellow are traditional, I used green for the color)
1 whole hot pepper of your choice
4 cups fresh spinach leaves, rinsed and patted dry
2 Tsp canola or vegetable oil
1 tsp black or brown whole mustard seeds
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
2 large cloves garlic, sliced thinly
Salt to taste

Soak peas overnight in a pot of water.  Rinse and drain.

Add peas to a 4 – 5 quart pot along with 5 cups of water and the whole pepper. Stir. Cover pot and place on high heat and bring to a boil. Let peas cook until they are very soft. The peas does not have to melt but the mixture should be very soft. Blend into a coarse mash. 

Add the spinach and season the dish with salt to taste. Cover the pot and reduce heat to low/simmer.  I made more of a soup, and blended most of the spinach with the lentils in a food processor.  For more of a dal, you can cook out most of the liquid.

While the peas are simmering, heat the oil in a small frying pan over medium-low heat. When the oil is hot, toss in the mustards seeds and when they begin to pop, add the cumin and cook together for 30 seconds.

Add the garlic and cook until the garlic starts to color at the edges; stir everything together and let simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat and serve

167 calories, 26 grams carbohydrate, 11 grams protein, 3 grams fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 27 mg sodium.

Needless to say, my table was colorful, spicy, and delicious this week, thanks to the rich culture of Indian cooking.

Once the chopping is finished, you are ready for a quick and easy meal on a busy weeknight when time is precious.

Here’s a way to use the broccoli and spring garlic in your current box.  I actually made this when I had I’Itoi onions handy as well.  I’ve added the measurements for regular garlic and green onions if you’d like to use this when you don’t have everything on hand at the same time.

As the name warns, I am a lover of garlic so feel free to dial back in that department to satisfy your own tastebuds.

The ratio of pasta to vegetables is low in this recipe for those of you watching your carbs; feel free to forego the noodles all together if you crave a more broccocentric version.  One final cooking tip, I never buy light soy sauce.  I save money by buying the regular version and diluting it with an equal amount of water to cut the sodium.

Enjoy!

Super Garlicky Broccoli Pasta Stir Fry

Serves 4

1 medium head of broccoli
2 bunches green or I’itoi onions
1/2 stalk spring garlic or 2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons peeled, minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1/4 c light soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons water
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces spinach pasta
1-2 tablespoons olive oil

Trim broccoli heads from stalks. (You can set these aside to use for making vegetable broth.). Cut florets into 1-inch pieces.

Trim and discard roots and any wilted green tops from green onions.  Mince green onions and combine in a small bowl with garlic, ginger, peanut butter, soy sauce, and sugar.  Stir to blend peanut butter, then add water, lemon juice, and salt.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook noodles according to package directions.  Drain and rinse with cold water; drain again and set aside.

Heat a wok or other wide, deep cast-iron skillet over high heat for 3 or 4 minutes.  Add oil and broccoli; stir fry for 3 minutes.  Add drained noodles, stirring constantly to heat them evenly.

Stir peanut butter mixture to distribute garlic and ginger, then add to the pan, stirring to distribute sauce evenly throughout.  Serve hot.

Per serving:  227 calories, 26 grams carbohydrate, 8 grams protein, 12 grams fat, 18 mg cholesterol, 200 mg sodium