Black Raspberry, Brown Sugar and Oatmeal Muffins #MuffinMonday

Black raspberries and brown sugar sweeten this oatmeal muffin recipe. A summer treat when berries are in season, or use frozen berries to enjoy summer flavor year round.

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I grew up in a household that produced some of the food we ate, and that is a value I've carried with me into adulthood. Because we move around, in some homes the food production has been small--a few pots of basil and rosemary by the kitchen window, or mint in the ground next to the air conditioner (condensation means I hardly needed to water).

Currently my backyard garden, my Edible Foodscape, is the largest it's ever been--and that's probably small by most folks' standards, but I've got a postage stamp size yard and am making much with it. I've got 5 raised beds, each about 2 feet by 5 feet, made by my spouse from an upcycled cedar privacy fence. In these beds are garlic, tomatoes, tomatillos, peppers, spinach, cucumbers, basil, peas, dill, and the volunteer squash for the season. I've got a perennial herb area interplanted with perennial flowers, a small strawberry area, peach trees and an ever-expanding raspberry patch.

Kohlrabi Dill Pickles

Kohlrabi spears cured in a dill brine. Like a kosher dill pickle, but using kohlrabi instead of cucumber. Do try this one at home!

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Conventional wisdom says that the more repeated exposures children have to new foods, the more they are likely to grow to like the new foods. I think that's also true for adults, based on my own personal experience with kohlrabi. At first I only liked it in sushi, where I used it as a cucumber substitute--like my Egg, Carrot, and Kohlrabi Sushi or my Spam Musubi Chirashi Sushi. Then I thought of other ways I use cucumbers, and made my Spicy Asian Style Kohlrabi Pickles (which are simply yummy).

Taste is subjective, however. No matter how many exposures you have to it, if cilantro tastes like soap to you, you're not going to come around. I think the level of spiciness in a dish is a similar concern. If you don't care for a spicy pickle, you just don't care for a spicy pickle! [Me, I'm not a fan of bread & butter pickles. They're just . . . wrong. But you do you.] That's why I'm sharing this recipe for a kosher style dill pickle made with kohlrabi spears instead of pickling cucumbers.

Sautéed Greens with Cranberry and Pistachio

Brightly colored and fresh tasting, this side dish of sautéed cooking greens with dried cranberries and crunchy pistachios is sure to satisfy. Great alongside roasted meats or mashed potatoes!

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Talking with my friends who've eaten from Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm shares, a few frequent comments stand out:

• "The flavor of fresh foods is amazing"
• "I never knew I liked _________ (insert a new-to-them vegetable here like kohlrabi or beets)"
• "I'm not used to eating all these greens."

It's this last comment I want to address today.

I'm finding that my family is more likely to eat greens if I keep throwing greens at them. Not literally, though. If I literally throw greens at people, Robert Barker happily eats whatever lands on the floor. Simon flees from the leaves in terror, and Vincent grabs one, refuses to eat it, but will defend--to the pain--his right to keep it in his bed. Anyway, I serve a lot of greens during the cool weather crop season. Salads (chopped, rinsed, spun and packed into wide mouth jars for easy access) appear alongside most entrees when we've got salad mix of lettuces in the farm share box. Stir fries (like my Colorful Chard and Chicken Stir Fry or my Orange Teriyaki Slaw Stir Fry) or smoothies (like my Peanut Butter, Spinach and Banana Smoothie or my Kale, Date, Banana, and Peanut Butter Smoothie) appear if there are members of the beet and cabbage families in the share.