Spicy Asian-inspired Kohlrabi Pickle Spears

Spicy, tangy, crunchy and zippy, these quick pickled kohlrabi spears wake up your appetite.

Oh my goodness. These pickles. The flavors that are bouncing around my mouth right now. I am clearly a pickle person. I mean, on our near weekly trips out for burgers and fries I always ask for pickles on my burger [interestingly, pickles are one of the 3 condiments the whole family chooses--onions and mustard being the other two]. I like pickles on sandwiches, including pickled turnips on My Favorite Grilled Cheese Sandwich. I would never suspect that I could create a gourmet pickle, though, especially after my pickled yellow squash failure-turned-successful-sliders? However, the layers of flavor that rocket through my mouth as I bite into one of these pickles--spicy, crunchy, tangy, zingy--remind me of the layers of flavor bouncing around my mouth when I eat Ma Po Tofu from Great Wall Chinese Restaurant on Logan Circle in Washington DC. So many flavors to experience in that dish!

I received a monstrous, alien, gigantic kohlrabi in our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share. No kidding, no camera tricks--those are pint jars and it's bigger than the pair of them together [thanks again Carole for the jars]. I decided to pickle it primarily because I had my canning pot set up from making Cranberry Salsa and also because there was enough peeled kohlrabi sticks for me to compare pickling methods for making kosher dill kohlrabi spears. [Dueling Kohlrabi Dills will be another post, after the 3 week brine time we'll crack open both the jar from the pantry and the jar from the fridge and check 'em out.] First I need to share these Spicy Asian-inspired Kohlrabi Pickle Spears--an easy refrigerator pickle.

After I filled up the pint jars for the Dueling Dills, I still had a lot of kohlrabi left over. I poked around on my favorite canning blog, Food In Jars, and found Marisa's recipe for Asian-inspired Refrigerator Pickles. I decided to adapt it using what I had on hand. Specifically, I swapped in kohlrabi for the cucumber, crushed red pepper for a chili pepper, star anise instead of scallions, cilantro instead of mint, and a standard apple cider brine that I boiled before pouring into the jar. After I got  everything pickled, I put all the jars away and forgot about them. Until Saturday.

I was feeling peckish mid-morning and poked my head in the fridge looking for a snack. I spied the pickle jars. Since I'd mentally pencilled in Thanksgiving as the Dueling Dill Pickle Off, I chose the jar of Spicy Asian-inspired Kohlrabi Spears. I ate one. Whoa. Party in my mouth. I had another. The party continues. I travelled around the house sharing pickles with my spouse reading in the living room and the kids watching TV in the basement. My daughter thinks these pickles are too spicy, but the rest of us approve.

If you've got a freakishly huge kohlrabi--consider whipping up a jar of these pickles. Your mouth will thank you.

For other recipes using kohlrabi, please see my Kohlrabi Recipe Collection, part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating from the farm share, the farmer's market, and garden bounty. I've got more ideas on my Pinterest boards. Want to know how to use this blog? Click here.

Acorn Squash, Beef, and Bulgur Casserole

A hearty casserole of ground beef and acorn squash, mixed with bulgur wheat and seasoned with Greek spices. A terrific base for a Bowl.

Happy Halloween! I've been reflecting on how Halloween has changed for me over the years. Single and pre-kids if I was home I'd have a bag or two of candy to hand out to the kids who stopped by. When I had young kids I was all about getting nutritious finger foods into them while they were bouncing around ready to head out for loot. We'd have a pre-trick-or-treating neighborhood party with a secondary goal of preventing too much candy ingestion. As if, my older self says. Now I've got teenagers. One will be trick or treating in a medieval dress from the thrift shop with a floor length cloak she sewed herself. The other will be playing in the marching band at the last game of the season, wearing a costume he made that makes no sense to his folks [Night Vale Community Radio Intern?]. I sense I'm on the cusp of yet another change, as always happens in Life.

Because I answered a question on G+,  I received a free box of FreakyFruits from Melissa's Produce. I have not seen such nice packing since we lived in Japan. So far I've made Buddha's Hand Feta Yogurt Dip, Rambutan Hairy Eyeballs, Mustard Greens Kheema with finger limes, and (not shown) Passion Fruit & Banana Muffins. I'm not under an obligation to share what I've been doing with the fruits, but hey--I started a blog to share what I do with produce.

I've been seeing a lot of bowls lately. My friends share photos of them on FB and Karen from Soup Addict tantalizes me with her amazing bowl creations. Let me be clear--this is a casserole, not a bowl. However, this casserole lends itself to getting your bowl off to a great start. It combines a grain with a  vegetable and a protein (the ever-present ground beef from the cow in the freezer--link to my 106 recipes using ground beef). I like to eat it piled with more vegetables (suggestions below) and a healthy scoop of Acorn Squash Tahini Dip with Greek Seasoning stirred in. After all, like my spouse has taught our son to say, "it's all going to the same place".

I realize that this is the 3rd recipe featuring acorn squash that I've shared in the past 2 weeks. I could have held an Acorn Squash Week.  Instead, I'll just mention that photos and links to all of my recipes for using acorn squash can be found on my Acorn Squash Recipe Collection.

Greek-Seasoned Acorn Squash and Tahini Dip

A Greek spice blend combined with roasted acorn squash and sesame tahini paste for an awesome vegetable appetizer (link to my Pinterest board of Awesome Veggie Apps and Snacks). Great with vegetables or crackers.

Local. Buy Local. Eat Local. We've all heard these slogans. Most of us attempt to increase the percentage of local businesses we support and increase the amount of local food we eat. Choosing to shop at a local business hurts . . . well, perhaps Amazon? . . . but keeps your money in your local economy.

Am I saying I shop and eat exclusively locally? Heck no. I live in Ohio and have this thing for bananas and avocados, after all. But the more I look around the more I find local businesses worth supporting.

The Greek seasoning I used in this dip is from a local business, Spice Paradise (link to the FB page). The owner creates her own spice blends as well as selling spices, cookies, soups, and other prepared foods. I've enjoyed several of her soups at fundraisers and this gal knows her spices. She even made a custom bagel spice blend for me, a 'nearly everything' blend for my Everything Bagel Focaccia [my spouse does not eat poppy seeds]. 

Look around your area--see if there's a local business you can support.