Kohlrabi 1, Spinach 0

We joined a fruit and veggie co-op early this spring with 3 goals in mind:

1. Get more fruit and veggies into our diet
2. Support local farms and enjoy organic food
3. Force ourselves to try new foods

Since we'd be paying for everything up front it has become even more important to us that we don't waste the food we buy - even when it's scary new veggies we'd never heard of before. Like kohlrabi. What the heck is kohlrabi and how do you prepare it?! I'll tell you one thing, it is a FREAKY looking vegetable. And I don't do well with freaky looking plants. Just ask B about the hated Freak Plant. *shiver* Anywho, here's what kohlrabi looks like:

It's got all these weird antenna-like stalks on it and a thick skin that needs peeling before it is prepared and eaten. The first week we got it, the kohlrabi sat in the fridge forlorn and forgotten. The following week I went to pick up our batch of food and again, more kohlrabi. So if you go back to point number 3 above and combine that with our desire to not waste the food we're getting, it became clear that the time to figure out how to prepare and serve the kohlrabi had come.

Naturally, I turned to my ever trusted resource, the Interweb, and began my search for what to make with this strange little veggie. In my search, I found out kohlrabi is quite popular in Europe and is served fairly often. Eventually, I came across a recipe that included carrots, lemon juice, honey and butter. I figured you really can't go wrong with lemons, honey and butter - they tend to conspire to make ANY thing taste good. :) After spending an inordinate amount of time peeling the kohlrabi (slippery little buggers with particularly tough skin) I got everything together and into the pot to cook.

A few minutes later it was on our plates and ready for sampling. As it turns out, it was surprisingly tasty!! My theory about the honey, lemon and butter held true. :)

Now, on to the other veggie mentioned in the title of this post. We've also been getting spinach from the co-op. I'm slowing learning to accept spinach into my diet and had yet to tackle any kind of stand alone cooked spinach. Back to the trusty Interweb I went and found a recipe that called for garlic, olive oil and lemon juice. Again, ingredients I like, so I'd hoped it would be a tasty dish. As it turns out, B liked it ok, but after 4 or 5 bites, my palette just wasn't down with it. But hey, at least I tried it, right? (For those of you who know my eating habits well, that alone is a HUGE accomplishment!) And I am keeping myself open to trying alternative recipes for cooked spinach in the future. Gotta set a good example for the boy, right?