On a whim, I bought some kohlrabi to plant in the garden. Now, fast forward two months…uh-oh, the kohlrabi was ready to harvest. I stood there looking at this odd round vegetable with spiky stems coming out all over the place, and realized I had no idea what to do with it. My default with vegetables lately seems to be “throw it into a kale salad”, so that’s what I did today.

Turns out the combination of kale and kohlrabi is quite a nice one. The kohlrabi has a mild taste, and its crunchiness reminds me a bit of jicama. I added some toasted almonds and raisins for contrast, and a coarse mustard vinaigrette.

As you can see, I used the dark, distinctive-tasting lacinato kale, but any kind will do. You can feel free to vary the nuts and dried fruit to your liking. I’m sure pecans and cranberries would be delicious.

From the look and feel of kohlrabi, you’d think it was fairly low on the nutrition scale. However, I learned that it’s a rich source of Vitamin C, as well as B-complex vitamins and potassium. Plus it’s nearly calorie-free, at just 27 calories per cup. So this may be just the first of my kohlrabi experiments. I see a kohlrabi curry in my future….

Kale and Kohlrabi Salad

3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon coarse Dijon mustard
1 small shallot, minced
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
One large bunch kale, stemmed and thinly sliced
1 medium kohlrabi, peeled and julienned (I sliced thinly with a mandolin, then cut into matchsticks)
¼ cup whole raw almonds, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped
¼ cup raisins or other dried fruit

In a small bowl, mix the vinegar, mustard, shallot, salt and pepper. Gradually add the olive oil and whisk well.

Place the kale in a large bowl. Top with the dressing and massage gently with your hands for about 20 seconds. Add nuts and fruit, and serve.

Serves 4

I’m trying not to eat sweets lately. But I had tons of rhubarb in my garden…now tell me, what was I supposed to do?!

I made a strawberry-rhubarb pie last week, and it was a bit of a letdown for some reason. So this week I decided to turn to one of my favorite crust recipes for inspiration and came up with this tart. With olive oil, hazelnut meal and sugar, this crust is like a sweet shortbread cookie – and surely one of the most delicious crusts ever, vegan or not.

I used rhubarb, raspberries and blueberries because I had them on hand. But you can make this tart with most any fruit combination you like. Since the crust is nicely sweet, I didn’t add nearly as much sugar to the filling as I normally would. So it’s an inversion of the usual unsweetened crust-sweet filling approach. I just love it.

This recipe makes two medium tarts, serving four to six people each. Or do as I did and make one larger one and one small. I took the extra tart to work for my colleagues. (Yes, they would really miss me if I left!) For the best crust texture, eat the tart the same day it’s baked. If saving leftovers until the next day, just throw a paper towel over it rather than covering tightly.

Rhubarb, Raspberry & Blueberry Tart

1½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
½ cup all purpose flour (or white whole wheat flour)
½ cup hazelnut meal
2/3 cup coconut palm sugar, divided
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup hazelnut oil (or high-oleic safflower oil)
¼ cup cold water
3 cups sliced rhubarb
3 cups raspberries
1 cup blueberries
1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
¼ to ½ teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
½ teaspoon freshly grated ginger, optional
1 teaspoon raw (turbinado) or demerara sugar, for sprinkling

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the flours, hazelnut meal, 2/3 cup sugar and salt. Gradually drizzle oil on top, mixing with your fingers until the mixture is crumbly. Gradually add water until the dough comes together (add a little more water if necessary.) Divide into two balls and set aside.

Roll out each ball of dough directly on a rimless baking sheet, to about a 10-inch diameter.

In a medium bowl, mix the fruit, remaining 1/3 cup sugar, cornstarch lemon zest and ginger (if using). Do not let the mixture sit for long – get it into the crust immediately.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer half the fruit filling onto each crust round, leaving an inch or more of dough uncovered. Spoon  the liquid from the bottom of the bowl onto the fruit, but don’t use quite all of it – you want to moisten the filling but not to the point that a lot of juice starts running off the edge of the crust. Quickly loosen the dough all around the edge with a pastry lifter, then fold over gently with your hand. Sprinkle the dough edges with the raw sugar.

Bake for 45 minutes, until the dough is deeply golden and the filling is bubbling. Cool before serving.