CSA Week 1

We picked up our first bundle of produce from our CSA last week. It was chock full of some of the prettiest vegetables I had ever seen.

Clockwise from top left: swiss chard, red (purple) and white (green) kohlrabi, romaine, scallions, red russian kale, strawberries, french breakfast radishes, garlic scapes. We also ordered extras not included in my upfront-membership-payment, notably in this picture two cheeses from Consider Bardwell. Little did I know when I ordered the cheeses that they are critically acclaimed and are featured at several of my dream restaurants. They deserve all the praise. Jeff, upon biting into a piece of the Manchester, proclaimed: "This! This is a cheese!

First night of dinner: faux-Caesar salad with romaine, radishes;

roasted cauliflower (not from CSA) with Old Bay; cut strawberries; cheese

I had never eaten, let alone cooked, kohlrabi before. My approach was very similar to my approach for cabbage two ways: make a mayo-free slaw with half (I subbed homemade garam masala for toasted fennel seed), and cream braise the rest. I really enjoy the taste of this unlikely vegetable both raw and slow cooked. It's kind of like a potatoey radish. For more kohlrabi ideas and musings, check out:

the Kitchn: top 5 ways to prepare kohlrabi

the Kitchn: try this roasted kohlrabi and butternut squash

Tonight, to ease Jeff's sudden-onset sore throat, I made a soup with chicken stock that's been waiting diligently in the freezer for such an occasion, some pearl barley, two eggs, a splash of lime juice, and the entire bunch of red russian kale. It was delicious, and I watched Die Hard while it cooked.

Fresh Kale Soup with Barley

• 3 c good tasting chicken stock
• 1+ c water
• 3/4 c pearl barley
• 2 eggs
• 1 bunch kale or other leafy green, washed well

1. Bring chicken stock and water to a boil. Add barley, reduce heat to low and let simmer covered 50 minutes. Taste the stock; if unpalatably bland, stir in soy sauce 1 teaspoon at a time until flavorful.
2. Cut kale stems one inch from the bottom, and discard ends. Cut the remaining stems into roughly 1/2 inch long pieces. Continue this halfway up the bunch. There will be some leaves in your stems. Toss the stems into the soup, then continue cutting the kale leaves.
3. Make sure the soup is merely simmering, not boiling. Gently break two eggs into the pot, and let poach a minute or so. As the whites become a little opaque, add in the chopped kale leaves, cover and let wilt slightly (about 3 minutes).
4. Ladle the partially wilted kale into bowls. Then set a poached egg, some barley and broth in each bowl to let the kale wilt further.
5. Splash with a tiny bit of lemon or lime juice (or vinegar if you have no citrus) to perk up the soup.
6. Eat immediately.