One thing I always loved about The Band, of which Robbie Robertson was an integral—and Canadian—part, was the way they took traditional sounds, styles, and instruments and used them in non-traditional ways.

Likewise, what I like about kohlrabi is that it is a very traditional vegetable, but one that might need some updating in its uses (um, “what uses?” you might be wondering).  Kohlrabi happens to be German for cabbage  (kohl) and turnip (rabi), and this is essentially what it is, a cabbage-turnip-veggie-thingy.  It tastes pretty much like that too so its uses are anywhere you’d use one or the other of those.

(Image of kohlrabi from allotments.ie)

I decided to take it in another direction, much the way that Robertson helped Bob Dylan take his music electric in 1965.  Okay, that was an absurd comparison, and I’m not even the first to put kohlrabi on a pizza, Kristin from Farm Fresh Feasts did it with kohlrabi from her CSA over a year ago, which partly gave me the inspiration for this pizza!

So it turns out I’m not quite a Robbie Robertson… but I’d like to think that this pizza, which I’m referring to as Kohlrabi Robertson, is something along the lines of what he is all about, bridging the gap between the traditional and the modern.  And in this case that’s using a very traditional European vegetable to make a modern pizza.

This pizza then crossed borders from a Europe to East Asia with the addition of bok choy to the base and as a topping.  Unsure of what to use a couple heads of bok choy that were getting a bit yellow and wilty I threw them in a pesto along with some kale from the garden.  After all, it was Week of Greens and I had to finish on a strong green note.

To compare this pizza—or myself—one more time to the great musician who crossed genres and helped contribute to the formation of the types of music known as Americana, Roots Rock, and Country Rock, this pizza crosses genres and blends cultures.  Oh man, this is so ridiculous, I should just stop here, but for some reason I keep reaching for comparisons.  Time to be honest, the main reason this pizza is called Kohlrabi Robertson is because the name just floated into my head while making it and I like puns.  But I really do love The Band and Robbie Robertson so I’m happy to name this pizza after him!

Oh, and I should mention that, most importantly, after all this blabbing about genres, cultures, and musical greats, this pizza was delicious.  I also have to say that kohlrabi is a new favorite veggie for me, and I think I’ll eat it in more formats than just as a pizza topping!

Cabbage moths have happily found themselves a nice place to lay their eggs—the kale, which is technically a type of cabbage.  From those eggs emerge very hungry caterpillars who happily gorge themselves on the kale!  But I want to happily gorge myself on the kale!

Now, some people might think “well, there’s enough for all of us, I’ll let the little guys stay.”  Sadly that rarely ends well.  As they grow they eat more and more, leaving skeletonized leaves and poop, followed by exponential amounts of offspring who return to do the same!  The same goes for other bugs, like the squash vine borers I was dealing with last summer…

Luckily it’s easy to either remove them and put them far from your plants, or just squish them, or throw ’em in a pail of soapy water.  And then you can keep on eating all the delicious leafy goodness!  Next week I will reflect on my week of greens and list all the ways I ate them.

(Above) Look closely to find signs of who has been here… little poops.

(Above) Look really close for a tiny egg.

Somewhat absent-mindedly I decided to toss some dill from our CSA into my salad dressing.  In a rush I used a hand blender to whip the dressing up whereas normally I just use a fork and stir.  The blender helped make the dressing super creamy and the results were awesome.  The dill added such a different flavor the dressing, at least compared to what I’m used to in dressings, and I loved it!

At our beach picnic we enjoyed egg salad wraps and the salad was an perfect addition (or at least I thought it was!).  Sorry, no pics were taken, we just enjoyed the beautiful day, the warm water, the soft (and super-hot) sand, throwing a Frisbee, and time to relax.

Thus for today’s installation of Greens Week I’m featuring the dressing recipe since it was key in making the afternoon’s salad so tasty.  And keep in mind that you can omit the mayo but it’s nice to use a small amount because it helps to emulsify (hold together the oil and vinegar) the dressing.

(Above: green onion, kale, and spinach from garden, tatsoi from CSA)

I don’t really mind since I tend to love salad and greens.  However, at some point you run out of things to do with them and start wanting something else to cook.

This week I’m home alone because Madame and the assistants went to visit her family.  In the original plan I was also going to go but then I went and got a job and it didn’t seem appropriate to ask for a week off two weeks after starting.  As it’s a bit lonely I have given myself a few things to work on for the week.

One thing I decided to work on was the greens!  I decided to eat greens with every meal for a week.  I’m calling it Week of Greens.If you’re in a CSA you should try it too, what else are you going to do with a all those greens?  Maybe, if all goes well, it will turn into summer of greens!  Or I just might hit the wall and declare an early end to the week.  We’ll see…. Hopefully I’m alive and well when my family returns.

Here’s how the week began, with a breakfast of greens with one egg and no ham.  I wanted to include ham and call it “Greens, egg, and ham” but didn’t have ham.  Anyways, it was a delicious breakfast.  Instead of ham I added a few thin slices of potatoes fried in a bit of ghee.  I topped the dish with some Ontario greenhouse tomatoes and had a nice side of local strawberries that Madame and the assistants picked last week.

On Wednesday I had leftover pizza dough in the fridge from my Young Assistant’s birthday party a few days before.  It was just the boys and I for dinner because Madame was in Toronto for work.  I pulled the dough out and assessed what ingredients were available for toppings.  Leftover whipped butternut squash in the fridge from the night before.  Onions.  Walnuts.  Greens growing in the garden.  An emergency stash of mozzarella in the freezer and a small amount of goat cheese.  I did a quick search for foods that can accompany butternut and decided some caramelized onions and wilted greens would do nicely.  Oh and I did a second pizza that was much simpler that the boys preferred, it just had sauce and cheese….  So here’s the butternut pizza that emerged:

Butternut and Caramelized Onion Pizza Topped with Wilted Greens

Ingredients:

• whipped butternut* (½  cup or more)
• ½ cup onion (or more), chopped and fried with a bit of olive oil until nicely caramelized (5-10 minutes)
• ½ cup walnuts
• 5-10 leaves of chard/spinach/other green, chopped coarsely
• mozzarella (grated or sliced thinly)
• soft goat cheese (crumbled)
• olive oil
• balsamic vinegar
• pizza dough (I recommend this one)

Stretch your pizza dough and top with the whipped butternut.  Add the cheeses, caramelized onions, and walnuts.  Cook at 500 for 4-5 minutes.  Meanwhile chop the greens and toss them in a small amount olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Open the oven and quickly add the greens on top of the pizza and cook 2-3 more minutes, until they are wilted.  Enjoy!

For several years I was a vegetarian*.  Because those years were very formative years for me as a cook I have continued to prepare mostly vegetarian meals since my return to occasionally eating meat.  In my view veggie burgers do not replace meat burgers.  They are simply a different food, probably owing more to falafel for their origin than any burger made with meat.   The beauty of a veggie burger is how easy it is to modify and adapt recipes to make them unique and new.

This recipe by Emma at From Scratch Club is a great one and we had an easy time making it and an even easier time finishing off the final product at the dinner table.  Served on top of fresh English Muffins and accompanied by skillet-roasted radishes with scallions and peanuts it was a  very satisfying summer meal, all cooked over the grill (which in my mind makes a meal feel like summer).

Spelt English Muffins

Modified from Joy of Cooking (Aka, my most indispensable cookbook!)

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbs. warm water
• 2 ¼ tsp. active dry yeast
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup warm milk (or soy milk)
• 2 tsp. honey (or maple syrup or sugar)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 cups whole spelt flour (or whole wheat flour)
• 3 Tbs. butter or margarine
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

Stir together in a large bowl the warm water with the yeast and let stand for 3-5 minutes.  Add the 1 cup of water, warm milk, honey and salt and mix together.  Gradually add the spelt flour and stir for 1-2 minutes.  Cover the bowl and let the sponge rise for about 1 ½ hours, until it is very bubbly.

Mix in the butter and then gradually add the all-purpose flour.  When you can no longer stir the dough it’s time to knead.  Knead until the dough is smooth but still somewhat sticky (you may need to use slightly more or less flour than called for).  Generously flour a surface and roll the dough out to a thickness of ½ inch.  Using a round cookie cutter or a glass cup (I prefer to use a pint glass) cut out the muffins and transfer them to a floured baking sheet or large plate and cover with cloth.  Allow the dough to rise until doubled in volume, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

English Muffins are cooked in a skillet rather than an oven.  If you make them on a grill you can get the best of both worlds plus a nice smoky flavor.  If using a charcoal grill push the coals to one side of the grill for an indirect heat, otherwise you may scorch the muffins without actually cooking them evenly.  If using your stove heat the skillet over medium heat.  When the skillet is hot melt 1-2 table spoons of butter or margarine.  When the butter is bubbling add as many risen muffins as will fit in the skillet.  Cover the skillet or grill and wait 2 minutes, then check to see if they are lightly browned and flip the muffins.  Cover for 1 more minute then remove to a cooling rack or a plate covered with a towel.  If the muffins turn out undercooked in the center allow them to cook a little bit longer at a lower heat.

Black Bean Mushroom Burgers

Adapted from Elle M’s recipe on From Scratch Club

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked black beans (or a large 14oz can)
• 4 Tbs. reserved bean liquid
• 1 cup onions, chopped
• 1 cup mushrooms, chopped
• 2 cups greens (chard/spinach/mustard/kale)
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup oats
• 2 Tbs. flax seeds

Fry the onions and greens over medium low heat for 3-4 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and spices and continue frying for 5-7  more minutes, until the mushrooms are soft.  Mash the black beans and add the other ingredients to them.   Add the reserved bean liquid (or 4 Tbs. water), oats, and flax seeds and mix everything together.

Use an ice cream scoop (or large spoon) to measure out each burger and transfer to a hot frying pan (or a cast iron skillet on the grill).  Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes, then flip and cook another 4-5 minutes. Serve on top of those delicious English Muffins with your favorite burger/sandwich condiments!

Roasted Radishes with Scallions and Peanuts

Thank you to Well Preserved for the Radish-Peanut combination idea!  (This is a very easy side and tasted great alongside the sandwiches.)

Ingredients:

• 4-6 radishes, cut into quarters
• 2-3 scallions, chopped
• ½ cup peanuts
• 2 Tbs. oil or butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a skillet over the grill (or stove) and when hot add all the ingredients.  Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the radishes and scallions are beginning to brown.  Try one radish and when it has softened to your liking the dish is ready.

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*I was a vegetarian and continue to eat a mostly plant-based diet out of concern for the planet and the people and animals that live here (and will hopefully continue to live and thrive here!).  In fact, this meal can easily be prepared vegan by using dairy alternatives.