Kohlrabi is one of those veggies that makes people anxious. It's weird looking. It's not one of the ten vegetables* I grew up with.

It's actually pretty easy to just peel it and throw it in a salad. It's sort of like a mild radish, or a bland, crisp apple. So when we got the kohlrabi in our CSA haul, the first bulb was eaten raw, off the cutting board, while we prepped other veg. It didn't even make it into a salad.

You can use the greens, just pretend they're collards and you're all set.

But one quick answer for dealing with unusual veg is to shred and crisp. We've done this with parsnips, we can do it with kohlrabi. Enter the potato pancake.First I got those greens going in a pan just with some water. If I had a microwave, I'd "steam" them in there, but you're just looking to soften them a bit. Pay no attention to them, and go about the rest of your cooking.

I shredded three small red potatoes, from Week 4 of the CSA. Skin and all, just be sure to scrub. Then I shredded up two kohlrabi bulbs right in there with it.

I shredded a whole onion as well, which produced onion snow. I also shredded a garlic clove.

I spooned all of the shredded veg into a tea towel, wrapped it up tightly and drained it over the sink like it was homemade ricotta.

Then I remembered the greens and added them in as well. You want this dry, so you wring and squeeze, wring and squeeze, shuffle around and wring again.

So for about three cups of shredded veg (pre-squeeze) I added three beaten eggs and three tablespoons of rice flour. Rice flour makes things crispier than wheat flour. If I didn't have rice flour, I might use two tablespoons of all purpose flour and a tablespoon of corn starch. Also some salt and pepper, maybe a quarter teaspoon each. More salt later.

I worked the flour and eggs into the shredded veg with my hands--no photos, but it was as unattractive as you might imagine. Then I formed the mixture into balls, bigger than a golf ball, smaller than a tennis ball. If they didn't hold their shape, I'd add more flour, but we were all set.

I heated less than a quarter inch of oil in a skillet and when it snapped when hit with a drop of water, it was ready for a drop of kohlrabi potato pancake. It's safer and more reasonable to just put the tip of a wooden spoon or chopstick in there and look to see if the oil bubbles around the edges of the wood, but hey, water's fun too. I slowly lowered one ball in, knowing the fun of having hot oil snap back onto my forearm, and smushed it down a bit with a spatula.

Once I saw that the oil was hot enough, as in there were tiny bubbles all around the edges of the pancake, I added another and smushed it as well. I also turned the oven on to warmish, so that I could stash mid-batch pancakes in there while I made more. Also, you can see some toes down there. Wear socks when you fry.

When they were golden around the edges, like the guy in the bottom right here, I flipped them. I actually flipped each pancake four times: once when they were just getting golden, once when the other side caught up, then again to crisp the entire exterior of side one and again for side two. I'm an anxious fryer. Maybe two minutes per flip, for a total of four minutes per side? The color and crispiness should be your measurement.

Once they're golden brown all over, remove to a paper towel, or if you're more on top of your laundry than I am, move them to a regular kitchen towel. We have good days and bad days.

Hit them with a sprinkle of kosher salt while they're hot and slightly damp from the oil, so the salt sticks. The into the oven (sans towel) to wait. When I made potato pancakes, or fritters, or anything else like this, I make extra to freeze. It's not every day I'm willing to fry my forearms and toes, so reheating last week's (ok, month's) fritters or pancakes is a welcome break.

They're all golden and crispy, but on the inside they're almost creamy, with exciting bits of greens. Two of these and a salad and you might not quite hate yourself over it. One is a decent appetizer. Add sour cream, if you're like that.

*Alphabetically: broccoli, carrots, celery, corn, cucumbers, green beans, lettuce, peas, potatoes, spinach.

This recipe is cross-posted at Saturday’s Mouse, where I’m working on making food out of food.

Kohlrabi Potato Pancakes

Ingredients

• 2 bulbs kohlrabi, peeled


• 3 medium red potatoes


• 1 medium onion


• 1-2 cloves garlic


• 3 eggs, beaten


• 3 tablespoons rice flour (or sub 2 tbsp AP flour and 1 tbsp cornstarch)


• 1.5 teaspoons, divided kosher salt


• .5 teaspoon black pepper


• 1/3 cup oil (more if your pan is bigger)

Instructions

Chop greens and simmer in some water, or microwave-steam, just to soften a bit, while you're doing other things.

Peel kohlrabi, and shred along with potatoes (with skin), onion and garlic.

Drain greens and add to other veg in a pile in a tea towel. Squeeze and drain, quite a bit, to get them as dry as possible.

Mix three eggs and three tablespoons of rice flour (or sub 2 tbsp AP and 1 tbsp corn starch) with half a teaspoon each salt and pepper. Reserve remaining salt for later. Mix this in with the drained shredded veg mix. Form into small balls (bigger than golf, smaller than tennis).

Heat oil in a skillet - less than a quarter inch of oil, until it spits at you when you hit it with a drop of water, or bubbles around the edges of a wooden spoon or chopstick.

Add a veg ball to the hot oil and squish with a spatula until it's about a half-inch thick. If the oil bubbles all around the edges, you're set, add another and squish.

Fry until golden brown on both sides, maybe four minutes total per side, but until done.

Drain on a towel, sprinkle with additional salt and keep warm in the oven until serving time.

Makes 8 pancakes, and they freeze very well.

Details

• Prep time: 25 mins


• Cook time: 25 mins


• Total time: 50 mins


• Yield: 8 pancakes

My friend MSNDG's grandmother makes this cucumber salad. I should be clear, she makes a cucumber salad, or even the cucumber salad, but not really this cucumber salad, and it's truly spectacular. It's sweet and tangy and so cool and crisp. I was thrilled to take home the leftovers from one of their family events a few months back. Also, we had a variant of this over a year ago as part of the falafel dinner. I'm very good at asking your mother, your grandmother, whoever, for a recipe, but I'm not good at pulling out a notepad and writing it down. We covered this in the episode on brisket. But I asked her, I think twice, and she kindly told me what she does, but I'm under the impression that either she cooks like me, and doesn't measure everything, or that she intentionally gave me vague directions so I couldn't follow her recipe exactly. Either way, it worked like that, because I have no idea exactly how she makes it and this was close, and fantastic, and I'll make it again and again, but it's not MSNDG's grandmother's recipe. Close. When I asked MSNDG for a refresher, just before making this, she gave me about as much information as I had remembered... vinegar, sugar, salt, white pepper, and cucumbers. Ratios, procedures, no.So I got to Googling. I figured if I didn't make MSNDG's grandmother's cucumber salad, I could make someone else's grandmother's version. This week in my farmshare email there was a Simply Recipes version, which looks cool and refreshing and wonderful but doesn't have the sugar I know this one does. Smitten Kitchen uses this one from Gourmet that includes garlic and less sugar than I thought was right for recreating this particular salad. Emeril uses two kinds of vinegar, and there's quite a few others floating around out there, like this one using olive oil, this one with mayo, and this one with mint, tomatoes, and onions. So as with most things, I winged it, with all of the varieties I'd read about plus my vague recollection of the actual recipe. As rarely happens, it worked very well. I started with these tiny cucumbers that my CSA calls pickles. I put on my safety glove and busted out the mandoline. One thing certain in the original recipe is that the thinner the slices are, the better the salad is. I chose to go skin-on, because that's my approach to most things, but I know the original is peeled and several internet variations are striped, half peeled. So in the end I had about five cups of slices. Step two is the marinade. Regular white vinegar, which in our house isn't so much food as it is all-purpose cleaner and ant repellant. It's ok, it's food. Add to that a half cup of white sugar. A teaspoon of kosher salt. About a half teaspoon of white pepper. I stirred the mixture together well until the sugar and salt dissolved and then poured it over the cucumbers. It just about covered them, and if it hadn't I would just have added more vinegar. Next I added dill. I was unsure about using dill, since MSNDG didn't list it among the ingredients she recalled, but I had this fresh dill and thought it'd be a waste to use cucumbers without it. When I served it this weekend I mentioned the dill and she agreed that it belonged in the salad. So, yay, dill. That got a few good tosses and an overnight stint in the fridge. The next day is was cool and bright and tangy and awesome. Not quite the original but something we'll make as long as cucumbers are around this summer. Five cups of cucumbers made enough salad for four of us at dinner (alongside a green salad and some grilled pizzas) and two additional lunch portions, but we're all big cucumber salad fans so we may have overindulged. This recipe is cross-posted at Saturday’s Mouse, where I’m working on making food out of food. Cucumber Salad Ingredients

• 5 cups cucumbers, sliced thin
• 1.5 cups white vinegar
• .5 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• .5 teaspoon white pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill, minced

Instructions Slice cucumbers as thin as possible. I used a mandoline. Dissolve sugar and salt in water, mix in white pepper. Pour over cucumbers. Toss with dill and store in refrigerator at least an hour, better overnight. Serve cold. Details

• Prep time: 15 hour
• Total time: 1 hour 15 mins
• Yield: 6 large servings

My friend MSNDG's grandmother makes this cucumber salad. I should be clear, she makes a cucumber salad, or even the cucumber salad, but not really this cucumber salad, and it's truly spectacular. It's sweet and tangy and so cool and crisp. I was thrilled to take home the leftovers from one of their family events a few months back. Also, we had a variant of this over a year ago as part of the falafel dinner.

I'm very good at asking your mother, your grandmother, whoever, for a recipe, but I'm not good at pulling out a notepad and writing it down. We covered this in the episode on brisket. But I asked her, I think twice, and she kindly told me what she does, but I'm under the impression that either she cooks like me, and doesn't measure everything, or that she intentionally gave me vague directions so I couldn't follow her recipe exactly. Either way, it worked like that, because I have no idea exactly how she makes it and this was close, and fantastic, and I'll make it again and again, but it's not MSNDG's grandmother's recipe. Close.

When I asked MSNDG for a refresher, just before making this, she gave me about as much information as I had remembered... vinegar, sugar, salt, white pepper, and cucumbers. Ratios, procedures, no.So I got to Googling. I figured if I didn't make MSNDG's grandmother's cucumber salad, I could make someone else's grandmother's version.

This week in my farmshare email there was a Simply Recipes version, which looks cool and refreshing and wonderful but doesn't have the sugar I know this one does. Smitten Kitchen uses this one from Gourmet that includes garlic and less sugar than I thought was right for recreating this particular salad. Emeril uses two kinds of vinegar, and there's quite a few others floating around out there, like this one using olive oil, this one with mayo, and this one with mint, tomatoes, and onions.

So as with most things, I winged it, with all of the varieties I'd read about plus my vague recollection of the actual recipe. As rarely happens, it worked very well.

I started with these tiny cucumbers that my CSA calls pickles.

I put on my safety glove and busted out the mandoline. One thing certain in the original recipe is that the thinner the slices are, the better the salad is. I chose to go skin-on, because that's my approach to most things, but I know the original is peeled and several internet variations are striped, half peeled.

So in the end I had about five cups of slices.

Step two is the marinade. Regular white vinegar, which in our house isn't so much food as it is all-purpose cleaner and ant repellant. It's ok, it's food.

Add to that a half cup of white sugar.

A teaspoon of kosher salt.

About a half teaspoon of white pepper.

I stirred the mixture together well until the sugar and salt dissolved and then poured it over the cucumbers. It just about covered them, and if it hadn't I would just have added more vinegar.

Next I added dill.

I was unsure about using dill, since MSNDG didn't list it among the ingredients she recalled, but I had this fresh dill and thought it'd be a waste to use cucumbers without it. When I served it this weekend I mentioned the dill and she agreed that it belonged in the salad. So, yay, dill.

That got a few good tosses and an overnight stint in the fridge.

The next day is was cool and bright and tangy and awesome. Not quite the original but something we'll make as long as cucumbers are around this summer.

Five cups of cucumbers made enough salad for four of us at dinner (alongside a green salad and some grilled pizzas) and two additional lunch portions, but we're all big cucumber salad fans so we may have overindulged.

This recipe is cross-posted at Saturday’s Mouse, where I’m working on making food out of food.

Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

• 5 cups cucumbers, sliced thin


• 1.5 cups white vinegar


• .5 cup white sugar


• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt


• .5 teaspoon white pepper


• 2 tablespoons fresh dill, minced

Instructions

Slice cucumbers as thin as possible. I used a mandoline.

Dissolve sugar and salt in water, mix in white pepper. Pour over cucumbers.

Toss with dill and store in refrigerator at least an hour, better overnight. Serve cold.

Details

• Prep time: 15 hour


• Total time: 1 hour 15 mins


• Yield: 6 large servings

My basil plant is thriving, which is a shock, because last year I killed a handful of them. Looking for new uses for the abundance of sweet leaves, I thought back to crackers. There's a cracker we've liked that's crispy and wheaty with sundried tomato and basil. I can do that. I started with the flavor. Dried tomato from Margerum's, via Winter Harvest and still fresh in my fridge, basil from the backyard and a bit of parmesan. You can totally leave out the parmesan, just add a bit more olive oil and salt. The crackers don't taste cheesy. For cheese crackers, try something like the Mac and Cheesy Crackers I made last year. These crackers are based on the recipe for the Thyme and Onion Crackers I wrote about more than a year ago (!) but they're tangier and almost spicy. I took a half cup of basil leaves, four sundried tomatoes and two tablespoons of grated parmesan and threw all of that in my little chopper. By all means, feel free to do this by hand, but mince everything tiny. I just pretended I was making pesto. Then I gathered my dry ingredients. A cup of bread flour, one and three-quarters cups of whole wheat flour, a quarter cup of wheat germ, a teaspoon of sea salt and about half a tablespoon of black pepper. I forked that all together.

 

Then added the wet. A third of a cup of olive oil... The basil/tomato/cheese blend I had made, and a cup of warm water with a teaspoon of honey disolved in it. I mixed that with a fork until a fork no longer made sense. Then I got in there with my hands until it turned into what looked like the start of a fairly unappealing veggie burger mix. It's not bad, doing it by hand. Look how sticky it isn't. At this point I broke out the pasta machine. The last time I wrote about crackers like this, I did it with a rolling pin. Rolling pins are fine. With a rolling pin, I wasn't able to get the crackers all the same thickness, but it was *much* quicker than using the pasta machine, so make your own call. I divided the dough into eight pieces and ran it through the machine on the thickest setting. Like pasta, if it tore or looked rough, I floured it, folded it, and ran it back through. I used a pizza cutter to try to cut out reasonable rectangles, but they definitely came out "rustic." The shape doesn't matter, but the more consistently sized they are, the easier it'll be to time them in the oven. I cut off the roughest scraps and ran those back through the machine. Once I had my little rectangles, I docked each one with a fork and sprinkled on more sea salt. They need about 15-20 minutes in the oven at 375, at this thickness. If you roll them out with a rolling pin and they're a bit thicker, they'll need longer, and you need to keep a good eye on them either way. I set my timer for 10 minutes, turned them, and then just stared at them. My first batch took 18 minutes. This recipe made three baking-sheets-worth. They're done when they're firm and the edges are getting golden. Check the bottoms to be sure they're not burning. Let them cool completely before storing them. Try not to eat all the hot crackers. And really, don't walk away while they're in the oven. Golden brown is great, golden black is less so. This made about 130 crackers, which sounds like a lot, but was just enough to fit in this jar. They keep about a week, and if they aren't crisp enough you can recrisp them in a low (200 degree) oven.

This recipe is cross-posted at Saturday’s Mouse, where I’m working on making food out of food.

 Sundried Tomato and Basil Crackers Ingredients

• 1 Cup Bread Flour
• 1 3/4 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/4 Cup Wheat Germ
• 3 Tablespoons Sea Salt, Divided
• 1 Teaspoon Honey
• 1 Cup Warm Water
• 1/2 Tablespoon Black Pepper
• 1/2 Cup Fresh Basil
• 1/4 Cup Sundried Tomatoes
• 2 Tablespoons Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Instructions Run the tomato, basil and cheese through a food processor or chopper to mince (or mince by hand). Ok to skip the cheese, but add a bit more salt and olive oil later. Mix the dry ingredients - flours, flax seed, pepper and one tablespoon of salt, then incorporate the wet - basil/tomato mix, olive oil, and warm water and honey. I find it easier to dissolve the honey in the water first. Mix well, with a fork and then by hand, and then roll out the dough using either a rolling pin or a pasta machine. Aim for about the thickness of a quarter. Cut into cracker shapes (a pizza cutter helps) and re-roll any scraps. Dock with a fork and top with sea salt. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes, then turn and check frequently. They are done when they're firm all over and golden at the edges. Maybe 15 or 18 minutes total? Details

• Prep time: 25 mins
• Cook time: 20 mins
• Total time: 45 mins
• Yield: 130 Crackers

My basil plant is thriving, which is a shock, because last year I killed a handful of them. Looking for new uses for the abundance of sweet leaves, I thought back to crackers. There's a cracker we've liked that's crispy and wheaty with sundried tomato and basil. I can do that.

I started with the flavor. Dried tomato from Margerum's, via Winter Harvest and still fresh in my fridge, basil from the backyard and a bit of parmesan. You can totally leave out the parmesan, just add a bit more olive oil and salt. The crackers don't taste cheesy. For cheese crackers, try something like the Mac and Cheesy Crackers I made last year. These crackers are based on the recipe for the Thyme and Onion Crackers I wrote about more than a year ago (!) but they're tangier and almost spicy.

I took a half cup of basil leaves, four sundried tomatoes and two tablespoons of grated parmesan and threw all of that in my little chopper. By all means, feel free to do this by hand, but mince everything tiny. I just pretended I was making pesto.

Then I gathered my dry ingredients. A cup of bread flour, one and three-quarters cups of whole wheat flour, a quarter cup of wheat germ, a teaspoon of sea salt and about half a tablespoon of black pepper.

I forked that all together.

 

Then added the wet. A third of a cup of olive oil...

The basil/tomato/cheese blend I had made, and a cup of warm water with a teaspoon of honey disolved in it.

I mixed that with a fork until a fork no longer made sense.

Then I got in there with my hands until it turned into what looked like the start of a fairly unappealing veggie burger mix.

It's not bad, doing it by hand. Look how sticky it isn't.

At this point I broke out the pasta machine. The last time I wrote about crackers like this, I did it with a rolling pin. Rolling pins are fine. With a rolling pin, I wasn't able to get the crackers all the same thickness, but it was *much* quicker than using the pasta machine, so make your own call.

I divided the dough into eight pieces and ran it through the machine on the thickest setting. Like pasta, if it tore or looked rough, I floured it, folded it, and ran it back through.

I used a pizza cutter to try to cut out reasonable rectangles, but they definitely came out "rustic." The shape doesn't matter, but the more consistently sized they are, the easier it'll be to time them in the oven.

I cut off the roughest scraps and ran those back through the machine.

Once I had my little rectangles, I docked each one with a fork and sprinkled on more sea salt.

They need about 15-20 minutes in the oven at 375, at this thickness. If you roll them out with a rolling pin and they're a bit thicker, they'll need longer, and you need to keep a good eye on them either way. I set my timer for 10 minutes, turned them, and then just stared at them. My first batch took 18 minutes. This recipe made three baking-sheets-worth.

They're done when they're firm and the edges are getting golden. Check the bottoms to be sure they're not burning. Let them cool completely before storing them. Try not to eat all the hot crackers.

And really, don't walk away while they're in the oven. Golden brown is great, golden black is less so.

This made about 130 crackers, which sounds like a lot, but was just enough to fit in this jar.

They keep about a week, and if they aren't crisp enough you can recrisp them in a low (200 degree) oven.

This recipe is cross-posted at Saturday’s Mouse, where I’m working on making food out of food.

 Sundried Tomato and Basil Crackers

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Bread Flour


• 1 3/4 Cups Whole Wheat Flour


• 1/4 Cup Wheat Germ


• 3 Tablespoons Sea Salt, Divided


• 1 Teaspoon Honey


• 1 Cup Warm Water


• 1/2 Tablespoon Black Pepper


• 1/2 Cup Fresh Basil


• 1/4 Cup Sundried Tomatoes


• 2 Tablespoons Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Instructions

Run the tomato, basil and cheese through a food processor or chopper to mince (or mince by hand). Ok to skip the cheese, but add a bit more salt and olive oil later.

Mix the dry ingredients - flours, flax seed, pepper and one tablespoon of salt, then incorporate the wet - basil/tomato mix, olive oil, and warm water and honey. I find it easier to dissolve the honey in the water first.

Mix well, with a fork and then by hand, and then roll out the dough using either a rolling pin or a pasta machine. Aim for about the thickness of a quarter.

Cut into cracker shapes (a pizza cutter helps) and re-roll any scraps. Dock with a fork and top with sea salt.

Bake at 375 for 10 minutes, then turn and check frequently. They are done when they're firm all over and golden at the edges. Maybe 15 or 18 minutes total?

Details

• Prep time: 25 mins


• Cook time: 20 mins


• Total time: 45 mins


• Yield: 130 Crackers

There are a lot of ways to get food into your face. A fork, for example, is pretty classic. But forks don’t taste particularly good, and they can hurt your teeth. So we move on to things like fingers, which can be a mess, and again, painful. But bread and tortillas are pretty handy. So is lettuce. I forget about lettuce wraps sometimes. Lettuce wraps are ideal for spring, I think, because they give you a vehicle for moving food from plate to face without overwhelming whatever bright fresh flavors are in your dinner. Plus, the lettuce is pretty good right now. Also, everyone I know is getting married right now. Friends were married this past weekend and more friends will be married this coming weekend. This happened a hundred years ago too, but I was part of everyone then. Now, it seems like every other week someone is announcing an engagement or having a wedding. The first time I had lettuce wraps was on my honeymoon, a hundred years ago, in some fake-fancy themed restaurant in Las Vegas. So maybe that’s why we went for it tonight. I think it was Sous Chef Brian’s idea. These are seitan lettuce wraps, and they’re vegan and delicious, but you could do the exact same thing with chicken and please the meat people. It’s also – like an egg roll, or a lasagna – a great way to use up whatever’s hanging around the fridge. I started by marinating my seitan. You could so whatever fun sauce comes to mind, but this is just tamari and mirin, equal parts. Let that sit and get to the veg. The veg go in order of cooking time, because we’re stir frying and some things need more time. I have carrots today, so they need a head start. Carrots, diced small, in a tablespoon of oil (I used safflower, but use what makes you happy), over high heat. Give them a minute to soften, and just a minute, and dial it down to medium and hit it with some ginger and garlic. What other veg do you have, and how long do they need to cook? If it was bell pepper time, some red peppers would be great, again, minced small, but really, what you have will be great. I had a few stray mushrooms, and some claytonia, and scallions (there has to be some sort of onion, I think). The claytonia just needs to wilt, and the scallions go on at the end, so I added my seitan and mushrooms. The marinade from the seitan went in too, and I used a spatula to hack at the larger pieces of seitan. I wasn’t aiming for minced, but this had to fold neatly into lettuce. Once the seitan was warmed through and those carrots were really ready to go, I added the claytonia. It subbed well for sprouts, but sprouts would be great here. Flipped that a few times to wilt, and then turned the heat off and added the scallions. Also, a quick drizzle of toasted sesame oil and a sprinkle of red pepper flake (to taste). That’s it, all you need to do now is wash and dry some large lettuce leaves and make it a taco. Last week I had some awesome local bibb lettuce, but this week all I had handy was spring mix and spinach, so I sent my spouse out to The Grocery Store and the best they could do for us was romaine. Romaine is fine, way better than spring mix, for this, but if you can get some butter lettuce or bibb, you’ll be doing alright. Pro tip: If you are using romaine, break off the crispier stems and you'll have a much more foldable wrap. This recipe is cross-posted at Saturday’s Mouse, where I’m working on making food out of food. Garlic Ginger Seitan Lettuce Wraps Ingredients

• 1/2 pound seitan
• 6 big leaves lettuce (bibb, butter, romaine)
• 2 cups claytonia, sprouts or misc. greens
• 1 inch ginger, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 large carrots, minced
• 1 cup mushrooms, chopped
• 1.5 tablespoons mirin
• 1.5 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
• 2 medium scallions, chopped
• about a teaspoon red pepper flake (to taste)
• .5 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon oil (safflower, or whatever)

Instructions Marinate seitan in mirin and tamari while prepping veg. Heat oil on high heat in wok, add carrots and stir fry a minute until they begin to soften (longer for larger carrots). Turn to medium, add garlic and ginger, and toss. Add mushrooms and seitan, breaking seitan up with a spoon. Toss. Add claytonia (or sprouts, or greens) and toss to wilt. Turn heat off and add scallions, red pepper flake and toasted sesame oil. Toss. Wash six large lettuce leaves and dry. Serve hot seitan mixture on leaves, wrapping like a taco. Details

• Prep time: 5 mins
• Cook time: 15 mins
• Total time: 20 mins
• Yield: 3 servings

There are a lot of ways to get food into your face. A fork, for example, is pretty classic. But forks don’t taste particularly good, and they can hurt your teeth. So we move on to things like fingers, which can be a mess, and again, painful. But bread and tortillas are pretty handy. So is lettuce. I forget about lettuce wraps sometimes. Lettuce wraps are ideal for spring, I think, because they give you a vehicle for moving food from plate to face without overwhelming whatever bright fresh flavors are in your dinner. Plus, the lettuce is pretty good right now.

Also, everyone I know is getting married right now. Friends were married this past weekend and more friends will be married this coming weekend. This happened a hundred years ago too, but I was part of everyone then. Now, it seems like every other week someone is announcing an engagement or having a wedding. The first time I had lettuce wraps was on my honeymoon, a hundred years ago, in some fake-fancy themed restaurant in Las Vegas. So maybe that’s why we went for it tonight. I think it was Sous Chef Brian’s idea.

These are seitan lettuce wraps, and they’re vegan and delicious, but you could do the exact same thing with chicken and please the meat people. It’s also – like an egg roll, or a lasagna – a great way to use up whatever’s hanging around the fridge.

I started by marinating my seitan. You could so whatever fun sauce comes to mind, but this is just tamari and mirin, equal parts. Let that sit and get to the veg.

The veg go in order of cooking time, because we’re stir frying and some things need more time. I have carrots today, so they need a head start. Carrots, diced small, in a tablespoon of oil (I used safflower, but use what makes you happy), over high heat.

Give them a minute to soften, and just a minute, and dial it down to medium and hit it with some ginger and garlic.

What other veg do you have, and how long do they need to cook? If it was bell pepper time, some red peppers would be great, again, minced small, but really, what you have will be great. I had a few stray mushrooms, and some claytonia, and scallions (there has to be some sort of onion, I think).

The claytonia just needs to wilt, and the scallions go on at the end, so I added my seitan and mushrooms. The marinade from the seitan went in too, and I used a spatula to hack at the larger pieces of seitan. I wasn’t aiming for minced, but this had to fold neatly into lettuce.

Once the seitan was warmed through and those carrots were really ready to go,

I added the claytonia. It subbed well for sprouts, but sprouts would be great here. Flipped that a few times to wilt, and then turned the heat off and added the scallions. Also, a quick drizzle of toasted sesame oil and a sprinkle of red pepper flake (to taste).

That’s it, all you need to do now is wash and dry some large lettuce leaves and make it a taco. Last week I had some awesome local bibb lettuce, but this week all I had handy was spring mix and spinach, so I sent my spouse out to The Grocery Store and the best they could do for us was romaine. Romaine is fine, way better than spring mix, for this, but if you can get some butter lettuce or bibb, you’ll be doing alright.

Pro tip: If you are using romaine, break off the crispier stems and you'll have a much more foldable wrap.

This recipe is cross-posted at Saturday’s Mouse, where I’m working on making food out of food.

Garlic Ginger Seitan Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound seitan


• 6 big leaves lettuce (bibb, butter, romaine)


• 2 cups claytonia, sprouts or misc. greens


• 1 inch ginger, minced


• 3 cloves garlic, minced


• 3 large carrots, minced


• 1 cup mushrooms, chopped


• 1.5 tablespoons mirin


• 1.5 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari


• 2 medium scallions, chopped


• about a teaspoon red pepper flake (to taste)


• .5 teaspoon toasted sesame oil


• 1 tablespoon oil (safflower, or whatever)

Instructions

Marinate seitan in mirin and tamari while prepping veg.

Heat oil on high heat in wok, add carrots and stir fry a minute until they begin to soften (longer for larger carrots).

Turn to medium, add garlic and ginger, and toss.

Add mushrooms and seitan, breaking seitan up with a spoon. Toss.

Add claytonia (or sprouts, or greens) and toss to wilt. Turn heat off and add scallions, red pepper flake and toasted sesame oil. Toss.

Wash six large lettuce leaves and dry. Serve hot seitan mixture on leaves, wrapping like a taco.

Details

• Prep time: 5 mins


• Cook time: 15 mins


• Total time: 20 mins


• Yield: 3 servings

This is a quick one. Barely a recipe, and more like what happened to my mustard greens.

I have a confession to make... I cook all my greens the same way. I use greens in lots of dishes, anywhere they'll fit, but if I'm just making up a bunch of greens, it's garlic, a bit of vinegar, and if we're feeling luxurious, some bacon. But that's the routine, always.

And it's mustard green time. Yay for new veg. I got some mustard greens (this one is Mizuna, from the unGoogleable Silver Mine Farm) and I had already made salad of another variety and thought it was time to get cooking. But as much as I love garlic and vinegar on greens, it was time for a change.

You know what mustard greens go well with? It's so obvious. Mustard. These aren't as tough as collards or kale but they're not nearly as wimpy as spinach and they can take a little texture. Plus, they already have that lightly peppery thing going for them. Let's play that up. Four ingredients, happy side dish.



I started with six ounces of mustard greens, (stems and all with the Mizuna). This recipe, like everything else, is infinitely scalable, so adjust to your own greens.

Into a saute pan with a teaspoon of oil. I use olive, but use what you like. Heat to medium, stir and flip occasionally until the greens start to wilt.

The photo doesn't quite depict how wilted these greens were. They were yielding to a spatula and heading towards soft. I added a tablespoon of very grainy mustard. I don't think this is the place for yellow mustard. Stir that around, leaving the heat on, for maybe a total of 15 minutes cooking time. Then squirt with the juice of half a lemon, stir again, and serve. It's like that.

This recipe is cross-posted at Saturday’s Mouse, where I’m working on making food out of food.

Mustard Glazed Mustard Greens

Ingredients

• 6 oz Mustard Greens, chopped


• 1 teaspoon Olive oil


• 1 tablespoon Grainy Mustard


• 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

Instructions

Chop up your mustard greens and set them in the oil on medium heat to wilt, stirring and flipping occasionally for maybe 5 minutes.
When they begin to soften, add the mustard and stir and flip. Continue to heat over medium until fully wilted, maybe another 10 minutes.
Squeeze on the juice of half a lemon, about a tablespoon or so, and stir. Serve hot.

Details

• Prep time: 2 mins


• Cook time: 15 mins


• Total time: 17 mins


• Yield: 2 servings

This is a quick one. Barely a recipe, and more like what happened to my mustard greens. I have a confession to make... I cook all my greens the same way. I use greens in lots of dishes, anywhere they'll fit, but if I'm just making up a bunch of greens, it's garlic, a bit of vinegar, and if we're feeling luxurious, some bacon. But that's the routine, always. And it's mustard green time. Yay for new veg. I got some mustard greens (this one is Mizuna, from the unGoogleable Silver Mine Farm) and I had already made salad of another variety and thought it was time to get cooking. But as much as I love garlic and vinegar on greens, it was time for a change. You know what mustard greens go well with? It's so obvious. Mustard. These aren't as tough as collards or kale but they're not nearly as wimpy as spinach and they can take a little texture. Plus, they already have that lightly peppery thing going for them. Let's play that up. Four ingredients, happy side dish. I started with six ounces of mustard greens, (stems and all with the Mizuna). This recipe, like everything else, is infinitely scalable, so adjust to your own greens. Into a saute pan with a teaspoon of oil. I use olive, but use what you like. Heat to medium, stir and flip occasionally until the greens start to wilt. The photo doesn't quite depict how wilted these greens were. They were yielding to a spatula and heading towards soft. I added a tablespoon of very grainy mustard. I don't think this is the place for yellow mustard. Stir that around, leaving the heat on, for maybe a total of 15 minutes cooking time. Then squirt with the juice of half a lemon, stir again, and serve. It's like that.

This recipe is cross-posted at Saturday’s Mouse, where I’m working on making food out of food.

Mustard Glazed Mustard Greens Ingredients

• 6 oz Mustard Greens, chopped
• 1 teaspoon Olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Grainy Mustard
• 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

Instructions Chop up your mustard greens and set them in the oil on medium heat to wilt, stirring and flipping occasionally for maybe 5 minutes. When they begin to soften, add the mustard and stir and flip. Continue to heat over medium until fully wilted, maybe another 10 minutes. Squeeze on the juice of half a lemon, about a tablespoon or so, and stir. Serve hot. Details

• Prep time: 2 mins
• Cook time: 15 mins
• Total time: 17 mins
• Yield: 2 servings

We occasionally get questions through the Contact page on our website and have decided that rather than keep the answers between us and the questioner, we'd share the them with everyone in a new feature we're calling From Our Inbox. (Got a more clever name? We're all ears...) So let's kick this off with... Q: I’m new to the area... just moved to South Philly from the suburbs, and don’t know too many people/restaurants. Can you recommend any restaurants/stores that offer a decent alternative (i.e. gluten free) menu? - New to the Hood A: First of all, welcome to the neighborhood! With a member-owner count that is growing by the day, we can introduce you to a few hundred new people. And we can definitely suggest a start-up Co-op for you to join! To find out the answer to your question we checked in with the Gluten Free Warrior, Genevieve Sharrow MS, CN, and asked her about her favorite gluten free (GF) friendly eating spots in South Philly. Geneveive suggests: B2 has GF bread for sandwiches P.O.P.E. also has GF rolls/bread for burgers and such and their menu is relatively GF Adobe Mexican Cafe is GF friendly Cantina Los Caballitos is also GF friendly Also, several member-owners have said good things about the new bakery called "TOTÉ" on 9th street in the Italian market. If you are interested in learning more about a GF eating or want to meet up with other GF folks, check out the local GF MeetUp Group. Check back regularly for more From Our Inbox featured questions.