kohlrabi

You'll find bows of holly and tons of sweets to make you jolly at the Pacific Beach Tuesday Farmers' Market, but besides seasonal holiday odds and ends take note that shopping local is truly seasonal. San Diego has unique growing seasons that overlap and bless us with late fall tomatoes and leafy greens year round. But here's the scoop on new crops you might find this week at the market. 

JR Organics has Kolhrabi, a sort of green cabbage-turnipy thing that's delicious raw or cooked. Try shaving it into a salad with ribbons of sweet pink lady apples from Smit Orchards and whisk together a creamy, lemon salad dressing to doll it up. 

Suzie's Farm sells soaked (so living) black eyed peas. You know that when the ball drops on New Year's eve you're gonna want to be eating a warm bowl of spicy beans and collard greens. Add chives, celery, and rice to make it extra wintry. 

GETTING TO KNOW KOHLRABI

Mild and sweet, kohlrabi is member of the cabbage family. You might have spotted this alien looking produce situated next to the carrots and lettuce at Sage Mountain or Vang Farms, but look questionably at it no more. This vegetable is versatile and easy to experiment with.

Look for specimens on the smaller side, they'll be sweeter and crisper while the larger ones tend to get a bit woody. Trim off the "branches" from around the bulb and peel with a vegetable peeler then slice into matchsticks and put in your next slaw. Sneak them onto a plate of crudites.

For a new take on fritters, grate some kohlrabi with onions, then mix with a beaten egg, a handful of chopped herbs from Schaner Farms or Roviera Treasure Garden (we like Lemon Basil) and enough breadcrumbs to make the mix hold together. Shape into balls and flatten slightly, then cook on medium high heat in a bit of olive oil from Gourmet Delights until brown on both sides. Sprinkle with a bit of sea salt from She Sells Sea Salts or Salt Farm. You'll be glad you tried something new!