Kohlrabi: The Funny Looking Vegetable

Every day after school, I pass this little organic farm stand on my drive home.  It’s run and operated by an elderly, retired couple who garden for the pure joy of it.  Aside from their assortment of tasty, fresh vegetables and cheap prices, they also offer a whole host of ideas and inspiration.  I always take for granted where my vegetables are coming from, but to actually talk to the growers is a real treat. 😀  And with today being Tempt the Tastebuds Wednesday, I knew immediately that I wanted to sample a new vegetable. 

I pulled into the old dirt road and realized that nobody was home.  An old, rusted tackle box was left out front for the money to be dropped off in, and a small assortment of vegetables was being kept under the wooden shed.  I went in looking for the most odd, random vegetable I could find and left with a handful of these.  The sign read “kohlrabi.”  I thought they looked more like space ships. 😀

What is a kohlrabi?  It’s related to the cabbage, but is often compared to a turnip in flavor and crunch.  It also has a lot of bragging rights when it comes to nutrition.   One cup of raw kohlrabi contains:

• 40 calories
• 5 g. fiber
• 2 g. protein
• 140% vitamin C!

Not bad for a funny looking veggie.  You might be more familiar with seeing the green varieties in the supermarket, which are equally just as nutritious.  😀

Anyways, on to how you can actually eat a kohlrabi!  I did a little research and found that the flavor is often compared to turnips, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and even apples.  After peeling the tough exterior, I sliced a chunk off and ate it raw.  And immediately I understood the cabbage/turnip comparisons.  It had the sweetness of turnips with the crunch and slight bitterness of cabbage or radishes.  You could totally eat it raw, on top of salads or sandwiches.  In fact, I plan on doing just that!  But I’m a huge fan of roasting my veggies, and couldn’t wait to see how these would come out after being subjected to some high heat in the oven. 😀

I layered the peeled and sliced kohlrabi onto a sprayed cookie sheet, and popped it in the 425 F oven for 20-25 minutes, flipping once half way through.

I added a little salt and pepper, and took a bite.  It was wonderfully crispy, rustic, and earthy.  I’m a new fan of this funny looking veggie, and can’t believe that I haven’t tried it until now.  Considering how easy it was to prepare and how much both my dad and I loved it, I think its going to find a new place in the household. 😉

Have any of you ever tried kohlrabi, and if so, what’s your favorite way to prepare it???

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I have to give a big shout out of THANKS for all your support and your kind comments, regarding the change of direction that the blog is taking. 😀  I also appreciate the advice, comments, suggestions for future posts as well.  I’ll definitely be including more oatmeal posts and nutrition posts as some of you requested 😀 , and if there’s ever anything else you’d all like to see, feel free to give a shout out. 😀

In further news, tomorrow I have a 3-mile run planned.  It’s the last one before Sunday, which is the day of the 10k! 😀  Off to get a good nights rest so I can feel refreshed for a morning run…

…G’night! 😀