well hello mr kohlrabi, nice to meet you

my hot mama girlfriend christina (who just happens to be a high school foods teacher) brought these stranger danger veggies over last week.  as she handed the bag over to me, she asked, "have you ever heard of kohlrabi?"...and i said, "ko-habi WHAT!?"  never in a million years had i ever heard of this alien species.

how lucky am i to have a friend who brings random, bazaaro veggies to my house?  cheers to our new year's food resolution:  more veggies for our bellies.

the bulbs look like predator eggs or something from star wars...and how in the world to cook them?...oyeeoye.

somehow, i figured out how to spell it, searched "kohlrabi and potato recipe" and found this little ditty:

adapted from scalloped kohlrabi and potatoes from foodiefresh

2 organic russet potatoes

2 kohlrabi bulbs

dried onions

dried herbes de provence

2 cups (rice milk + coconut milk)

6 T earth's balance buttery spread soy free (broken up to spread over 2 layers)

s&p

notes:

i followed her directions to a T - it's a 3 layer repeat: 1. the potatoes 2. the kohlrabi 3. shake and bake the onions/butter chunks/herbes (oh just eyeball it...give it a nice healthy layer please) and repeat for a total of six layers.  easy peasy.

the recipe is ahmazing and i plan to use it for all future things scalloped in my life - kohlrabi in the house or not!  i used a pairing knife to cut off the kohlrabi's hard outer shell (kinda like an apple but much thicker skin).  it is similar in taste and texture to jicima, and i loooove jicima.  

i get a lot of questions about my genius rice/coconut milk mix for dairy free baking and cooking.   i simply stop short of whatever amount i need (2 cups in this example) and add the coconut milk to reach the exact amount, as if it's the cream in the coffee.  if i want it creamier, i add more coconut and less rice milk.  badda bing badda boom.  no crazy measuring, just do it.  pretend you know what you're doing for cryin out loud.  i mean, look at me...crazy lady.

the potato layer...

the kohlrabi layer...

here is the middle herb and butter layer.  shake and bake!!!

this is all that was left from the two casseroles i made up.  yippeeeee!  it made excellent left-overs that made it for my lunch and another entire family side dish the next day.  gone.

sneaky sneaky... chris and the kids had no idea there was an alien vegetable invasion in the potatoes.  he fed this to the kids without me (i prepped it, put it in the oven and he served it up while i zoomed off to work). 

so, don't be afraid of the kohlrabi, my little jedi's, the force will be with you.

ps

rené, if you're reading this, you must add this into your jicima and avocado salad.  

it would be a ridonculous addition.

pps

trying to figure out how more organic food can fit into your tightening budget?  check this out:

8 ways real families on real budgets can afford organic foods