black olives

Kohlrabi Cilantro Salsa for 20

Turmeric and Twine2 Comments

 Kohlrabi cilantro salsa ingredients

Kohlrabi is a member of the brassica family and is cousin to vegetables such as cabbage, brussel sprouts and broccoli. Brassica vegetables are so real, you can’t even handle it. They are known for their sulfurous smells and super green taste. Some poor souls are actually turned off by this.

sliced kohlrabi

What haters might not know is just how versatile the family is. They pickle and ferment like bosses, they can be eaten raw in salads or just as is and they’re loaded with good-for-you fibers and minerals. They also rock any stews and stir fries you might want to try.

kohlrabi cilantro salsa mix

Even though kohlrabi looks a bit like the UFO of the vegetable kingdom on the outside, it actually has a very pleasant and sweet taste. If a sweet broccoli ever existed in prehistoric times, it eventually evolved into the kohlrabi.

kohlrabi cilantro salsa

This recipe yields about a gallon of salsa. If you are like me, it will be gone in a few days, but if it is too much for you or your kitchen, use a smaller kohlrabi (or just half) and fewer tomatoes. Adjust measurements for your pleasure. Hang loose.

kohlrabi cilantro salsa1

This is a fairly watery salsa. I do not recommend draining it as much of the flavour lies in the liquid. Dip chips for a snack, top on toast with an egg for brunch or just dig in with a spoon. Serves 15-20 and will keep in your fridge for a week, although it probably won’t last long enough to go bad. Enjoy!

 

Kohlrabi Cilantro Salsa

 

Ingredients

  • 1 large kohlrabi (any colour)
  • 3-4 diced medium tomatoes
  • 1 diced large yellow onion
  • 1 deseeded and diced bell pepper
  • 2-3 minced cloves of garlic
  • 1 washed and chopped bunch of fresh cilantro (including stems)
  • 1 can of black olives
  • 1 can of sweet corn
  • 1-5 chilies (depending on your tolerance… I like it spicy, so I used 5)
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon worstershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon black sesame seeds (for garnish)

Directions

Peel all the skin off the kohlrabi, including the fibrous inner layer, until only the white inside remains. Slice into thin, 5 milimeter slices. Cut the slices into thin sticks and then dice into small pieces.

Place the kohlrabi into a large mixing bowl.

Open the can of olives and drain most of the water (I added a little into my salsa for flavour). Smash olives with the flat side of knife and chop into rough pieces or you could just crush the whole olives in your hands. Add to the kohlrabi. Drain the can of corn and add to the mix.

Add all of the remaining ingredients and mix well. Garnish with cilantro leaves and sesame seeds.

 

Transformation: Spicy Tilapia Quinoa Burgers Crusted With Almond and Hurricane Sandy

Turmeric and Twine2 Comments

With Halloween coming up so soon, I’ve been spending a lot of my free time working on my costume (posts on that to come soon!). Unfortunately, because of the impending destruction of Hurricane Sandy, I might be all dressed up with nowhere to go. Oh Sandy, you’re such a costume block. 

Hurricane Sandy is supposed to reach New York tomorrow evening. We have been warned about possible flooding, power outages and very high winds. There is a possibility that we will lose power for about a week. Eww.

My area of the Berkshires is just outside of the affected region and hopefully shouldn’t be hit too hard. My mum has informed me that our water is connected to the electricity, so if the power goes out, we’ll have no running water. Eww squared. Being in a wooded area, trees fall often. The biggest threat to us that Sandy will throw our way is falling trees. We’ll see how that goes.

fish burger stuff

My transformation recipe this week was inspired by the extra baked tilapia (with a gorgeous tamari, Dijon, garlic and ginger sauce) that I had hanging out in my fridge. Tilapia is a flakey white fish – delicate in flavour and not too fishy. It easily gets overcooked and disappointingly dry, which no one is fond of. I needed to find a way to make the texture more appealing.

 flaked fishfish burger spin

Quinoa provided some answers to my query. The chenopod quinoa is often confused as a grain due to its grain-like appearance. Actually, it is closely related to beets, spinach and tumbleweeds. Light and unique in flavour, quinoa provides many nutrients like phosphorus, iron and calcium.

fish burger crustfish burger rows

I wasn’t concerned about the quinoa overpowering the fish, so I made them into burgers.
fish burger bite

Spicy Tilapia Quinoa Burgers Crusted With Almond

Ingredients

  • 2-3 leftover filets of tilapia
  • 2 cups of cooked quinoa
  • ½ cup oil cured black olives (kalamata will also work)
  • ½ cup dried cranberries
  • 1 or 2 jalapeños
  • 2 small green bell peppers
  • ¼ cup fresh basil
  • 2 small carrots (about 1 cup)
  • 1 cup pickles (2 large spears)
  • 1 cup spinach or arugula
  • 1 cup onion
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tbsp tamari
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tsp fresh ginger
  • ½ to 1 tsp salt
  • crushed almonds (about a cup)

Directions

Preheat oven at 400ºF/200ºC/Gas mark 6

In a bowl, flake the filets into small pieces and add the quinoa.

In a food processor, blend all of the ingredients except the fish, quinoa and crushed almonds. Blend until there are no big chunks.

Mix blended contents with the fish and quinoa.

Form the mix into burgers and coat them with the crushed almonds. Lay your burgers on a lightly oiled pan.

Place in the oven and allow them to bake for about 30 minutes. They should be brown on the outside and not threaten to fall apart if moved.

Immediately place a burger on toast with avocado and alfalfa sprouts and devour.

Makes 8-10 burgers.