Vegging Out

A glorious autumn day without a whole lot of agenda. I spent most of it hanging out with B, which is always a fine thing to do.

This morning, we went down to the Hollywood Farmers' Market. It looks a lot different in early November than it does in early September. A bunch of the farmer stalls have been replaced by crafter stalls. Those farmers that are still there are pushing squash like there's no tomorrow. I, myself, am not a huge fan of squash and am even less of a fan of huge squash. And most of the squashes they were selling were huge. Some were the size and shape of a standard watermelon and had rather offputting pale pink skin. They must have weighed well over 20 lb. What on Earth are you supposed to do with something like that? I've heard or read that some of these monsters have to be cut with a chainsaw. Squash just isn't worth that kind of bother. Sorry.

One farmer did persuade me with very little effort to buy some kohlrabi. I've eyed it with interest on many occasions. I like the cut of its jib, but I was never certain just what I might be getting myself into if I bought it. For starters, which part or parts of it are even edible? You eat only the "swollen stem," as this Web site helpfully elucidates. That doesn't exactly sound very appetizing, though.

I found a simple recipe for braising it, and it turns out that kohlrabi is pretty turnippy. Fine by me. I like turnips and all other scorned and/or out-of-style vegetables like rutabagas, parsnips, beets, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts. So kohlrabi is a keeper. And I am now inspired to try other poorly understood winter vegetables. Next up? Celeriac. The name makes it sound boring as hell, but I hear it's tasty.

Today's Random NaBloPoMo blog: Villa Grammatica