mystery solved

So, remember when I went to go buy kale and couldn't find any so I bought collared greens and some other mystery leafy green stuff that was attached to a giant bulbous thing?  Yeah, well tonight I decided to try cooking it.  After Googling "leafy greens attached to bulb like kale" I immediately found out that it's called kohlrabi thanks to this handy dandy guide of cooking greens from Epicurious.  The leafy greens are just like kale or collards in that they need to be majorly washed before cooking and need to cook for a pretty good amount of time.  Also, like all greens, they cook down a whole lot so plan on buying quite a few bunches if you want more than a few bites.  However, unlike some other members of kohlrabi's family, it's got that giant bulb on the end and you know what?  You can eat that, too!  Yup, you just need to cut off all the sticky bits and kind of peel it and voila, eat up.  It can be eaten raw or cooked and if you're in the mood to warm it up, it can be steamed, roasted or even pureed.  Apparently, it's quite popular in Kashmiri cuisine but, since it was already 7PM and I was too tired to get crazy experimental, I decided I'd make an attempt at munji hakh next time.  And that won't be a problem since that huge giant bunch of greens and bulby thing only cost a dollar ninety-nine - pretty good deal if you ask me.  Instead, I whipped up some brown rice topped with a spicy soy and peanut stir-fry loaded with sesame, garlic, onions, corn, edamame, broccoli, tofu, shrimp and, of course, cubed kohlrabi root as well as chopped kohlrabi leaves.  It's cheap, it's high in potassium and vitamin C and it tastes pretty darn good.  The bulb is light and crunchy with a flavor that reminds me of water chestnuts and added a much needed crunch to the mix.  The leaves are tender and have a bitter, peppery taste kind of like an arugula.  I'm definitely into these leafy greens for the fall and winter months and plan on experimenting with all of them.  I can just picture long stewed pots of green soupy goodness and veggie loaded stews to warm me up as it gets chillier.

Have you entered the costume contest yet?  Only a couple more days to submit your entry and win some amazing baked goodness... if you're lucky, I might even deliver it to you in my smokin' hot flamingo costume!  Get those entries in kiddos and oh yeah, happy November!