Two of the main vegetables that have been on rotation in my kitchen for the past 3 weeks, have been Kohlrabi and Butternut Squash.  I can’t resist buying a squash every time I go to the market, with this wonderful fall weather – and Kohlrabi has been a consistent staple in my (and yours too, I’m sure) CSA basket for the past few weeks.

So, I found this nice little recipe that includes BOTH of these fall favorites!  I just might have to make this one for Thanksgiving – it’s definitely “guest-worthy!”

Ingredients:

• 2 medium kohlrabi (1 1/4 lb with greens or  3/4 lb without)
• 1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 lb butternut squash
• Shallow heavy baking pan

Preparation:

Put oven rack just below middle position and put baking pan on rack, then preheat oven to 450°F. (If roasting vegetables along with turkey, preheat pan for 15 minutes while turkey roasts, then roast vegetables underneath turkey.)

Trim and peel kohlrabi, then cut into 3/4-inch pieces. Toss kohlrabi with 1/2 tablespoon oil, 1/2 teaspoon thyme, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and pepper in a bowl. Transfer kohlrabi to preheated pan in oven and roast 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel butternut squash, then quarter lengthwise, seed, and cut into 3/4-inch pieces. Toss squash with remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil, 1/2 teaspoon thyme, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and pepper in same bowl.

Stir kohlrabi, turning it, then push it to one side of pan.

Add squash to opposite side of pan and roast, stirring and turning squash over halfway through roasting, until vegetables are tender and lightly browned, about 30 minutes total (after squash is added).

Toss vegetables to combine and transfer to a dish.

Cooks’ note:  Kohlrabi and butternut squash can be cut 1 day ahead and chilled in separate sealed plastic bags.

Recipe found here:  http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Roasted-Kohlrabi-and-Butternut-Squash-236414

Thanks to all who came out for the Fall Planting Party at Tant Hill Farm this past Sunday!  It was great fun!

Gina said that, all total, we got over 600 plants in the ground!   How great is it to know that we will be enjoying those salad greens in just a few weeks?  Grow, baby, grow!

After planting, we enjoyed some fantastic Pie Slingers Pizza, farm fresh greens, homemade tea, and s’mores galore, all while being entertained by the very talented Amy and Bruce!

We finished out the night with a large (incredibly large, actually) bonfire.

Roasting marshmallows became a full-contact sport… this little guy spent most of the night on his stomach…

A HUGE thanks to Mark and Gina for hosting such a wonderful night for us co-growers and lovers of all things local!

I don’t know about you, but I sure do love knowing my farmers!

Hello Co-Growers!

You are invited to join us  for a…

Tant Hill Farm – Fall Planting Party

Sunday, October, 21st

Planting:  3:30-5:30 pm

Pizza, Bonfire, & Music:  5:30-8:30 pm

Bring your favorite drink, we will have the ice and cups.

If you want to bring the kids remember this is a farm and because this is a last minute attempt to pull this off we don’t have events that will keep them occupied, so it will be on you.

Feel free to come for the planting at 3:30pm and stay all evening, or just come for the pizza and bonfire if that works better for you!

We hope you can make it given this last minute invite. Sometimes these impromptu occasions turn out the best!

DIRECTIONS:

We are about 30 minutes from St Elmo straight down Hwy 193 at

Tant Hill Farm

3698 Hwy 337

LaFayette, GA

It is a straight shot south of St Elmo. You will turn right at the third traffic light ( not including flashing yellow). From that light our driveway is 3.4 miles on the right. When you come in follow the driveway off to the right and park in the front.

We’d like to order the pizza from Lupi’s on Saturday so that we can bake it fresh on Sunday so please let us know as soon as you can by RSVPing to info@tanthillfarm.com , or by giving us a call. 423-637-9793

Hope to see you on Sunday!

All the best,

Mark and Gina

I get so excited every time I see kale in my CSA basket!  I especially love the Red Russian Kale that we received this week!

Here is my most favorite Kale recipe, though I can’t claim any credit – it was created by Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks.  I love just about every recipe in her cookbook:  Super Natural Every Day.

Kale Salad

By:  Heidi Swanson

1/3 cup – extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp – toasted sesame oil

2 tbsp – shoyu, tamari, or soy sauce (I use soy sauce)

3 1/2 lightly packed cups – chopped kale, stems trimmed, large ribs removed

1 1/2 cups – unsweetened large-flake coconut (I use this, from Greenlife or Earth Fare)

2 cups of cooked farro or other whole grain (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil, sesame oil, and soy sauce.  Put the kale and coconut in a large bowl and toss well with about 2/3 of the olive oil mixture.

Spread the kale evenly across a baking sheet.  Bake for 12-18 minutes, until the coconut is deeply golden brown, tossing once or twice along the way.  

Remove from the oven and transfer the kale mixture to a medium bowl, toss with additional olive oil mixture, if desired.  Place the farro or whole grain on a serving platter and top with the tossed kale.  Serve warm.

It’s delicious!  And heats up well for lunch the next day!