This week, my CSA share introduced me to a delicious new vegetable—the green, leafy Kalette. It’s a blend of Brussels sprouts and kale, bunched like sprouts and leafy like kale. The sprouts vary in size because of how they grow on the plant stalk. They can be sauteéd, roasted, or eaten raw. For recipe ideas: http://www.kalettes.com/cooking-and-recipes.aspx
I got good results roasting my Kalettes with olive oil, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper. (I like my sprouts a little spicy.) The leafy parts of the sprouts got crispy—sort of like kale chips. I picked up another bag of them a week later because they turned out so well the first time. The second time I made them the same way, but I left them whole instead of cutting them in half. They turned out better, and it was less work.
Kalettes/Scott Knutson
There also was okra this week, much to my delight. I grew up in North Carolina and I’m a Southern girl at heart, despite my family’s Midwestern roots. Okra always reminds me of home. Personally, my favorite way to eat okra is stewed with tomatoes and spices, and this recipe was delicious.
My mom used to make homemade applesauce to serve with pork chops, and I think of her every time I make homemade applesauce . I don’t know why I don’t make it more often—it’s so easy. The best part about it is that it’s customizable. I don’t like my applesauce too sweet, and, although I usually put cinnamon in it, I often try other spice combinations.
The corn season is ending, and soon it will be time for squash and pumpkins. I took advantage of the bag of tomatoes and ears of corn to make a dry-rubbed flank steak with grilled corn salsa. Soon I’ll have to put away the grilling recipes and turn to the soups and stews.