Kudos to kholrabi

Between a daughter's wedding and a son's college graduation, plus working full time these days, my blog has been neglected.  Please accept my humble apologies.  But even though I haven't been writing about my garden, I've been working diligently at weeding and planting.

My spring vegetable garden has been providing me with delicious, fresh produce.  I've enjoyed asparagus, and beets, but my favorite spring veggie is one that is never available in the grocery store and rarely grown in anyone's garden.  Most folks in my southern community have never even tasted this flavorful delicacy. 

As a child, we almost always grew kholrabi in our garden.  My brothers and I had permission to pull and eat them whenever we wanted one.  I can remember peeling and eating a kholrabi as if it were an apple. 

Kholrabi is a swollen stem plant in the cabbage family.  When the stem reaches about two inches in diameter, I pull the plant from the ground, and peel the tough outer layer.  My favorite way to serve and eat kholrabi is sliced into crispy, cold chips that taste similar to a mild, sweet cabbage.

In my Alabama backyard, kholrabi grows best in early spring or fall.  When you plant spring snap peas, beets, cabbage, lettuce and greens, try kholrabi!