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Category: 2026

  • Celtuce, what is it and what do I do with it?

    Celtuce pronounced  ‘sel-tis’.

    Celtuce is an Asian vegetable. To me it tastes like a cross of a cucumber and the thick rib of a romaine lettuce leaf. It has a very concentrated lettuce taste and is very ‘juicy’ and tender. The leaves are a little bitter but very tender. In Asian stores they sell the stem and the leaves separately I guess because they are so different in flavor.

    I would use the leaves like I would radicchio. As the leaves are a little bitter don’t let that scare you off eating the stems if you don’t like bitter vegetables. Just throw the leaves away and move on to the mild tender stems.

    To use the stems you peel them like tough asparagus stock bottoms or even celery. Use a vegetable peeler or just a knife and peel the stringy outside off the tender stock. They peel very easily.

    You can eat celtuce raw alone or in salads like you would celery, carrots or cucumbers, or very quickly stir fry it for a quick side dish, don’t cook it too long or it will turn to mush. You can cut it in coins or in small blocks.

    This looked like an easy tasty recipe I might try soon. I made some egg drop soup and added celtuce to the soup and cooked it for just a minute or two. The mild flavor and texture was perfect with the egg and tofu. Yummy.

    Celtuce stems will keep for a really long time, at least 3 or 4 weeks in plastic in the refrigerator. Cut the top  off if you are storing celtuce.  Don’t peel your stems before storing. Put the stems in a plastic bag and keep them in your vegetable drawer.

    I hope you will try celtuce this week. It’s a mild very approachable vegetable I think you will really like.

    See you at pickup.

    Mo

     

  • Spiralized Kohlrabi and Zucchini

    I know lots of you have spiralizers because every year when zucchinis are plentiful I hear many of you say “Yay zucchini! I’ll spiralize it!!”.

    I don’t have a spiralizer but I borrowed one to see what all the fuss is about and you know what? I loved it! I am not big on kitchen gadgets but I do love my mandolin It’s fast and I love the uniform slices. I wanted to see if I can use a spiralizer the same way I can use a mandolin or even just a knife.

    To test this I made a couple of old recipes I’ll link below, and used the spiralizer instead of chopping or grating the vegetables as called for. You can still chop or grate the vegetables for these or any recipe using a spiralizer, it’s not better-just different.

    I made this broccoli slaw with kohlrabi instead of broccoli. People at pick-up often ask do I do with kohlrabi?  One of my favorite things is to make a slaw. So I thought I would show you how you can sub kohlrabi for broccoli in any dish. Boy what an upgrade the spiralized kohlrabi is in this slaw. The texture is so crisp and clean we couldn’t stop eating it.

    Next I made some zucchini fritters. I make these all the time and grate the zucchini with the food processor. Using the spiralizer was so much easier and much less clean up. There was much less water loss with the spiralizer and more zucchini taste.

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    They look better than when I make them with grated zucchini.

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    I’m going to continue to play with this for a few more days before i return it to my friend. I want to make some ‘zoodles’ and see what that is about. I also  want to try some spiralized turnips with this recipe, one of my favorites.

    What are your thoughts on a spiralizer? Yes or no? Leave a comment or tell me at pick-up.

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    Have a great week.

    Mo

     

     

     

     

     

  • Kohlrabi (What the heck do I do with it?)

    Kohlrabi looks like an alien vegetable doesn’t it? Kohlrabi comes in purple or green verities. The inside of both are the same, white. Both colors taste the same.

    Kohlrabi is a brassica, the bulb portion tastes sort of like the peeled stem of broccoli to me. Or like a very mild sweet radish. It is crisp and tender. The leaves are delicious raw if they are small and young. You can sauté or juice the greens. Just treat them like any leafy green.

    You need to peel the tough outer skin of the kohlrabi bulb for any prep because it is really tough. Don’t worry though, it’s really easy to peel.

    Kohlrabi

    Now you can slice this up and stir fry it, or roast it like you would broccoli. I like kohlrabi raw too. Shred it like cabbage and use it to replace cabbage in any salads or slaw recipe. You can also just sliced and eat it raw like you would carrots or turnips and use it to dip in ranch dressing :) (my favorite).

  • Blistered Shishito Peppers

    Blistered shishito peppers are favorites at Tapa and Sushi Bars. Shishito peppers are a favorite staple crop here at Red Wagon.

    The seeds of most peppers are bitter, you almost always discard them. But the seeds of the Shishito pepper are almost a caviar texture, creamy and succulent and very juicy and part of their appeal. Shishitos are a thin-walled pepper, sort of like sweet peppers, Jimmy Nardelo if you are familiar with those.

    You can grill Shishitos or pan sear them. Both are equally delicious.

    Start by heating a heavy steel or cast iron pan to medium high olive oil slicked in the pan and put your washed peppers in the hot pan.

    Sear the peppers on all sides-it only takes a few minutes so don’t walk away. The peppers will puff up and some even pop open!! that’s ok-they pop and spit sometimes for some reason!

    That is it. A little salt and pepper and maybe a squeeze of lime or lemon and you have a restaurant worthy appetizer or side dish.

    I seared some shrimp and Cajun seasoning with shishitos for a super fast and fancy feeling meal.