Kohlrabi, pak choi, summer squash

If you were to ask my children what I cooked for dinner back when they were growing up, they probably wouldn't remember a single everyday dish (except maybe packaged "Annie's Shells", served up when I was particularly frustrated by having a child whose tastebuds mystified me). The kids might remember a holiday feast or a Christmas cookie, but the meals we so regularly shared? Not a one.  I think it's because I cook the same way I quilt (I am a quilter by profession): I take a look around to see what materials I have available to me, and I try to come up with the best way to use them. It's never the same thing twice. 

That thought process lends itself to cooking with CSA share ingredients, and that's why I'm beginning this blog. I'm not the first, the only, or the best to put these ideas out there. Even so, if I write about what I make each week with the share of veggies we receive, it may inspire similar creations or save someone from similar disastrous experiments--either way, I hope it helps. Here goes:

Yesterday we picked up our box of vegetables. This morning I contemplated last week's wilting pak choi and decent-looking kohlrabi (I had already blanched and frozen the leaves, so only the bulbs remained). How can I make a meal out of this? Easy! How can I make a meal that I will find satisfying and tasty? Now we're getting down to the problem.

Here's where my solution began: I'm part Irish, and I never met a potato I didn't like. So...

Wash and cut into chunks four medium red potatoes. Then slice, peel, and cut into chunks two kohlrabi bulbs. Simmer both together in a large pot of salted water. Rinse and dry all of the share's arugula and bag it for use during the week--but save out a handful. Peel three cloves of garlic. Finally, put the handful of arugula, garlic, and the drained potatoes/kohlrabi into a food processor and pulse, pulse, pulse away until all is mashed. Salt and pepper to taste. (I saved the cooking water for making a stock later when the weather isn't so warm; for now, it's in the freezer.)

While the veggies simmer--and it only takes 15 minutes or so--chop the pak choi and one of this week's yellow summer squashes, steaming them together in the microwave.

Serving suggestion:
This was our supper: a bed of mashed potato/kohlrabi, with chopped summer squash/pak choi over it, with a lemon-butter sauce (or a "beurre blanc" or any other sauce that spruces up the blandness of the squash/pak choi) over that. You could also use bit of grated cheese. A chopped tomato salad with mint, feta, and the rest of last week's mizuna rounded out the meal.

Notes:

--The potato combination is a variation on the Irish dish called "colcannon", which is made with cabbage or kale and potatoes.

--If you have family members who dislike little green flecks in their food, leave out the arugula. It's still good, and the kohlrabi disappears into the mashed potato.

--My husband and I are not large people, so this meal was enough for us, but you can add meat, hard-boiled egg, beans, nuts, etc. to "beef up" the calories! Not to mention dessert...
--Leftover kohlrabi/potato mixture?  Freeze it, and later when the weather cools down, add chicken broth to it to make an excellent soup.