What's a girl to do on a Friday afternoon in January with nothing but snow in the forecast? Turn on WWOZ and make a pot of New Orleans Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo. Yea you right!

I harvested our very first parnsip tonight, right as the sun was setting and casting a warm glow over the high tunnel. These babies were planted almost exactly 120 days ago, sometime during the 2nd week of July. I had planned to throw one of the roots into the skillet for dinner and wanted it fresh and right from the ground, so I ran outside to harvest it minutes before dusk.

Kohlrabi, a vegetable with a beautiful name and a fresh, sweet earthy flavor. The taste is true, but a direct translation of its name is simply 'cabbage-turnip' (kohl-cabbage, rapa-turnip), not really so striking as the German. Admittedly, I've never cooked with kolhrabi, but when a chef-friend picked me up a few packs of heirloom seeds at Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds on a summer trip to California, I couldn't wait to get the Early Vienna Purple Kohlrabi seeds in the ground in hopes of a fall harvest.

I harvested Natacha Escarole on Sunday and one of the heads was almost a pound! Escarole is a member of the Chicory family and cultivated for well over 5,000 years. The ancients believed it aided in digestion (and they were right!). And in more recent history, it’s a seasonal staple in Sicilian kitchens. Escarole helps maximize energy and is high in folate, calcium and fiber. Escarole is a versatile vegetable and can be used in all kinds of dishes. I've tried it in minestrone, cannellini bean soup, and in a sautee of vegetables, but never just fresh.

One is spinach + cheese and the other is cheese. They are both fantabulous, oozing with butter and they are two of my favorite things to make and eat. They are Greek finger foods, small triangles of crispy bliss. A bit labor intensive, but totally worth it.