Plant-based diets?

[OakLeaf]

Major supermarkets where there's a large east Asian population I suppose. We can get bok choy and daikon and sometimes yukina savoy locally in season, bok choy reliably at the grocery store and daikon occasionally, and that's it. Any of the other vegetables it's 70 miles to the nearest Asian grocery, and there, if the vegetables are even labelled as to where they were grown, it's in a language I can't begin to read.

I do love bitter melon though...

Joining a CSA is as great way to expand your repertoire of vegetables - you have to eat them whether you think you like them, or know how to cook them, or not.

Then there's just planting something to find out what the heck it is. I've got a short row of salsify just sprouting. My soil is pretty clayey and root vegetables don't typically do all that well, but I was tired of looking at the stuff in seed catalogs and having no idea what it tastes like. (Especially when some people describe the flavor as "oyster" and others as "artichoke hearts." )

[Catrin]

I've been trying to get a new veggie every week that I've not eaten before. This week it was Green Kohlrabi - surprisingly tasty both raw and roasted, there seemed a hint of horseradish. This is how I've discovered and come quickly to prefer Bok Choy and Watercress. I did save the greens from the Kohlrabi as I assume they are edible but I need to look that up.

I wasn't quite brave enough for the Daikon radish, I don't care for regular radishes for some odd reason. I do enjoy spice and horseradish so I really should like them...

[shootingstar]

I did save the greens from the Kohlrabi as I assume they are edible but I need to look that up.

I remember looking it up. I don't recall it being ok to eat the kohlrabi greens.

Ah I forgot about that veggie of my childhood. My parents grew a whole garden of it! Rediscovered with my partner. A sample of how I prepare kohl rabi..

Daikon, cooked will not taste "spicy" which I never thought the daikon I bought tasting spicy raw compared to the red radishes.

[OakLeaf]

Kohlrabi is a cole vegetable, and the greens are edible, but they're usually very tough. (Easily tested with a nibble.) The smaller inner greens are more likely to be tender. If the greens are as tough as usual, you can shred them and toss them in a stew where they'll cook for a while. Or just put them in the freezer for stock with the rest of your vegetable scraps.


My CSA posted a recipe for daikon pancakes, basically the same as zucchini pancakes. They were yummy, and you're right, cooking does take a lot of the bite out of the radish. I'm not a big radish fan so I was happy for that recipe. I ended up throwing all my red radishes into soups, too.

One thing I won't eat is radish greens. Yuk. I just put those in the compost heap.

[Catrin]

Thanks for the tip re: kohlrabi greens - I was going to check it out before I tried it I will just add them to my freezer bag of stuff for vegetable stock.

[shootingstar]

y CSA posted a recipe for daikon pancakes, basically the same as zucchini pancakes. They were yummy, and you're right, cooking does take a lot of the bite out of the radish.

That daikon pancake ....sounds abit like the daikon panfried cake that one finds in dim sum section for restaurants/Chinese supermarket hot food deli areas.

I bought bitter melon today and stir fried it with a small amount of lean beef, with daikon , red pepper, onion, garlic and ginger root with fresh steamed light Chinese noodles. I have not been to the Chinese supermarket for the last 6 months so certain things I had to get. Just lazy me, that's all.

But other Asian groceries I got during the winter months, they are in all the major national and regional chain stores in the cities where I've lived.

(Fresh noodles are just that: they are al dente and just need to be lightly boiled to be edible. Only under 10 min. Then use in consomme soups, stir fries.)

[Catrin]

Thanks for the tips on Daikon, I will try it. My local Meijers features an amazing range of vegetables from all over the world, so it is never difficult to find something new to try. The problem is to figure out what to do with it - but that is what the internet is for

Eventually I want to try home delivery of local organic veggies, it is actually pretty affordable but I am trying to keep things as simple as possible right now. Besides, then I wouldn't be faced with the choice of which of those odd looking new veggies will I try? I figure if I can steam, sautee, or roast it I am game to try it

[Owlie]

Thanks for the tips on Daikon, I will try it. My local Meijers features an amazing range of vegetables from all over the world, so it is never difficult to find something new to try. The problem is to figure out what to do with it - but that is what the internet is for

Eventually I want to try home delivery of local organic veggies, it is actually pretty affordable but I am trying to keep things as simple as possible right now. Besides, then I wouldn't be faced with the choice of which of those odd looking new veggies will I try? I figure if I can steam, sautee, or roast it I am game to try it

Meijer has quite a bit! It's a little better than the Kroger here unless I want organic produce beyond the boxed salad greens. It's not great if you want the more exotic stuff on a regular basis (though I did see some unusual squash, beans, etc when I moved here last August), but it's not bad.

[Owlie]

I've never found daikon to be spicy, even raw. Catrin, it's mild and almost slightly sweet, so go ahead and try it. It's pretty good with dip too--almost like chips because it's crunchy, but not bad for you! It's also good raw with a sprinkling of soy sauce for salt.

Shootingstar, at least in this part of Ohio, and even in Cincinnati (a more diverse city), we can only reliably get bok choy and daikon (and that only semi-reliably). If I were to drive down to the GIANT international grocery store in Cincy (which is inconvenient even from my parents' house), I might be able to find a bit more.

Oak, I actually cooked radish greens this evening...albeit in bacon grease. Not bad, but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat them...