VEGANMOFO 2009: Experiments with Kohlrabi and Cranberries

The "Week of New" continues.

Ever made anything with kohlrabi before? I hadn't. I wouldn't have been able to describe it before this week if you had asked. Well, I intended to roast this root vegetable, but upon taking a nibble and discovering its delightful radish-y flavor, I had a change of mind. This salad is a fairly quick meal to throw together and is filling and healthy. The cranberry sauce is also very quick and, my oh my, your kitchen will smell lovely with this cooking away on the stove. I had never prepared fresh cranberries before- what a delightful surprise!

Kohlrabi Salad with Baked Tofu and Apples

Salad Ingredients:
1/2 kohlrabi, peeled and cut into strips
1 apple, diced (I used honeycrisp, but any apple works well- especially Granny Smith!)
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
greens mix (preferably one with arugula)

Baked tofu, cut into strips(kohlrabi)

Baked Tofu Ingredients:
1 lb extra firm tofu
tamari to taste (~1.5 tbsp)
apple cider vinegar to taste (~1.5 tbsp)
extra virgin olive oil to taste (~1.5 tbsp)
pepper to taste

Dressing Ingredients:
nutritional yeast
apple cider vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the tofu rectangles on a baking sheet and pour tamari, vinegar, and olive oil generously over the top. Add pepper to taste. Bake for 30-ish minutes, or until desired texture. (I like mine semi-crispy.)

2. While the tofu is baking, mix up the salad dressing. All amounts are to taste. I like a lot of nooch, so my dressing is pretty thick and creamy.

3. Assemble the salad! Top with dressing.

Fresh Cranberry Sauce with Pineapple

Ingredients:
2 cups cranberries (I used half red, half white cranberries)
1 cup water
4-6 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup frozen (or fresh) pineapple in chunks

Directions:

1. Cook the cranberries in the water and sugar over medium-low heat until most of the water is gone. Add the pineapple and additional sugar if needed. That's it!

Review:
Kohlrabi is crisp and crunchy and added a great texture/taste to the salad. The light bitterness of the kohlrabi really complimented the peppery flavor of the arugula, the sweetness of the apples, and the occasional punch from the red onion. Also, the baked tofu came out perfectly. I make this quite frequently, but am often too impatient to let it get as firm as I really like. A REALLY good meal. Highly recommended!

The cranberry/pineapple combination was really, really nice too!