Don't let this vegetable's weird, alien-like appearance intimidate you! Part bulb, part greens, Kohlrabi is like a cross between a radish, jicama, broccoli, and collard greens. It can be eaten raw or cooked and both the stem and leaves are also edible. 

Also called German turnip, kohlrabi is a biennial vegetable commonly eaten in German-speaking countries and American states with large ancestral German populations such as Michigan and Minnesota. 

Kohlrabi is a member of the cabbage family, and as such, comes with this family’s signature sweet-but-peppery flavor profile. The skin has the rubbery texture of broccoli stems and can be white, light green, or bright purple. The insides are usually a creamy white.

Cut off the leaves, wrap them in a damp paper towel, and place in a plastic bag. The leaves can be refrigerated for three to four days. Store the kohlrabi head in your refrigerator's vegetable drawer for a week or more. 
Tips on how to cut it up:

1. ​After you remove the leaves and stems, slice in half: Cut the kohlrabi head in half down through its center.
2. Slice into quarters: Place the halved kohlrabi cut side down and slice into quarters.
3. Cut out the core: Use the tip of your knife to cut at an angle through the core. Discard the tough center.
4. Peel the kohlrabi: Now that you have small, manageable quarters, use a sharp vegetable peeler to remove the tough skin. If the skin feels particularly thick and rubbery, you can peel it, but otherwise, you can leave the skin on.

The kohlrabi bulb can then be sliced into thick or thin rounds, cubes or into match sticks to use in recipes or eaten raw as a snack. 

• Slice paper-thin and drizzle with good olive oil and sea salt. Serve it as an appetizer or side salad. 
• Serve thin slices artichoke-style with a remoulade or garlic-butter sauce for dipping.
• Raw matchsticks of kohlrabi make a great addition to salads or slaws.
• Roast cubes or wedges in the oven. The kohlrabi turns sweet and a bit caramelized in the high heat of the oven, making a great side dish for steak, grilled fish, or almost any main course dinner.
• Stir fry bite-sized pieces, add them to soups, or steam them.
• Kohlrabi is ready to eat when it is tender. Sprinkle with salt, olive oil, and lemon juice for a simple presentation.

Source: thekitchn.com

Brussels sprouts are so misunderstood: They've long been cast aside as a lame bitter vegetable hated by kids and adults alike. Now, they're finally getting their due with creative recipes that turn them into tiny slider buns, cheddar-loaded crostinis, and more. 

Named after the Belgian city where they were first cultivated centuries ago, ​Brussels sprouts are actually native to the Mediterranean region. The edible sprouts grow like buds in helical patterns along the side of long, thick stalks of about 24 to 47 inches in height, maturing over several weeks from the lower to the upper part of the stalk. 

While Brussels sprouts may look like baby cabbage, they are actually a vegetable variety of their own, but in the same family as cabbage-cruciferous vegetables. Like other cruciferous vegetables, Brussels sprouts are a great source of folate. They are loaded with fiber, vitamins A, K, C and low in calories.

Do not wash or trim sprouts before refrigerating them. Yellow or wilted outer leaves may be removed before storage, however. Refrigerate Brussels sprouts in plastic bag up to 1 week.

Preparing Brussels sprouts for cooking begins with cutting the buds off the stalk and removing any surplus stem and loose surface leaves. Once cut and cleaned, the buds are typically cooked by boiling, steaming, stir frying, grilling, slow cooking or roasting. To ensure even cooking throughout, select buds of a similar size. Some cooks make a single cut or a cross in the center of the stem to allow the heat to penetrate the solid core so that it cooks as quickly as the leaves.

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon, cut into 1" pieces
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 lb. brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 large eggs

Directions

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until crispy. Turn off heat and transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Keep most of bacon fat in skillet, removing any black pieces from pan.
2. Turn heat back to medium and add onion and brussels sprouts to the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften and turn golden. Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
3. Add 2 tablespoons of water and cover skillet. Cook until brussels sprouts are tender and water has evaporated, about 5 minutes. (If all the water evaporates before the brussels sprouts are tender, add more water to skillet and cover for a couple minutes more.) Add garlic to skillet and cook until fragrant, 1 minute.
4. Using a wooden spoon, make four holes in the hash to reveal bottom of skillet. Crack an egg into each hole and season each egg with salt and pepper. Replace lid and cook until eggs are cooked to your liking, about 5 minutes for a just runny egg. 
5. Sprinkle cooked bacon bits over entire skillet and serve warm.ee Shallots

Romanesco broccoli, also known as Roman cauliflower, Broccolo Romanesco, or simply Romanesco, is an edible flower bud of the species Brassica oleracea. First documented in Italy, it is chartreuse in color. Romanesco has a striking appearance because its form is a natural approximation of a fractal (you are totally allowed to nerd out on that).

​When compared to a traditional cauliflower, its texture as a vegetable is far more crunchy, and its flavor is not as assertive, being delicate and nutty.

Keep unwashed Romanesco in a plastic zip-top bag in the fridge; you can chop it into florets, but rinse just prior to using. It'll start to lose quality after a week, we recommend cooking it within 2-3 days of receiving it (you'll probably be so excited to cook it that you won't want to wait, anyway!).

• Blanch the florets and then shock in an ice bath to lock in that vibrant color. (They'll become muted if you skip the shocking step.) Add the pre-cooked Romanesco to salads, veggie trays, or even cold noodle dishes.
  
• It goes very well with pasta. Keep it simple with a hard, aged cheese and olive oil, or get fancy with something more saucy and complicated.
  
• Try it roasted or sautéed in olive oil with onions and garlic. Serve it on a sausage sandwich or an Italian sub. Don't be afraid of getting a little char on the veggie; it can stand up to the flavor.
  
• Break it into florets and pickle them with garlic.

The most important thing to remember: Don't overcook it. You want to maintain the vegetable's unique shape, not turn it to mush.
Source: Bon Appetit

Get your kids in the kitchen (and away from the candy bowl) this month with some spooky new ways to make some of your favorite recipes. Most of what you need to recreate these Halloween treats is in our webstore. From ghostly pizza dough to mummy dogs and all the crudité to build a veggie skeleton, we have you covered*. 

​Check out our Pinterest holidays board for even more inspiration.  
​

• Creepy Mini Halloween Pizzas
• Butternut Squash and Walnut Soup
• Eyeball Pasta
• Mummy Dogs
• Skeleton and Brain Dip

​*Items available in the FreshFix webstore are in bold text.

Make pizza night even more fun with creative and scary toppings. Use kitchen scissors to cut jack-o-lantern shapes out of pepperoni and bell peppers. Transform black olives into spiders or vampire hair. Cut mozzarella into strips and lay them out to look like mummy bandages. 
Ingredients​

• ​Salvatore's Pizza Dough Mix
• Salvatore's Pizza Sauce
• Golden Age Fresh Mozzarella
• Other pizza toppings: pepperoni, olives, bell peppers, onion

Directions

1. Prepare dough according to package instructions. Divide dough into 4 portions.
2. Roll or pat each portion into an 8-inch circle and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 5-6 minutes -- dough will be just set and only lightly browned on the bottom.
3. Spread each crust with pizza sauce.
4. Top with desired toppings to make fun Halloween designs!
5. Bake for an additional 5-8 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.

​Incorporate one of our favorite fall flavors - Butternut Squash - into this festive, kid-pleasing weeknight meal. You can make your own stock too with our Chicken Stock Bags from Erba Verde Farms and your vegetable scraps!

​Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1/2 onion diced
• 1 butternut squash peeled and cubed
• 32 ounces chicken or vegetable broth 
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Directions

1. In a large pot, sauté garlic and onion in olive oil until onions are translucent (about 5 minutes). 
2. Add butternut squash, broth, and cream. Bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover, and allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes until squash is soft.
3. Pour contents of pot into blender. Add walnuts and salt. Blend until pureed. 
4. Pour into bowls. Fill a plastic bag with sour cream, carefully cut the corner off, and pipe three circles in each soup bowl. Use a wooden skewer (or knife) to pull and drag out from the center to create the spider web from the sour cream. Top with a walnut half. 

You'll need straws in various sizes to create the creepy eye balls for this super simple pasta dish from Spend with Pennies. Check out her edible eyeball how-to here.
Ingredients

• Spinach Linguini from The Pasta Peddler​
• Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Sauce from The Pasta Peddler​
• Shtayburne Farms Mozzarella Cheese Sticks
• Olives or dark skinned veggies like zucchini, eggplant or cucumber

Directions

1. Slice string cheese about ¼″ thick. Cut the olives in half lengthwise.
2. Using the straws cut circles out of the cheese discs, using the same straw, cut pieces out of the olives. Place the olive pieces in the cheese pieces to make eyeballs.
3. Cook pasta according to directions. Top with a serving of pasta sauce and add eyeballs on top.

This fun Halloween spin on the classic pigs in a blanket turns regular hot dogs into mummy hot dogs by wrapping them in pizza dough.
Ingredients

• ​Salvatore's Pizza Dough Mix
• ​The Piggery Pig Dogs

Directions

1. Prepare dough according to package instructions. 
2. Cut the dough into 1/4 inch strips. Wrap the pieces of dough around each hot dog creating bandages by stretching the dough slightly and letting it overlap and criss-cross. You don’t completely cover the hot dog, leave gaps so it looks like a mummy peeking out from its bandages.
3. Place each wrapped hot dog on a baking sheet and then bake for 10-12 minutes or until the dough is golden brown and hot dogs are warmed through.

​Skip the sweet this Halloween and go for the savory with our Skeleton and Brain Dip. Our Skeleton and Brain Dip recipe includes hummus for the skeleton's brains and fresh veggies for the skeleton's limbs!

Ingredients

• 1/2 leaf lettuce leaf
• Ithaca Hummus
• 4 cups assorted cut-up fresh vegetables (red and yellow bell pepper strips, cucumber slices, snow peas, mushroom slices, celery sticks, carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes, broccoli florets, cauliflower florets)

Directions

1. Line half of small bowl with lettuce for the skeleton's hair; fill with hummus. Place at one end of large tray or baking sheet for the skeleton's head.
2. Arrange vegetables on tray to resemble skeleton's body.