Kale Kalamata Salad

Curly kale fresh from the farmer’s market pairs wonderfully with Kalamata olives. Massage the raw kale with vinaigrette to break down the cell walls and toss in some carrots and Parmesan for sweetness. Sprinkle with pine nuts and cherry tomatoes and you have a pretty, Mediterranean-themed salad. (Vegans can omit the Parmesan and still enjoy!)

1 head of curly kale

Dressing: 2 Tb olive oil
1 ½ tsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tb brine from olives
¼ tsp dried oregano
a few grinds black pepper

10 pitted Kalamata olives
2 Tb freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 large carrot, peeled and shredded
4 tsp pine nuts
12 cherry tomatoes, halved

Tear kale off of stems and into bite size pieces. Rinse several times, and spin dry in salad spinner. Whisk dressing together and massage kale with dressing and olives until it turns dark and is roughly 1/3 the original size. Add Parmesan and massage into kale. You can let it sit a few hours to let the flavor develop.
Just before serving, mix in grated carrot. Place on plates. Sprinkle with pine nuts and cherry tomatoes halves.

Bright and Crunchy Kale/Broccoli/Carrot Salad

I combined 3 popular salads: kale, broccoli and carrot, into one delicious and nutritious salad. Carrot and jicama add natural sweetness and a bit of crunch, Meyer lemon juice and cilantro brighten the flavor; and almonds give an added crunch.

Kale is quite tough and bitter, but a good massage will break down its cell walls. This cell damage frees the enzymes which break apart the bitter chemical compounds. You can even light candles and put on soothing music to relax the kale.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Broccoli Broccoli stems are very tender once you peel off the tough outer layer. Broccoli salads are made from grating these stems.

I made this with only one bunch of kale, which created a balance between the kale and the other vegetables. If you like your salad with more kale, add another bunch.

Serves 4

1 bunch Dinosaur kale (also known as Tuscan or Lacinato ), or curly kale ,stems discarded

3 large carrots, peeled

3 or 4 broccoli stems, peeled (use crowns for another purpose)

1 small jicama, peeled

2 Tb cilantro leaves, stems discarded

1/4 cup sliced raw almonds

Dressing:

2 Tb garlic-infused olive oil (or 2 Tb olive oil and 1 clove garlic)

¼ cup tahini (sesame seed paste)

¼  tsp salt to taste

2 Tb lemon juice (Meyer lemon is best)

If you don’t have garlic-infused olive oil, pour extra virgin olive oil into a teacup or ramekin with 1 clove garlic and microwave for 1 ½ minutes. Pour into a food processor with blade and run on high until garlic is minced.

Add tahini and salt to garlic olive oil. Run processor on high until dressing is emulsified. It will be  thick.

Strip the leaves from kale and discard the stems. Chop leaves, rinse well in salad spinner and spin dry. Put in a medium bowl.

Roughly squeeze and massage dressing into kale leaves with your hands for several minutes until kale shrinks to half its volume and becomes darker and silky.

Peel carrots, broccoli stems and jicama, then shred using the grater attachment to the food processor.

Add these vegetables and the lemon juice to the kale. Toss salad until the dressing coats it.

Serve immediately, sprinkled with almonds and cilantro leaves. Throw on some pomegranate seeds if they are in season.

Green Eggs and Ham

Perfect to serve to Sam-I-am on Dr. Suess’s birthday, March 2.

serves 2

1 cup whole kale leaves, stems and ribs removed

1 cup spinach leaves , stems removed

1 scallion

1 tsp fresh thyme

4 eggs whipped well

2 Tb milk

2 Tb crumbled feta cheese

1 Tb grated Parmesan cheese

shake salt to taste

grind pepper

Wash all vegetables and mince finely in food processor.

Heat nonstick skillet. Holding butter stick, grease pan, using approx. ¼ tsp butter. Add minced vegetables and sauté over medium heat for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Whip eggs with milk, salt and pepper, and cheeses. Mix  vegetables into eggs. Clean pan and fry up ham slices. Remove ham and coat pan with butter again, then add egg mixture. Push eggs around with spatula so they don’t brown. Cook over medium heat until desired consistency is reached. Serve with ham to Sam-I-am

Say! I like green eggs and ham!
I do! I like them, Sam-I-am!
And I would eat them in a boat.
And I would eat them with a goat,

And I will eat them in the rain.
And in the dark. And on a train.
And in a car. And in a tree.
They are so good, so good, you see!

So I will eat them in a box.
And I will eat them with a fox.
And I will eat them in a house.
And I will eat them with a mouse.
And I will eat them here and there.
Say! I will eat them ANYWHERE!

I do so like
green eggs and ham!
Thank you!
Thank you,
Sam-I-am!

by Dr. Seuss

Making a Pesto Myself with Dino Kale

Isn’t dinosaur kale cool looking? It looks like the scales on a green prehistoric beast. Kale is all the rage these days because it is chock-full of vitamins and minerals. My daughter and I love it, but my husband and son are sick of it. So sometimes I need to be sneaky. I sneaked some dinosaur kale into this pesto, and the guys didn’t even realize it was there. The pesto tasted great and had increased nutritious value. Although I usually make pesto in August from my homegrown basil leaves, I wanted to make this now, when the kale is flavorful from winter frosts.

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups dinosaur kale leaves, stems and ribs discarded

1 ½ cups (1 bunch) fresh whole basil leaves, heavy stems discarded

1 medium clove garlic

¼ cup pine nuts

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

½ tsp sea salt plus 1 tsp for pasta water

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup cooking water from pasta

Heat a medium pot with about 3 qts water and 1 tsp salt to boiling. Add pasta and cook according to package directions.

Remove thick stems and heavy ribs from kale and basil.

Pulse garlic until it’s finely minced. Pulse kale and basil leaves in food processor. Add the pine nuts, grated Parmesan and salt. Pulse until all ingredients are diced very fine. Pour in oil while machine is running. When pasta is cooked, pour in 1/2 water from the pot into the pesto and pulse. Scrape the sides of the processor, then pulse a final time.

Drain pasta and mix in pesto.

I like to saute about 6 quartered mushrooms and stir into the pasta and pesto.

Delicious served cold on salad greens and topped with strawberries

Kale and Bean Soup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s another rainy day soup. I just dreamed it up and made it. Luckily everyone in the family liked it on the first try. The rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano and garlic give it a lovely aroma.

I dice the kale, celery, leeks, and red bell pepper in the food processor for faster prep and cooking. Just discard the kale’s lower thick stems first.

I made this  using dried beans as well. I boiled them in chicken stock for 5 minutes, then transferred them to a crock pot and added the rest of the ingredients. I cooked it on “high” for 3-4 hours until beans and kale are tender. You can also heat the crock pot to high, then tun it to low and  let it cook  while you are at work, or overnight. This way you don’t have to worry about stirring the pot so the cheese won’t stick to the bottom! And homemade beans are so much better than canned ones!

In case there are leftovers, this soup is even better the next day, when flavors have developed even more..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

serves 8 bowls

Ingredients

½ gallon (8 cups) homemade chicken or vegetable stock Roz’s Jewish Chicken Soup (plus a vegan version) (you can use boxed stock, but it won’t be as good!)

1 rind Parmesan cheese

2 bay leaves

1 Tb extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced, or 3 frozen cubes garlic

1 large leek, white and pale green parts only (you can substitute defrosted frozen leeks)

3 ribs celery

1 seeded red bell pepper

1 large carrot, chopped

¼ tsp red pepper flakes for a spicy soup. If you don’t like the heat, use just a shake.

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp fresh rosemary needles, minced

1 teaspoon rubbed sage

1 tsp dried thyme plus 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

several grinds black pepper

1 or 2 bunches kale, finely chopped. I chop the whole thing, leaves and ribs, excluding the thick ribs on the bottom. I’ve used Dinosaur and curly kale. You can substitute frozen chopped kale.

1 29-oz can Great Northern or cannellini (white kidney) beans OR 3 cups dry  beans

1 14-oz can artichoke hearts in water

2 to 3 teaspoons salt to taste (sea salt is nice).

2 Tb Parmesan cheese, freshly grated per bowl

Directions

Heat broth to boiling. If using dry beans, rinse in a sieve, then boil in broth for 5 minutes. Let beans soak in the hot broth while you prepare the herbs and vegetables. If using canned beans, pulse 1/2 of them in the food processor with a bit of broth to thicken the soup. (You can do the same with the dry beans when they are finished cooking.)

While broth is heating, chop  leek, onion, celery, and bell pepper in the food processor in batches, or chop finely by hand. Chop carrot by hand into sticks, then rounds..

Pour olive oil into a frying pan and heat until it shimmers. Add chopped onion and cook on low for 10 minutes until it softens. Add garlic, leeks, celery, bell pepper and carrots to the pan. Cook until the vegetables start to soften. Stir red and black pepper, oregano, sage, and rosemary into the onions and cook a few minutes more.

Discard the tough bottom stems, then chop the kale finely or pulse in food processor. Stir kale. bay leaves and Parmesan rind into soup. Stir in onion mixture. Let cook 20 minutes on medium, until kale is tender, or set in crock pot for several hours.

If using dry beans, simmer for 3-4 hours until beans and kale are tender. You can also heat the crock pot to high, then tun it to low and let it cook all the day or overnight.

Chop artichoke hearts and stir into soup.  Add salt to taste. Discard Parmesan rinds and bay leaves before serving.