Cherry & Sunflower Seed Kale Salad -- #3 Kale Salad

Confession:

I am definitely slowing down on this final stretch to Baby Boy's arrival so bear with me.

I do not plan to forsake our blog but likely the posts will be farther between.

I apologize!

We did enjoy this salad very much.  We have a soft spot for dried cherries as my sister's family lives in Michigan so we get access to the BEST cherries.  The northerners can buy them at Meijer & us southerners (if lucky) can buy them on-line here.  We buy the 4 lb box & you have to buy them in season -- June or July.  However, you can find dried cherries in our groceries stores, too!

Cherry & Sunflower Seed Kale Salad

Dressing:

1-1/2 Tablespoons cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon honey

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Combine dressing & toss with 5 ounces kale, 1/4 cup dried cherries, 1/4 cup sliced red onion and 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds.

(Another Cooking Light recipe.)

Caesar Salad with Kale -- #2 Kale Salad

This kale salad was a hit with us!  We loved the Caesar twist.

One of the ingredients in the dressing is anchovy paste. 

Do not be scared off by this -- and don't omit it!

This is the kind that we can find in our grocery here.

Caesar Kale Salad

Serves 4

Combine Dressing:

2 Tablespoons hot water

2 Tablespoons Mayo

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 grated garlic clove (or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder)

Stir in 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese. Add 5 ounces kale (or lots more like us!); toss.  Top with toasted cubed baguette.



Recipe from Cooking Light Jan/Feb 2014 issue

A Swerve Back to Healthy Eating -- KALE!

Holidays are over & healthy eating is back!  I cut out an article from the most recent Cooking Light magazine.  It's called "6 Super Kale Salads".  I prepared Freddie that he was going to be served alot of kale because I wanted to try them all!  Here's our first one:

Kale Salad -- Variation One

Apple & Cheddar

Serves 6

Dressing:

1 Tablespoon cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt

Rinse & break up 6 cups of Lacinato (dinosaur) kale. (Any variety of kale will work.)  Add 1 small, thinly sliced sweet apple.  Whisk dressing & pour on greens.  Toss salad.  Top with shredded extra-sharp white cheddar cheese.



Kale Fried Rice

I wish I was a better photographer, but trust me, this is worth trying!  I feel like an advertiser for the food blog: www.iowagirleats.com but this, also, came from there.  We had it last week & I am planning on making it again this week.  The recipe calls for "mirin", a sort of sweet rice wine.  Being that I have an aversion to cluttering my refrigerator & pantry with one time used items, I chose to substitute.  I used 2 T of white wine & 1-1/2 tsp sugar.

3/4 cup rice of choice

1-1/2 cups chicken broth

4 cups of kale (next time I will use a lot more!)

4 cups water

1/2 tsp salt

1 T oil

1/2 small onion, minced

4 garlic cloves, minced

Sesame seeds, for garnish, opt.

For sauce:

2 T mirin (or 2 T white wine + 1-1/2 tsp sugar)

2 T soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp maple syrup

Stir sauce ingredients together & save for later.  Cook rice in chicken broth according to instructions on package or use rice cooker (a 'staple' appliance in my kitchen).  When rice has 15 minutes left, boil water & salt in a large skillet or wok on medium-high heat. Add kale & cook no more than 4 minute, until tender. Drain.  When kale is cool enough, squeeze out water. I "unglobbed" the kale & tore it into bits.  Return empty skillet/wok to heat.  Heat oil & then add onions.  Saute about 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Onions should be brown & be tender.  Add garlic & saute one minute more.  Add kale, saute 2 minutes.  Add rice & toss to combine.  And lastly, add sauce & take a deep wiff!!  Optional: season with sesame sees.  YUM!

Potato Soup with Kale

This basic potato soup recipe comes from my first cookbook I owned -- Betty Crocker!

Serves : 5 (or 3 servings for us!)

3 medium potatoes (about 1 pound)

1 can (14-1/2 oz) chicken broth (~1-3/4 c)

(Good tip on broth: http://greatlettuce.blogspot.com/2012/10/just-kitchen-tip.html)

2 medium green onions with tops (I put in more)

1-1/2 cups milk

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp dried thyme leaves

PLUS optional:

Ham & Kale

Peel potatoes & cut into medium pieces.  Heat broth & potatoes to boiling in saucepan over high heat, stirring occasionally so the potatoes don't stick.  Once mixture is boiling, reduce heat just enough so mixture bubbles gently.  Cover & cook about 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.  While potatoes are cooking, peel and thinly slice green onions.  When the potatoes are done, remove from heat, but do not drain.  Break poatoes into smaller pieces with potato masher or large fork.  The mixture should still be lumpy.  Stir in milk, salt, pepper, thyme, onions, ham & kale (desired amounts).  Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until hot & steaming.  Do not let soup boil.

Kale ~ Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner.

You know you are a farmer when you have kale at all three meals in one day!  That was me today. 

Breakfast was a delicious Green Monster Smoothie packed with kale. (http://greatlettuce.blogspot.com/2012/10/green-monster-smoothies.html)

Lunch was Potato Soup with Kale.

I used my basic potato soup recipe & added kale & ham. 

Delish for sure!

Supper was Grilled Chicken with Kale Fried Rice.

We scarfed this one down.  The one drawback : I should have doubled the recipe!

I will post recipes this week -- I promise!

(Photo from www.mindbodygreen.com)

Storing Kale & Arugula

One of the challenges of produce is keeping it fresh.  The crisper drawers in a refrigerator are essential for this.  However, if you are like us, we need about two or three more of those drawers!  Recently, I did some experimenting.  When I got home from Market, I tore off our kale and put it in a one gallon Ziploc bag.  I left it on the shelf in the refrigerator and ... bingo ... no wilting!  On the arugula, I cut off the roots and did the same.  Mine lasted about two weeks (before we ate it all -- granted, it was about a pound of arugula!)  Maybe this will help some of you or perhaps you eat it too fast to matter!

(Sorry the picture isn't the best quality.  Guess I'd better stick to farming!)

Another Kale Salad...

Okay, so I love to follow www.iowagirleats.com  It's a food blog.  When I make a new recipe, Freddie now oftens says, "Is this Iowa Girl's?"  And we laugh.  Here's a terrific winner!

Luann's Kale Salad

http://iowagirleats.com/2012/09/05/luanns-kale-salad/



I didn't do much measuring with mine, except for the dressing.  I'll give you the ingredients and if you want specifics, please visit Kristin's blog (well, visit it anyway, you'll love it!)

Kale (I used all but 5 stalks of our bunches)

1 Apple, cut

Dried cherries

Walnuts (she suggests salted peanuts)

Red Onion

Dressing:

2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar

1/2 Teaspoon Sugar

Pepper

Clean & tear up the kale.  Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of salt over the kale and massage it for about two minutes.  This breaks down the kale a bit.  Stir in ingredients & toss with the dressing.

Oh, so good!!  Enjoy!

Green Monster Smoothies

Okay, so Freddie & I finally had our first Green Monster Smoothies!  Our customers have told us about them over and over.  We hardly ever have Kale left over from Market.  Last Friday (harvest day), we went out and harvested some for ourselves.  We brought it in and immediately made the smoothies.  Can't get fresher than that!  We really enjoyed them too.  They keep you feeling full for a long time.  Here's a recipe I adapted from a blog I enjoy:  

 http://iowagirleats.com/2012/01/04/my-top-secret-diet-weapon/

Green Monster Smoothie

1 frozen banana

1 tablespoon peanut butter

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

1 cup milk (or other type of milk)

4 cups Kale

---------------------

Combine all ingredients in a blender.  Blend until smooth.

Braised Kale Greens

A recipe for our Southern cooks.

One of our customers brought this recipe back from the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia.

2 lbs  Fresh Kale

1 lb  Bacon, diced small

1 medium Onion, julienne

8 oz can  Chicken Stock

2 cubes Chicken Bouillon

1/2 stick Butter

Tabasco, to taste

Salt & Black Pepper, to taste

Render bacon in hot skillet on medium high heat.  Bacon should almost be completely rendered.  Put in onions and cook for 10 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add stock/base and cook for 3 minutes.  Add enough water to cover bottom of pan.  Place the two lbs. of greens in skillet.  Add more water as needed.  Turn temperature down to low simmer.  Let cook covered.  Finish with 1/2 stick of soft butter.  Season with Tabasco, salt and pepper to taste.

Compliments of TAMARACK: The Best of West Virginia

P.S. on Kale

One of our customers told me at Market Saturday that she uses her kale leaves as wraps.  That's a great idea for us gluten-free people.  A lot of crunch!

***Starring: Kale***

Kale may not be a favorite food at first try.  However, many of us began eating it because it seems to be the new health rave.  It's a Superfood.  It lowers the risks for some cancers.  It helps with our detox systems.  So, we think, why not give it a try!  Here are some recipes that we have collected. 

1.) Sauteed Kale

This was our first try at it. 

Wash the kale and derib it.  Rip it into bite size pieces.  Heat a small amount of olive oil in a pan.  Saute the kale for about 5 minutes.  Do not allow it to brown.  The kale will shrink dramatically like spinach.  However, unlike spinach, it will keep a crunch.  Season with garlic salt.

2.) Kale Salad

This recipe was given to us from one of our faithful customers.  He comes early every Saturday to market after his Starbucks & picks up his kale. 

Wash & derib the kale.  Rip it into bite size pieces.  Drizzle with olive oil & juice from a lemon.  Stir to distribute.  Season with sea salt & grated fresh Parmesan cheese.  This salad keeps well as a leftover.  (The picture above is of this recipe.)

3.) Kale Chips

Okay, by far, this is the biggest kale rave.  Freddie & I burnt our first batch so started out with the wrong perspective!  However, the second batch went better.  Now we always laugh when someone mentions kale chips. 

Wash & prepare kale like above recipes. Put on baking sheet & toss with olive oil & sea salt.  Bake at 275 F for 20 minutes stirring halfway through.  Bake until crisp.  Caveat: The chips turn from done to ash in seconds so keep a steady eye on them!

4.) Green Smoothies

This is a biggie too.  There are many varieties.  Choose one you like.  Here is a sample one.

Apple-Kale Smoothie: Orange juice, fresh ginger, apple & kale.  Zingy & fresh!

So, there you have it.  Kale 101!  (Perhaps this long post will provide me forgiveness for not posting regularly lately!  I apologize & will try to do better now :)

Kale Pesto

Yield: ~ 3 cups

2 bunches Bacon Select Produce’s kale, tough stems removed
4 oz (0.25 lbs) grated Pecorino Romano cheese
½ c raw walnuts
2 large garlic cloves, cut into pieces
½ c plus 4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

Steam the kale for 5 minutes, then drain. Place the steamed kale, cheese, walnuts and garlic in a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Process while slowly drizzling in the olive oil. Scrape down the bowl as needed to get all the kale puréed. Season to taste. Pesto keeps up to a week refrigerated. You may also freeze it in ice cub trays. After the cubes have frozen, pop them out and stick them in a freezer bag — you'll have easy access to kale pesto for the next three months!

Adapted from www.abakinglife.blogspot.com