The Kale That Never Ends!

Three weeks ago, I picked some kale from the farmer's market, assuming it would get eaten quickly. Somehow, the kale has seemed to multiply in the refrigerator! It's been used in three dishes and has had a starring role in each, unlike the fennel that played a supporting role when it was used three times. Without further ado, here's how the kale has played out since it came home with me three weeks ago:

Delicata and Kale Salad

Delicate and Kale close up!

When I saw the delicata squash at the farmer's market, I had NO idea what to do with it. Another woman who was picking up her produce casually mentioned that it tastes great roasted in a kale salad. Of course, there was kale that week, so I picked up some kale and planned to make the dish my fellow CSA-er had raved about. That's how this bunch of kale made it in my shopping bag in the first place. Here's the recipe I used for Delicata Squash Salad with Kale and Cannellini Beans. I was shocked at how much my husband loved this salad. His idea of salad is a piece of steak with a carrot garnish! The salad was warm, hearty, and filling - all words that are not normally used to describe a salad! It was both sweet and salty, and it was perfectly for a cold fall night. Definitely something I would make again!

A little blurry, but you get the idea!

Broccoli and Kale Soup

Meal #2 was a mistake! I wanted to make The Joy of Cooking's cream of broccoli soup, but unfortunately the two stalks of broccoli did not weigh enough. I substituted some kale (which was really more like half a bunch!), and proceeded with the recipe. The kale didn't affect the taste of the soup at all, and it pureed very nicely with the immersion blender. The soup was a perfect consistency without the cream, so it was left out. It was great with a (store-bought) thick slice of asiago bread.

Kale and Arugula Flatbread

The last time I went to visit my parents, my mom gave me a jar of olive and walnut spread because she didn't want it. I wasn't entirely sure if I would be able to put it to use - the spread has a very strong olive taste that is not the least bit subtle. I wanted to find a way to use a lot of it at once, not because it was bad but because it is a random thing to have in the kitchen! I didn't want it to expire before I could use it all. I came up with this flatbread pizza:

It's very simple to make, using store bough pizza dough. There's no real "recipe" since you can use as much or as little of each ingredient as you prefer. I like a lot of cheese and a lot of greens.

1. Preheat oven, following directions for the pizza dough. Prepare pizza dough as directed, as well.
2. Saute greens in olive oil until wilted, with minimal salt and pepper. Remove from heat and allow to cool, 5-10 minutes, until warm to the touch.
3. Coat rolled pizza dough with olive and walnut spread, as the base for the flatbread pizza, in place of tomato sauce. Amount of spread is a personal preference depending on how much you like (or dislike) olives!
4. Place wilted greens onto pizza, covering in a single layer (again, how much greens you use is personal preference)
5. Grate tallegio (or substitute with gouda or fontina) over pizza. Bake as directed.
6. Drizzle honey over flatbread. Allow to cool and serve with a chilled glass of white wine!

And in case you were curious, here's the olive and walnut spread I used:

Easy Add-Ins

One of the easiest ways to use up extra produce is to add it to other dishes to give them some extra flavor. This post is a similar to this one, in that these are just some simple ways to make your meals a little more exciting!

Here's some soup to which I added leftover kale. The soup is from a dry mix, and even though it doesn't look so appetizing, it is actually really good! A mix of beans, lentils, and alphabet pasta reconstituted with veggie broth. The soup has to simmer for close to an hour before it is ready to eat, so I just added the kale in at the beginning. I didn't notice much of a change in flavor, but it gave the soup more texture, which is always a good thing with soup.

And here's some boxed mac n' cheese with some added broccoli that had been blanched. Blanching vegetables is a quick alternative to steaming vegetables, but you end up with a similar end result of soft, less bitter vegetables. While the pot of water is coming to a boil, wash and chop the vegetable into bite-sized pieces (or however big or small you'd like), and then add to the water once it boils. Let it cook for 5 minutes - for broccoli, you can tell it's done when it turns bright green. You can just eat it like this...or add it to other dishes!

These are also some go-to single lady meals. I made both of these on nights when it was just me and Winnie because the husband was working late! It's hard to cook intricate meals when you are just cooking for one!

Easy Pasta Sauce Variations

Ever try to figure out what to make with that half used jar of pasta sauce sitting in your fridge? You know you want some spaghetti for dinner, but you just aren't sure there's enough sauce...and let's be honest, there's no such thing as too much pasta sauce! Or maybe you are tired of the plain sauce on your pantry shelf and want a way to make it a bit more exciting? Here are some easy ways to change up the jarred sauce that you have just waiting to be used:



Pasta Sauce with Kale

Add kale to a preheated pan with olive oil, over medium heat. Add salt, pepper, and garlic. Let cook for 5-7 minutes. Add pasta sauce until warm. Serve with pasta of choice.

Pasta Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes

Over medium heat, heat olive oil in a pan. Add 1 small chopped onion and 1 chopped garlic clove, cook until translucent. Add one pint of chopped cherry tomatoes, cooking approximately 10 minutes until tomatoes begin to break down. Add pasta sauce until warm. Serve with pasta of choice. Enjoy!






Easy enough - right? I apologize for the messy pictures...sometimes I'm just too hungry to make a pretty plate!

CSA Week #3 & Kale Chips

The theme of this week's recipes is freezer-friendly or simple recipes that use few ingredients. Here's what I picked up on this rainy day from the farmer's market:

Other options at the CSA included lettuce, swiss chard, easter egg radishes, broccoli, and kohlrabi. What the heck is kohlrabi? I am hoping it will be around in 2 weeks so that I can try it out. Next week, I will sadly (ok, maybe not so sadly!) be on vacation, so there will be no CSA pick up to blog about.

Tonight, the kale was turned into kale chips, one of our go-to recipes. It's very simple and quick....it takes longer to make the kale chips than to eat them. They always seem to disappear approximately 30 seconds after they come out of the oven.

Kale Chips

Ingredients:

• kale
• olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 ºF. Wash and dry the kale thoroughly. If using full bunches of kale, tear or chop the kale into smaller pieces, making sure to remove the stems completely.

2. Place kale on a baking sheet. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Drizzle with olive oil. Mix until kale is evenly coated.

3. Bake kale in oven for 20-30 minutes, until crispy. 

This recipe is very simple and requires only a few ingredients that are staples in most kitchens. It meets the requirements of an easy meal! Kale chips can be served with anything - burgers, baked chicken, soup, or by themselves. It's an easy, delicious, and healthy snack, too. Kale chips don't store very well...but they also seem to get eaten very quickly, so storage shouldn't be a huge problem. Just eat them all, you know you want to!

Week #1 Recap

Week #1 of our CSA went by really quickly (and deliciously)! We were able to make 3 meals (with plenty of leftovers) with the produce that we received. Here's what we made...and some notes for future meals:

Quinoa with Kale, Black Beans, Corn, and Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed and dried
• 2 cups water
• 1 cube vegetable bouillon, for additional flavor
• 1/2 bunch kale, washed and dried
• 1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 2 cups grilled chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• salt and pepper
• olive oil

Directions:

1. Place quinoa in sauce pan with water and bouillon. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce to simmer. Cook quinoa as directed, approximately 15-20 minutes.

2. Pour 1 tbl of olive oil into medium skillet. Heat to medium. Add kale, cooking for 10 minutes, until wilted. Add black beans, corn, and chicken to warm.

3. When the quinoa is done, add into skillet, with cumin. Stir until combined. Enjoy!

Serves: 4

I added half a steamed sweet potato to my bowl of quinoa - optional but delicious.

Leek and Swiss Chard Tart

(from: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/01/leek-and-swiss-chard-tart/)

I won't post the recipe here, since you can easily find it on the link above from Smitten Kitchen. I did not have any thyme, so I substituted it for parsley, which gave the dish a fresh flavor. I also do not have a tart or pie pan. Instead, I used a springform pan.

We ate our tart with a salad - the lettuce from our CSA. This was my favorite meal of the week...until we ate:

Spaghetti with Kale, Swiss Chard, & Goat Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1/4 box spaghetti
• 1/2 bunch kale, washed
• 1/2 bunch swiss chard, washed and de-ribbed
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
• olive oil

Directions:

1. Prepare spaghetti as directed by box.

2. Pour 1 tbl of olive oil into medium skillet. Heat to medium. Add onion and garlic, cook 5-10 minutes, until translucent.

3. Add kale and swiss chard. Cook until wilted, approximately 10 minutes.

4. When spaghetti is done, add into skillet. Stir well to combine all ingredients. Add goat cheese and stir , to melt the goat cheese onto the pasta.

5. If desired, add additional goat cheese (as pictured), enjoy!

Lettuce

The lettuce was used in salads and on sandwiches all week long. If we get lettuce again, I would try to find other uses for it, such as grilling the lettuce.

Strawberries

The strawberries were SO delicious that we ate them in a day. If we get them again, I would like to make either strawberry ice cream or jam.

Tomorrow we will get 4 new crops from our CSA...wonder what we will get!