Tibetan Style Red Lentil Dal with Kale

Whole Foods has a section for grab and go food items that I peruse from time to time when I want a quick dinner back at home. Such as today. Got a 'wrap' Tibetan Style Red Lentil Dal from Globespun Gourmet. I put this on top of a steamed cup of kale, and topped it all with non-fat greek yogurt.

Very tasty, and quick!

Rated down a notch for high sodium content

Rated a 4.48 on the Kale Scale.

Maiz Fresco Kale Salad

Fresh corn kernels cut from a just cooked cob, mixed with butter and pepper - forms the basis for a delicious salad!

Cook, however you like:

1 corn on the cob. Cut the kernals from the cob, mix with 1 tsp butter and black pepper. Set aside.

Layer, toss, whatever you like - make a salad with these ingredients:

1 cup kale, ripped to bite size pieces
8 green castelvetrano olives, pitted, halved
8 cherry tomatoes, quarters
Corn kernels, all of them
Cilantro, several sprigs, chopped up
2 Tbsp Fig Balsamic Dressing, Cindy's Kitchen for Whole Foods


Rated a 4.67 on the Kale Scale.

Blueberry Kale Salad

I bought 5 lbs of fresh blueberries for $2.50/lb from the child of a co-worker. What to do with them? That's why this salad.  I got anothe bottle of Cindy's Kitchen dressings - fat free, low sodium, and very tasty!

Layer, toss, mix - however you like - use these ingredients to make the salad:

1+ cup kale, ripped to bite size pieces
3/4 to 1 cup blueberries
2 Tbsp Tangerine Vinaigrette, Cindy's Kitchen for Whole Foods


Rated a 4.55 on the Kale Scale

Salad with Kale and Papaya

Through together these ingredients in whatever way you'd like:

1+ cups of Kale, ripped to bite size pieces
1 plum, chopped
12 grapes, halved
1 papaya, peeled, scooped, chopped
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar and oil dressing (Safeway Select, no sugar)

 Rated a 4.45 on the Kale Scale

Kale Fried Rice with Corn and more

This is actually from October 2011, but finally getting it documented now. The fried rice is from a recipe I have for Tofu Fried Rice, but this time, left out the tofu. The reciped includes spices, onion, garlic, egg, and brown rice.

Saute til heated through:
 3/4 Cup Fried Rice
12 grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 pear, chopped
1 ear of corn, cooked with kernals cut off the cob and added to saute
1 tsp black pepper

Add, cover and wilt as desired:
1 oz white wine
2 cups kale, ripped to bite size pieces


Rated a 4.5 on the Kale Scale.

Kale Salad with Chicken and Walnuts

This salad uses some chicken breast that I've made using za'artar spice (thyme based), and also the walnuts are chopped fine.

Layer, toss, or in anyway you want put these ingredients together for salad:

1 Cup Kale, ripped to bite size pieces
1 pear, red, chopped
1 orange pepper, chopped
5 castelvetrano olives, pitted, halved
2.5 oz chicken breast, already cooked with za'artar spices

Top the salad with:

1 tsp walnuts, chopped fine
2 Tbsp balsamic vineger and olive oil dressing (Safeway Select)

Rated a 4.56 on the Kale Scale.

Chicken Za'artar with Kale and Radicchio Salad

Layer, toss or however you like, make a salad with the following ingredients:

1.25 cups of Kale, ripped to bite siezed pieces
1/2 cup of radicchio, ripped to bite siezed pieces
1 pear, cored and diced
2.4 oz of chicken za'artar (zaatar, coriander, cardamon)
9 sprigs of cilantro
Dash of Mrs Dash

Mix and toss with salad
1 Tbsp olive oil
5 tsp Fig Balsamic Vinegar from the Olive Pit - delicious!

Rated a 4.67 on the Kale Scale

Anise Kale Saute

Some call it anise, some call it fennel.  It's the bulb and chopped up, is one of the "aromatics" that goes with onion. All of this, was the side dish next to the salmon.

Saute
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 c anise bulb chopped up
1/4 c onion, chopped up

Add and continue to saute
4 grape tomatoes, halved
5 green castelvetrano olives, pitted, halved
1/2 pear, cut up
2 tsp capers
1/2 tsp black pepper

Add, cover and wilt
1+ cups kale, ripped to bite size pieces
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 oz white wine
2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Rated a 4.63 on the Kale Scale.

Acorn Squash with Kale and Red Pepper

Very tasty spices on this one!  This is another delayed recipe from October. The weather is too hot to go about cooking squash right now.

Saute:
1/3 cup onion, chopped
1 tsp olive oil

Add and continue to saute:
1/2 acorn squash, cooked, cubed (peeled and scooped of course)
1/2 red pepper, chopped up
5 green castelvetrano olives, halved
14 grape size tomatoes, halved
1/2 tsp each - garam masala, cardamon, black pepper
1/4 tsp red chili powder

Add, cover, wilt
1.25 cups Kale, ripped to bite size pieces
1 oz white wine
1.5 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Serve with a topping of 2 tsp walnuts chopped fine

Rated a 4.6 on the Kale Scale.

Kale Peared with Apricot and Coconut Dust

Using the purple apricot, which looks normal on the inside, but I'm hoping there are nutrition bonus points for it being purple skin. Also, using Bob's Red Mill unsweetened shredded coconut. This salad was a side to a fresh filet of rock fish.

Layer, toss, or however, put these ingredients together to make a salad:

1+ cup of Kale, ripped to bite size pieces
1 red pear, cored, and chopped
1 purple skin apricot, chopped
2 tsp coconut dust
2 Tbsp Fig and Balsamic Vinegar Dressing (Cindy's Kitchen for Whole Foods)


Rated a 4.4 on the Kale Scale.

Fresh Corn on Steamed Kale

This was a side that went with a fresh wild salmon filet - deeeelicious!  I'm using non-fat greek yogurt for my tartar sauce these days, and used some of the yogurt with the kale too.

Bake, microwave, roast - in whatever way you want - cook the ear of corn. And then
Cut the kernals off the corn cob.

I wrapped the corn in foil with the 1.5 tsp of butter, and baked in the oven while I was cooking the salmon.

Steam
1.15 cups of Kale, ripped to bite size pieces.

Cut
8 grape tomatoes in half

Assemble
Put the kale on plate, top with corn kernals and tomatoes.
Season with black pepper and Mrs Dash.
Splash with 1 tsp worsctershire sauce.

Serve with
Couple heaping tablespoons of non-fat greek yogurt.

Rated a 4.73 on the Kale Scale.

Fava on Steamed Kale with Tomato

The last of the fava beans from the CSA booty. Tonight, it's a bit hot weather-wise. So instead of heating up kitchen by boiling the fava beans, I cooked them in the microwave (in spices and flavored liquids). Using the Pampered Chef Steamer, and my favorite top of the plate steamer, this made for a quick meal.

Microwave for 1.5 minutes and put on dinner plate

1.15 cu, kale, raw

Microwave for 2.5 minutes these 11 ingredients, cool just a bit and then place on top of the kale:

2/3 cup,  fava beans, immature, raw

1 tbsp,  vinegar, balsamic
1 tsp,  garlic, minced
2 tbsp,  white wine
1/2 tsp,  black pepper, ground
3 fl oz,  cranberry pomegranate juice
1/4 tsp,   mrs. dash
1/4 tsp,  cumin, ground
1 tsp,   raisin, seedless
1/4 tsp,   cinnamon, ground, -
1/4 tsp,   coriander ground

Add to the kale / fava plate:
8,    tomato, grape size, halved
10 gram,  cheddar cheese, sharp-white, diced

Rated a 4.66 on the Kale Scale.

Fava Bean Redux

With the fresh Fava Beans in my possession, I tried them again tonight. These are considered "immature" beans because they are fresh, and green. Mature beans stay on the vine until the pods are dark, and then you dry the beans. Mature beans have a more intensive calorie count, a bit higher in fiber and protein. Again, I am cooking these so that I can eat the immature bean in it's shell which adds a bit more fiber. If you are wanting to shell the fava, you can steam it and then fiddle taking it out of it's shell.

The seasonings tonight came out of the garden. The previous Fava recipe used turmeric which gave the bean a bright color. Tonight's seasonings and process produced a quieter, somber fava bean in appearance.

Put the follow in a saucepan, bring to boil and simmer for 20 minutes

¾ cup         broad bean, immature, raw (fava)

1.3 cups       water
1 tbsp         balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp         sherry, dry
1/4 cup       fennel bulb, chopped
1 tsp            garlic, minced
2 tsp            chives, raw, chopped
2 tsp            thyme, fresh, chopped
3 leaves       peppermint leaf, fresh, chopped
1/4 tsp         dill weed, dried
1/2 tsp         black pepper
1/4 tsp         mrs. Dash
1 tsp            raisin, seedless

Take the beans out, and put into cold water. Simmer the balance of the liquid down, reduce it.

Steam 1.15 cups of Kale in microwave for 2 minutes.

Mix with the reduced liquid/seasonsings in the saucepan:
The cooked fava beans

8                 olive, green, pitted, halved

7                 grape tomatoes, halved
1 oz             white cheddar cheese, diced

Assemble:
Put Kale on plate, and top with the fava bean mixture.

Rated a 4.6 on the Kale Scale.

Savory Fava Beans on Steamed Kale

I was offered the chance to collect the veggies my neighbors were unable to use this week from their share of the Oakhill Organics CSA. This means going to town where the CSA has set up in the Saturday Market parking lot - my neighbors are signed up for "5" veggies. I selected 2 boxes of Strawberries, 1 bunch of Chard, 1 bunch of Kale, and 1 little bucket of Fava Beans in the pod. I've never had Fava Beans, fresh from the farm.

Seems to be varying opinions on how to prep Fava Beans - get them out of the pod, steam or boil them, then put them in ice water. Now, after this, some people say to pop the bean/pea out of it's outer skin. Others say, why bother, eat the skin and get more fiber. For some people (400 million worldwide who are genetically prone to Favism), eating Fava Beans can make them sick - but, that has less to do with the skin and more like the whole bean is a problem for them.



I chose to leave the bean in its outer skin. I also chose to boil the beans in a concoction that I reduced to a thick slurry which I put on top of my plated food like a dressing.

Cook the beans by boiling them for about 20 minutes in:

2/3 cups Fava Beans, shelled, out of the pod
1 Cup Water
1 tsp Hot Paprika
1/2 tsp Curry Powder
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Cardamon
1/4 tsp Turmeric
1/4 tsp Mrs Dash
1 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
1 tsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Garlic, minced

Using a slotted spoon, retrieve the boil Fava Beans and put them in a bowl of cold water.  Continue to cook the liquid down.

Steam 1.25 cups of Kale for 2 minutes in microwave
Serve by placing steamed kale on plate, and top with
- cooked Fava Beans
- 6 grape-size tomatos, halved
- 5 green olives, halved
- 5 nicoise olives (sort of like kalamata)
Top with the boiled down liquid in which the Fava Beans were cooked.

Rated a 4.75 on the Kale Scale