Sweet Potato Kale #3

Third and final serving variation on recipe from Sunday. Tonight, I ripped up pieces of kale, put them on dinner plate and then put the serving of sweet potato on top. Sprinkled around some water, put the steamer cover on on the plate. Microwaved 2 minutes.

Yum.

Rated a 4.66 on the Kale Scale.

Sweet Potato Kale Redo with Brussel Sprouts

Working with the leftovers from yesterday's recipe. I added 2 brussel sprouts, chopped up, to 1 serving of Sweet Potato with Fresh Kale. Instead of putting the serving on top of fresh kale on a plate, I mixed the kale in with the leftover serving, and heated it all in the microwave for 2 minutes.  I'm doing a picture, mostly to document, indeed, that bright green is brussel sprout parts.

Added a Tbsn of white wine and a bit of water to help wilt the kale and heat it all as it was being cooked.

Rated a 4.6 on the Kale Scale.

Sweet Potato Joy with Fresh Kale

The basic recipe started with the Sweet Potato recipe on page 325 of my hard bounc 1975 version of the Joy Of Cooking.  I offer here a variation on that recipe. You can look the original up at the Library - it is very good, and makes a great no-added-sugar addition to any holiday meal. So, too, does my variation... :) 

This is really not a kale recipe exactly, but rather a recipe to which one can apply a cup of kale and carry the kale down the gullet, quite nicely.

One could use this as a side to protein, such as fish, or other.

This recipe makes 3 servings (for me).

Ingredients - all will be divided into two layers.

• 2 sweet potatoes, medium+
• 1 packaged cup of Del Monte pineapple chunks (comes in plastic cup that is really only 7 oz). No added sugar, just pineapple juice.
• 1 pear, cored and diced
• 4 figs, dried, cut up
• 1/2 cup cherries (I used dried bing cherries, but you could use fresh if you want. The nutrition count is for fresh cherries)
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped fine
• 1/2 tsp Ras El Hanout spice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Ingredients - go on top of casserole

• 1/3 cup pineapple juice from the pineapple cup above. 100% juice.
• 1 Tbsp butter, diced and sprinkled over the top

Ingredients for each serving - 1 cup of kale ripped to bite size pieces.

Boil until so tender, the jackets will slip off - about 40 mins. Knife or fork inserts easily when done.

• 2 Sweet potatoes, medium+ in size. Fits in Revereware 3 qt pot with water to cover.  Drain and pour in cold water. When you can hanle them, slip the potato skins or jackets off.

Assemble the casserole in 1 and 1/2 qt casserole dish

• Make two layers starting with sweet potato, then pineapple sprinkled over, then cherries and fig sprinkled over, then cinnamon and ras el hanout, top layer with pecan.
• On the top, sprinkle around the diced butter.
• Pour over the whole casserole, the pineapple juice.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Serve on a bed of fresh kale (1 cup) per serving.  I used purple kale.

 Rated a 4.64 on the Kale Scale.

How well do kale and applesauce go together?

Kale and applesauce go quite well together, surprisingly. Of course you have to use enough applesauce, and toss in a clementine and spices to make it so. I was thinking, how could you fit kale into a dessert when one doesn't use added sugar, and doesn't like to fake out with artificial sweeteners? What I came up with was actually a fruit-ish salad, not really dessert. But, it worked.

I used purple kale; it's what I had. I minced it up with my Pampered Chef food chopper. Made a mess of the cutting board. I used 2 little cups of Mott's applesauce - their Healthy Harvest Granny Smith. I added the little clementine with cinnamon and ras el hanout to make it more palatable.

This recipe is for 1 person. A stronger person than I who really, really likes kale, could perhaps do with less applesauce. Despite the rating, I would do this again, it was a super easy way to get the kale eaten.

Mince
1 cup kale

Put in bowl and mix

1 cup of Mott's applesauce
1/2 the kale

Repeat with rest of applesauce and kale

Add
1 clementine, peeled, with each segment cut in half
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ras el hanout spice mix

Serve with dinner.

Rated a 4.49 on the Kale Scale.

Brussel Sprout Kale with Egg and Spices

This started with a review of the supplies in refrigerator. That half and half is still good, but then I found in the freezer, frozen corn, and a bag of frozen kale. Both something I had bagged up before a little vacation 2 weeks ago. Found a couple little potatoes, and to my dismay, more brussel sprouts. So I left the half and half out of the deal, and here's what I did.  This was a good camouflage for the sprouts, too.

Saute:
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 tsp garlic, minced
3 brussel sprouts, chopped
2 fingerling potatoes, halved lengthwise and sliced thin crosswise
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp Mrs Dash
1 tsp zaartar (thyme and other spices. Mediterranean mix)

Add, lower to simmer and cover:
.5 oz white wine
3 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 oz water

After about 5 minutes, add, cover and wilt:
1.15 cup kale, ripped to bite size pieces. I used frozen. By the time I was ready for this step, it was almost thawed. Just put it all in and it will be cooked.
1/2 cup corn kernels (these too, frozen, but thawed in the simmer)
2 tsp sherry
2 Tbsp water

Make room in the middle and fry one egg.
Add more pepper

Serve with couple shakes of worcestershire sauce.


Rated a 4.58 on the Kale Scale.

Kibbeh and Kale

 

Recently, ate dinner at Tarboush, a Lebanese restaurant.

 

After the wonderful appetizers, we ordered Kibbeh Bi’Sayniyeh which is an oven-baked organic ground beef and bulgur wheat encasing a layer of seasoned Organic ground beef, onions, and pine nuts...served with yogurt. We had one made with ground beef, and another made with pumpkin (vegetarian). The Kibbeh looked like a couple pieces of pie - triangle shape.  It was deee-licious!

 

Took 1 piece of the beef and one of the pumpkin home, along with yogurt from the restaurant.

 

Steamed a bed of kale, broke up and put the Kibbeh on top. Very tasty combination!

 

No nutrition count for this one.

 

Rated a 4.69 on the Kale Scale.

 

Kale with Olives and Dates in Sauce

The half and half is still good, so why waste it? That was the initial thought about what to do with the kale tonight. Thus the following mixture. It was good. Might have been better had I steamed the kale and served the concoction on top, but instead, I put the kale in the saute and wilted it that way. But, still it was good, edible, and tasty.

First of all, packing a cup of kale. This is what it looks like to rip up 3 huge leaves for a cup - and packing it like you would pack brown sugar. Actually measures out to about 1.15 to 1.25 cups, but if you squish and take out the air, it's a stout cup of kale.  For nutrition count, I usually factor it as 1.15 cups.

Tonight, the kale was served as a side dish to baked salmon.

Saute:
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 tsp garlic, minced
1/2 tsp pepper, ground
1/4 tsp ras el hanout spice mix

Add and continue saute:
8 grape tomatoes, halved
7 green pitted olives, halved (castleverano)
3 dates, pitted and chopped up

Stir in, lower heat, simmer:
1 oz half and half, mixed with next item
2 Tbsp Fig Balsamic Dressing

While that simmers, rip up into bite size pieces:
1+ cups kale (ie 1 packed cup)

Add the kale, cover and continue to simmer for 2-5 minutes
Uncover, mix up and serve.


Rated a 4.5 on the Kale Scale.

Again with the Brussel Sprouts and Kale

I was inspired by the little potatoes we had at the beach recently. And the organic half and half that I brought home from the beach food share. Plus the pomegranate juice I've had around for a bit.  This little saute turned out ok! It would have rated higher if I had used a different fruit, such as pineapple. But, still - it was good.

Saute, soften up and brown:
2 tsp olive oil
1/3 cup onion, chopped
2 fingerling potatoes, halved lengthwise, sliced thin crosswise
3 brussel sprouts, quartered, chopped
1 tsp raw ginger, peeled, chopped up (it started out as more than that with the peel and all)
1 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp Ras El Hanout spice mix

Add, lower heat and simmer:
1/8 cup half and half
1/8 cup pomegranate juice, mixed with the half and half
2 Tbsp Fig Balsamic Vinaigrette (Cindy's Kitchen at Whole Foods)
15 grapes (red or black, seedless), halved

While the veggies simmer, steam:
1.25 cups of kale, ripped to bite size pieces.  I put the kale on my dinner plate, put over it a microwave steamer cover and microwave for 2 minutes.

Stir saute, and pour over the plated steamed kale.

Rated a 4.49 on the Kale Scale.

Brussel Sprouts with Orange and Kale Saute

Another attempt at brussel sprouts. Turned out ok. Putting fruit with the sprouts works well to camouflage them.

Saute:
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup onion, chopped
3 brussel sprouts, chopped
2 clementines, peeled and chopped
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp Mrs Dash
1/2 tsp Ras El Hanout spice

Add and simmer a bit:
1 oz white wine
2 Tbsp Fig Balsamic Vinaigrette (Cindy's Kitchen)

Add, cover, and wilt kale as desired:
1 oz white wine (yes, another oz)
1+ cup of Kale, ripped to bite size pieces

 Rated a 4.58 on the Kale Scale.

Brussel sprouts fried egg on steam kale

This was a concoction of a little this and a little that. Turned out to be good!

Saute:
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1/4 cup onion, chopped
2 brussel sprouts, chopped

After a bit, add:
2/3 cup cooked small potatoes, chopped
1 plum, chopped
1 Tbsp cooking sherry
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Make room in the middle of the veggies and fry to your desired done-ness
1 egg

While this cooks, steam
1 cup kale

Serve by putting the sauted veggies and egg on top of the bed of steamed kale.


Rated a 4.6 on the Kale Scale.

Oatmeal Kale

Breakfast for dinner - and it worked!

Make Oatmeal with:
1/2 c dry 5-grain cereal from Bob's Red Mill
1/2 apple
.5 oz raisins (a mini box)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c yogurt, Dannon Light n Fit Vanilla
1/4 c or less soy milk
1 cup kale, minced. I used a hand blender to mince it, worked great.

 
Rated a 4.53 on the Kale Scale