Savory Fruit Kale Saute

The weather is finally cold again, and that encourages one to saute kale. The summer and early fall was just too hot to do that without heating up the house.


Using what I had in the fridge, comes this option for tonight.

Saute until limp
1-2 tsp olive oil
1/3 cup onion, chopped up

Add and continue saute
2/3 pear, cut up
2/3 nectarine, cut up
2 tsp pumpkin seeds, toasted

Add, cover and wilt as desired
1.5 cups kale, ripped to bite size pieces
2 tsp capers
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3 Tbsp orange juice
3 Tbsp white wine

Mix it all up, simmer without lid to reduce the juices.
Serve and enjoy!

Rated a 4.66 on the Kale Scale

Watermelon Kale Salad with Walnuts

A summer salad with fresh watermelon. Very tasty!

Mix, toss, layer - whatever you want - put these ingredients together:

1.3 cups Kale, cut to small, but not fine size pieces
1 cup+ of watermelon balls (about 20 or so)
1 pear, cored and diced. (Leave the peel intact)
1 oz walnut pieces
2 tbsp of Tangerine Vinaigrette Dressing (Cindy's Kitchen)

Serve and enjoy!!

Rated a 4.6 on the Kale Scale

Papaya and Olive Kale Salad

Another hot day; another simple salad!  Very tasty!!


Toss together, layer, or otherwise put in a bowl and mix
1+ cup kale, ripped to bitesize pieces
1 papaya, seeded, diced (no peel)
2 tbsp olives, sliced
2 tbps tangerine vinaigrette dressing (Cindy's Kitchen)

Top with 
1 tsp of dukkah (egyptian nut topping)

Enjoy!

Rated a 4.64 on the Kale Scale.

Pineapple 'n Apricot Kale Salad

Hot day calls for simple salad. Quite tasty. I really like the Tangerine Vinaigrette Dressing from Cindy's Kitchen from Whole Foods.

Toss, layer or otherwise pile in a bowl and mix up:
1+ cup of Kale, ripped up to bite size pieces
2/3 cup pineapple, freshly cut, cubed
1 apricot, chopped up
2 Tbsp Cindy's Kitchen Tangerine Vinaigrette Dressing

Top with 

1 tsp of sesame seeds

Enjoy!

Rated a 4.6 on the Kale Scale.

Kale Black Bean Salad with Feta Cheese

The idea for this came from a recipe in Cooking Light for black bean tacos. I made significant

variations - like no tortillas; no cilantro = no taco. This was very tasty, and a keeper!

Saute
2 tsp olive oil
1/3 cup onion, diced
2 tbsp green chiles, canned, diced
1 tsp garlic minced

Add and continue saute, adding water, as needed, to keep from sticking
about 1/2 cup of black beans, drained and mashed (i.e. use 1/2 can of black beans divided)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp Spanish seasoning

Combine and mix up, moisten (big bowl, spoon or clean hands)
1 tsp light mayonaisse
1 tsp vinegar
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup angel hair coleslaw
about 1/2 cup black beans, not mashed (i.e. use 1/2 can of black beans divided)
1.25 cups of kale, finely chopped

Combine into big bowl, mix up
Sauteed onion mixture
Coleslaw and kale mixture

Serve and top with
2 tbsp feta cheese, crumbled
 
Enjoy!

Rated a 4.72 on the Kale Scale.

Kale Pear Salad with Strawberry Mustard Vinaigrette

Inspired by, and not a replica of, a recipe in Eating Well magazine. The dressing was tasty - very nice!  Next time, I might use an apple in the salad and maybe some walnuts. But, overall, very, very good!

Use electric hand blender to mix the following to make Vinaigrette
- 3 big strawberries, cut up
- 2 green onions, white part diced
- 1/4 clove garlic, diced
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 3/4 tsp mustard (Portland Mustard, but use any not dijon)
- 5 sprigs of chives
- 3 tsp orange juice, 100% juice
- up to 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Toss together to make salad
- 1.25 cups kale, ripped to bite size pieces
- 1 pear, cored, diced.
- 6 green olives (castelvetrano), halved
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup angel hair coleslaw (actually finely shredded cabbage)

Mix together and serve
- Veggie mix
- Vinaigrette
- 1 tbsp feta cheese crumbles, sprinkled on top

Rated a 4.53 on the Kale Scale.

Savory Kale Salad with Feta Cheese

Over 90 today according to the thermometer on back porch. Didn't want to heat up the kitchencooking.  I've been wanting to make a black bean taco, but that involved cooking. So, I used the coleslaw and dressing ideas from that recipe for this salad. Worked well. Deelicious!

Steam in microwave 1 and 1/2 minutes
1+ cup kale, ripped to bitesize pieces

Mix together with steamed kale and toss
12 or so grape tomatoes, halved
6 or so green olives, halved (castelvetrano kind)
6 falafel balls from Whole Foods, ready to eat section, quartered
1/2 cup Angel Hair coleslaw (from a package at Safeway)

Make dressing
1 Tbsp non-fat plain yogurt
1 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar
9 sprigs of cilantro cut up
2 green onions, diced
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Mix the tossed salad with the dressing.

Serve with 1 Tbsp of feta cheese crumbles on top.

Rated a 4.75 on the Kale Scale.

First Summer Smoothie

Hot day. Smoothie dinner. Deelicious!

Put in Vitamix and whirl

1 orange, peeled and sectioned
1/2 cup blueberries
25 raspberries
20 frozen red grapes
6 oz soy milk
1.25 cups kale
1 pkt, Spiru-tein Vanilla, sugar-free protein powder


Serve and enjoy!

Rated a 4.68 on the Kale Scale.

Happy Curry Kale

Started this with a Groupon for frozen food from from Happy Curry Foods.  I envisioned frozen meal
- pop it in the microwave and good to go. But, it turned out to be frozen food ready to be cooked...on the stovetop. And enough food for a small family!  The price was right, though.

Last night - I mixed the kale in with the rice and lentils (or dal). And had the chicken on the side. The food is Nepalese, and spicy. Spicy hot and spicy flavorful.  Very good!

Tonight - mostly the same, but what I did was put the rice, lentils (dal) and leftover chicken in a pot with water and wine, and simmered it all for about 30 minutes. Again - very good!!


No nutrition values for this 'frozen dinner.'

Rated a 4.69 on the Kale Scale.

Kale Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

I was inspired to try a Lemon Vinaigrette after having that in a salad at the Rheinlander Restaurant this week. My version, well, not as tasty as the restaurant's. But, it was a solid showing - had good flavor and structure. When I try it again, I'll probably have more fruit, add some cheese, and reduce the olive oil, and maybe add a touch of a lemon vinegar.  The dressing itself disappeared into the kale. Not messy at all. And not over powered on the flavor.

Lemon Vinaigrette - mix together; whisk or put in jar with tight lid and shake
2.5 Tbsp of olive oil
1/2 tsp yellow mustard (or your choice, but mustard)
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp ras el hanout spice

Salad - toss as you wish 
1.75 cups of Kale (yes, this much. cut up with kitchen shears to make pieces smaller)
1/2 cup or about 20 pods of sugar snap peas, chopped
1 pear, chopped  (counted about 80% after cut out bruises)
1 nectarine, chopped (ditto the 80%)

Pour in the vinaigrette and mix it up.

Serve with
3 tsp of chopped, dry roasted, unsalted almonds

Rated a 4.63 on the Kale Scale

Kale with Neighborly Sugar Snap Peas

Oh boy. Brussel sprouts and asparagus - neither one my favorite. But that's what was available in the fridge. And then, a ray of sunshine, here came neighbor Ann-Marie knocking at the door to give me a bounty of sugar snap peas from their garden!  These nicely balanced out the meal - yeah!

Saute
2 tsp olive oil
1/3 cup onion, chopped
2 brussel sprouts, chopped

Add and continue saute
3 asparagus spears, diced
6 cherry tomatoes, halved
6 green olives (castelvetrano), halved
1 oz white wine
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ras el hanout

Add, cover and wilt as desired
1.25 cups kale, ripped to bite size
1/4 cup sugar snap peas, diced
1-2 tsp splash of balsamic vinegar


Mix up veggies. Move to edges of pan.  Add and scramble into the veggies:
1whole egg, mixed with 1 egg white, beaten
1/2 tsp black pepper

Serve with 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce


Rated a 4.67 on the Kale Scale

Kale Pepitas Spicy Sauce

After deciding to just have Kale sauted with onion, I couldn't help but keep adding some things on hand to make this more palatable. The end result was delicious!

Saute
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp Shiba's Popping Seeds
1/3 cup Onion, chopped

Add and continue sauteing
1/3 tsp hot curry chutney
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ginger root (from jar)
5 green olives, halved.
2 Morningstar veggie patties, chopped up

Add, mix up
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 oz white wine

Add, cover, wilt greens
1+ cup kale, ripped to bitesize
2 tsp pumpkin seeds, roasted

Serve and enjoy!

Rated a 4.65 on the Kale Scale.

Spiced Tofu &Chickpeas on Kale

I got this from Eating Well magazine, and proceeded to make some variations.  Spicy, and tasty.Seems like a bunch of messing around to get to the end product, but the result was worth it!
The recipe here, serves 4.

Combine, mix up in a big bowl
3.5 tsp paprika (sweet, hot or mixed)
3.5 ground cumin
2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp salt

Set aside 2.5 tsp of the spice mix

Mix into the rest of spices
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp olive oil

Add to spice mix, stir up, leave sit for 10-15 minutes or so
1 brick of tofu - 14 oz, drained and cut into 3/4 inch cubes
1 can (15 oz) - chickpeas, rinsed and drained

Spread tofu and chickpeas on greased baking sheet
Roast in 450 F oven for 20 minutes.
Stir once half-way.

While tofu and chickpeas are roasting, put the set aside spices into the big bowl and mix it up with
3 Tbsp lemon juice
3 Tbsp olive oil

Add 1 big bunch kale, ripped to bite size pieces
Massage kale in the spice, juice, oil mixture.  Kale will reduce in size as a result.

Plate the kale - divvy up for 1 serving (about 2.25 cups each)

Add to plated kale:
10 CastelVetrano olives, halved
1 red pear, cut up
1 Tbsp pumpkin seeds, toasted 

Add 3/4 cup of the tofu and chickpea mixture on top of the kale bed.

Serve and enjoy!

Rated a 4.59 on the Kale Scale. 

Spicy Bean and Quinoa Kale Salad with Mole Viniagrette

The basic recipe comes out of Cooking Light. Supposed to serve on Spinach. I used Kale, of course, and this was delicious!

Recipe is to serve 6. The nutrition count is for 1 serving with 1+ cup of Kale, ripped to bite size pieces.

Mole Viniagrette: Combine, whisk, mix up and set aside
1 tsp grated orange peel
3/4 tsp unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground sinnamon
2 Tbsp orange juice
1.5 tsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp adobo sauce from canned chiplote chiles in adobo sauce
     Add last, slowly, mix it all up
     2 Tbsp olive oil

Combine in large bowl, toss
3 cups cooked quinoa, at room temperature
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, roasted
1/4 cup cilantro, fresh, chopped up
2 green onions, sliced
1-2 chiles from the canned chipolte chiles, sliced thin
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained

After the quinoa items are all mixed together ADD
the Mole Viniagrette and toss to coat.

Serve 
1 and 2/3 cups of mixture on top of 1+ cups of kale, ripped to bite size


Rated a 4.68 on the Kale Scale

Kale Grape Saute

A delicious side dish for a chicken dinner. Simple, too!

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

Add
30 grapes, halved
1/2 tsp coriander

After a bit, add and simmer a moment
3 tbsp white wine
2 tbsp orange juice

Add, cover and wilt
1+ cup kale, ripped to bitesize

Serve with 
3 tbsp parmesan, grated

Rated a 4.5 on the Kale Scale

Kale Scamble with Brussel Sprouts Pepper, and Parmesan

Great mix of veggies and protein for dinner - very good!

Saute
2 tsp olive oil
1/3 cup onion, chopped
2 brussel sprouts, chopped
1 sweet red pepper, diced
1/2 tsp cardamon
1/2 tsp black pepper

Add, cover and wilt Kale
1 cup Kale, ripped up to bite size pieces
2 tbsp white wine
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp orange juice

Add and scramble
2 eggs, beaten with 2 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp turmeric

Serve with 
3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

 Rated a 4.54 on the Kale Scale

Kale in Fennel Soup with Paenut-Mint Topping

The recipe for the soup, comes from Cooking Light. Adding kale to the soup - that's my idea. Worked quite well.  Recipe makes 4 servings.  Nutritional count is for 1 serving.  Delicious!

Saute 1 minute in Dutch Oven and then lower to med-low for 6 minutes. Do not brown. Stir every so often.
   4 teaspoons olive oil
   3 cups sliced fennel bulb
   1 cup chopped onion
   3 gloves garlic, minced
   1/4 tsp salt

Add and bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.

   2.5 Cups water
   1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
   1 (15 oz) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
   another 1/4 tsp salt
   1/4 tsp ground pepper

Blend, in blender or Vitamix, until soup is smooth. Do about 1/2 the ingredients.  Pour into a large bowl. Do the other 1/2. 

Chop fine and put in each serving bowl
   1 cup kale (i.e. 4 cups of kale for the recipe)

Combine and divide among the servings, and top with
   1/2 cup peanuts, dry roasted, unsalted
   1 tsp lemon rind strips
   3 Tbsp fresh mint, chopped up  
   1/4 cup parmesan cheese, finely shredded

Rated a 4.59 on the Kale Scale

Kale Salad with Pear, Cranberries and Asiago Cheese

This was delicious!  And very quick to make.

Toss together

1.5 cups Kale, cut fine with kitchen shears
1 red pear, cored, chopped
1 oz of Asiago cheese, diced
 1.5 oz dried cranberries, sweetened with juice
2 Tbsp of Fig Balsamic Dressing
Dusting of Dukkah on top

Serve and enjoy!

Rated a 4.68 on the Kale Scale

.

Kale, Pear and Fried Egg

Looking for simple, and filling. This egg and pear inspired mix worked!

Saute
2 tsp olive oil
1/3 cup onion, chopped
3/4 red pear, cored, chopped

As this cooks add
1/4 cup pomegranate juice
1/2 tsp ras el hanout spice
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp fresh chives, snipped to pieces
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

Move the vegetables to around the edge of pan add and fry your way
1 egg
1/2 tsp black pepper

Serve and enjoy!

Rated a 4.45 on the Kale Scale

Kale Tuna Salad

Here is variation on the Kale Salad - pretty good, fast. The quantity of kale, actually comes from only 2.5 green leaves, and 2 purple leaves. When chopped fine and fluffed up, it seems to expand in volume.   The resulting salad:  very tasty!

Mix in one bowl to your desired integration of ingredients:

2 cups kale, chopped fine
1 can tuna, albacore solid white, canned in water (5oz)
1/2 cup, broccoli slaw
20 grapes, halved
1 oz, dried cranberries sweented with juice
1-2 Tbsp or crushed almonds
1 Tbsp lite Mayo
2 Tbsp lite non-fat plain yogurt

Serve and enjoy!


Rated a 4.45 on the Kale Scale

Kale with Corn, Egg and Fake Sausage Patty

This meal was delicious and hearty, for kale.  Most important, it was filling and tasty.

Saute
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/3 cup onion, chopped
1/2 red pepper, chopped
3 oz corn kernels
1 fake sausage patty (Morningstar)
1/2 tsp cardamon, ground
1/2 tsp black pepper, ground

Add, wilt as desired
1.25 cup kale, ripped to bite size pieces
1 oz white wine

Make a hole in the middle and fry egg (I prefer over hard)
1 chicken egg

Serve with
1 tsp Worcestershire  sauce


Rated a 4.52 on the Kale Scale

Kale Corn Masala Spiced

A little side dish for Sunday dinner. Tasty, and quick!  Very good.

Saute
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/2 yellow pepper, chopped
1/2 roma tomato, chopped
3 oz yellow corn kernels, canned
1/2 tsp raw ginger
1/2 tsp Momo Masala spice

Add, cover and wilt
1.3 cups kale, ripped to bite size pieces
1 oz orange juice
1 oz white wine

Serve and enjoy!


Rated a 4.5 on the Kale Scale.

Red Grapes, Red Pepper Kale Saute

Made this to go with a salmon fillet. Was pretty quick, and tasty!

Saute
3 tsp coconut oil
1/3 Cup onion, chopped
1/2 sweet red pepper, chopped
22 red grapes, halved

Make a simmer sauce
4 tsp white wine
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/8 cup orange juice

Add, cover and wilt as desired
1.3 cups of kale, ripped to bite size pieces
simmer sauce from above

Serve with a dusting of dukkah on top.

Rated a 4.5 on the Kale Scale.

Hot Fruit Kale Salad

Looking around for how to complement the salmon fillet for dinner. I latched onto the idea of fruit and kale, but decided to make this as a hot salad. Was pretty good when I got done!

Saute
1 tsp olive oil
3/4 of the segments from 1 medium red grapefruit (I ate the other 1/4 of the segments while cooking)
1 cup, about, of red grapes, halved

Make a simmer sauce with
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 Tbsp white wine

Add, cover, wilt
1.25 cups Kale, ripped to bite size pieces
Simmer sauce (above) - pour this over the kale

Serve and top with
2 Tbsp dry roasted, unsalted, chopped almond pieces
2 tsp shredded, unsweetened coconut

Rated a 4.45 on the Kale Scale.

Instant Chicken Chile Verde with Kale

This is sort of like cheating, but it was really, really good. And for a frozen dinner - that's saying something. And, no added sugar to this processed food. Wow!

Luvo brand Chicken Chile Verde with Polenta, comes in a brown bag. Microwave and serve on a bed of 1.5 cups of steamed kale.

Yum!

Rated a 4.66 on the Kale Scale.

Shiba Spiced Tofu with Kale and Fresh Grapes

Looking in fridge for what to do for dinner... Tofu that I needed to use up; red pepper and onion waiting to be used; and rest of some asparagus from this week. I was inspired by Shiba's Hot Curry Chutney that I spied in the fridge too. Thus began the cooking of dinner.  It was spicy hot, and delicious!  This makes 2 servings.

Saute until tofu is a bit browned and onion somewhat cooked
3 tsp olive oil
1 tsp Shiba's Popping Seeds
1/3 cup onion, chopped up
1 tsp raw ginger
7 oz Tofu, cut into 1/2 in squares
1 tsp Mrs Dash
1 tsp ground turmeric


Add, and continue saute
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
10 stalks of asparagus, cut up

Make simmer sauce:
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup white wine
1/3 cup orange juice
1 Tbsp yellow mustard (Portlandia)
3/4 tsp Shiba's Hot Curry Chutney

Add sauce and simmer on low for couple minutes

Add, cover, wilt
2 cups kale, ripped to bite size

Serve and top with
20 fresh grapes, halved

Rated a 4.68 on the Kale Scale.