Pear Parmesan Kale Salad

A simple salad and convenient side for a salmon steak. Quite tasty!

Toss as desired:

1+ Cup Kale, ripped to bite size pieces
1 pear, cored, diced - unpeeled
2 tbsp toasted almond slivers
3 tbsp grated parmesan
2 tbsp fig balsamic vinegar dressing


Enjoy!

Rated a 4.7 on the Kale Scale.

Kale Quinoa Pistachio Saute with Basalmic Vinegar

There was enough relief from the hot weather to actually use the cook top and oven. This dish was a

side to some fresh wild salmon. Very tasty, and surprisingly easy to make.

Cook quinoa
3/4 cup dry organic tricolor quinoa from Bob's Red Mill
1.5 cups water
1 Tbsp white wine

Bring water/wine to boil. Put in quinoa. Return to boil. Let simmer 3 minutes. Then turn off the heat, cover the pan, and leave it on the burner. Check it in about 20 minutes. Quinoa done. Perfectly!

Prepare onion
1/3 cup onion, chopped up.
1/2 tsp olive oil

Put the onion and oil in a microwave bowl. Cover. Cook on high 1 minute.

Prepare Kale
2 cups kale - rip to bite size pieces.
1/3 cup - broccoli slaw  
Microwave on high 1 minute

Put it all together
Get a microwave bowl large enough for all of the above.
Put 1 tsp balsamic vinegar and 1 Tbsp olive oil in the bottom of bowl.
Add kale, quinoa and onion.
Add 1 tsp ground black pepper
Mix it all up.
Add 35+ pistachios (shelled)

Heat the mixture in microwave 1.5 minutes.
Mix, again, and serve.  

Makes 2 servings (really could make 4, but for me, it's 2).

Rated a 4.70 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.

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.

Sweet and Savory Kale

Getting to the end of the week and cleaning out the miscellaneous from fridge. Turned out to be very tasty - the pear and persmisson were a good match for the brussel sprouts.

Saute
2 tsp olive oil
1/3 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup fennel bulb, chopped
1 fingerling potato, chopped
3 brussel sprouts, chopped

After a bit add and continue saute, lower heat and cover
1 red pear, cored and cut up
1 persimmon, cored and cut up (keep the peel on)
1 oz white wine
2 tsp white balsamic vinegar
1 tsp ras el hanout
1/4 tsp cardamon
1/4 tsp coriander
2 veggie patties (Morningstar), cut up

Steam in microwave
1+ cup of kale

Pile the sweet and savory mix on top of the steamed kale and enjoy!


Rated a 4.79 on the Kale Scale.

Mashed Squash with Shiba's Popping Seeds

Shiba's Popping Seeds formed the basis for my experiment to night. This new spice is something I picked up at the grocery store this week. The seeds are a mix of cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, bishop seeds, nigella seeds, fennel, dill seeds.  This was a great mashed side dish!

Saute til seeds' aroma is wafting
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp Popping Seeds

Add and continue til almost done
1/3 cup onion, chopped
1 brussel sprout, chopped
1 fingerling potato, sliced fine
1/4 cup fennel bulb, chopped

Add and mash
3/4 cup acorn squash, pre-cooked (using one I cooked up this weekend)
1/3 cup soy milk

Add, mix everything up and continue simmer, lower heat
1 oz white wine
1 Tbsp fig balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp turmeric ground

Steam in microwave
1+ cup kale, ripped to bite size pieces

Add kale to the Popping Seeds mix, and stir it all up.

Serve and enjoy!

Rated a 4.77 on the Kale Scale

Squash and Pear Hash on Kale

Looking around for what to do with acorn squash and a pear plus, or course, kale. Decided to create a fruit and veggie hash. It was delicious!

Microwave til done
1 acorn squash.  Cut in half, scoop out seeds. Only using 1/2 so set the rest aside.

Saute til onion is limp
1/3 cup onion, chopped up
1.5 tsp olive oil

Add and continue saute
1 pear, asian, cored, chopped fine (peel left on)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp tumeric
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Simmer with

1 oz white wine
1 Tbsp fig balsamic vinegar
1 tsp sesame seeds

Add, mix up and heat through
2 fake sausage patties, cut up
1/2 cooked acorn squash - scoop out by spoonful and add to pan

Steam till wilted, about 2 minutes
1+ cup kale, ripped to bite size pieces

Assemble on dinner plate
Steamed kale topped with the squash and pear hash mixture
10 green olives, halved (castelvetrano olives)


 Rated a 4.78 on the Kale Scale

Date Crumbles Tame Brussel Sprouts with Kale

The weather turned autmun like - yeah!  I can get back to making Kale side dishes on the stove stop.  I found that pineapple works well to make brussel sprouts palatable, but no pineapple today. What to do? I looked around and found some date crumbles I have from Bob's Red Mill - they have no added sugar, and are dusted with oat flour.

Soak
1/4 cup date crumbles in couple Tbsp of water. Set aside.

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

Add and continue saute
1 red pepper, cut up
2 brussel sprouts, cut up

Add and simmer a bit
Dated crumbles and the water they were soaked in.
1 Tbsp Fig Balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp white wine

Add, cover and wilt
1-2 cups kale, ripped to bite size pieces (I ended up with about 2 cups today!)
Another 1 Tbsp of white wine and bit of water to keep the steam coming

Mix it all up an serve with a splash of Worcestershire sauce


Rated a 4.73 on the Kale Scale.

Four Ingredients Salad

How much simpler can it get?  This quick salad was nicely done, very tasty!

Mix, layer, toss

1+ cup kale, ripped to bite size pieces
1 pear, cored, chopped up
1 tsp or so of dukkah
2 tbsp. Fig Balsamic Dressing

Yum!

Rated a 4.65 on the Kale Scale.

Saucy Kale

I had some of the sauce leftover from yesterday's Squash It entry which formed the starting point for tonight's meal. Sautéing the veggies in the sauce and then the kale - umMm good!

Saute
3 tsp coconut oil (this is solid at first)
1/2 cup onion, diced
1/2 tsp garlic, raw, diced

Add and continue sautéing
10 grape tomatoes, halved
4 slices of lean Canadian bacon, cup up

Steam 2 minutes
1+ cup Kale

While kale steams, add and simmer sauce made from (about 2+ Tbsp total)
- Hoisin sauce
- wine
- balsamic vinegar
- soy sauce lite

I was going to put the ham and tomato mix on the kale, but instead I added the kale to the sauté pan and mixed it all up.

Serve with parmesan cheese (about 1 Tbsp)

Rated a 4.69 on the Kale Scale.

Squash It

I bought a squash - looked like an acorn, but it was all yellow. The label said Swan Winter Acorn and as I google, I find it is also called White Swan Acorn Squash. The link goes to a web page with a picture of what my squash looked like.

So thinking I'd go simple tonight.

Cook the squash in microwave, scoop out the seeds and then scoop out the flesh.


Steam 1+ cup of kale (ripped up).

Put the squash on top of the kale and served with a little sauce.

Mix to your desire and pour over the squash/kale:
- Hoisin sauce
- wine
- balsamic vinegar
- soy sauce lite

When all was done, I used about 2 tbsp. of this sauce mix.

Top it all with 1 Tbsp of Parmesan cheese.

Rated a 4.5 on the Kale Scale.

Sunchokes and Kale

Sunchoke, Jerusalem artichoke ... something new for me. This mish mash started with the 'chokes and then I remembered the asparagus that needed to be used; and the snow peas; and then the pineapple.. and so on. The meal worked ok, but not my favorite.

Saute
1.5 tsp olive oil
1/3 cup onion, chopped
2 sunchokes, sliced thin

Add and continue saute
5 spears of asparagus, cut up
6 snow peas, cut up
1/3 cup pineapple, cut up
1 Tbsp fig basalmic vinegar
1 oz wine
1 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp Mrs Dash

Add, cover, wilt
1+ cup kale, ripped up to bite size pieces
1-2 Tbps liquid

Create a spot in the middle of the pan
Fry one egg

Serve with a dash of worcestershire sauce.

Rated a 3.99 on the Kale Scale.

Tuna With Kale and Yogurt

Looking for a quick lunch with some protein = tunafish!  I was wondering if I could combine my cup of kale with a can of tuna. I cut the kale up with my kitchen shears to make it more fine for incorporating.  I chose to eat the resulting mixture was a dip, and used falafel chips. You could make a sandwich.  The nutrition count is only for the tunafish mixture (i.e. not the chips).

Mix together in a bowl

5 oz can of solid white tuna in water, break it up with a fork
2 oz non-fat greek yogurt
2 tbsp dill pickle relish
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 oz pineapple salsa with jalepeno from Whole Foods (fresh made)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1+ cup kale, cut up fine

Serve with chips, crackers or as a sandwich.


Rated a 4.64 on the Kale Scale.

Fried Egg Vegie Mix Kale

This is a variation from another meal from last week. Vegies saute, with a couple thin pork slices, fry and egg in the middle.

Saute
1+ tsp olive oil
1/3 cup onion, chopped
2 little itty bitty fingerling potatoes, sliced thin
2 brussel sprouts, chopped up
7 grape tomatoes, halved
1/3 cup pineapple, cut up
2 little cooked breakfast lean pork chops (tiny, 2 oz total), sliced up

Add and wilt, and then mix it all up
1+ cup Kale, ripped to bite size pieces
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp Mrs Dash
2 Tbsp wine
1+ tsp balsamic vinegar

Fry egg
Move the kale around so a clear spot in the middle of saute pan.
1 egg - fry to your desired level of doneness.

Serve with a dash of worcestershire sauce.


Rated a 4.7 on the Kale Scale.

Squash Kale with Pork and Egg

Another night of using up leftovers, but in a very tasty way. This is very similar to what I did with the mashed potatoes last week. This time, it was mashed squash ... the rest of the spiced acorn squash.

Saute
1+ tsp olive oil
1/3 cup onion, chopped
3/4 cup of the Spiced Acorn Squash
1+ tsp balsamic vinegar
2 little cooked breakfast lean pork chops (tiny, 2 oz total)

Add and wilt
1+ cup Kale, ripped to bite size pieces
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp Mrs Dash
1 oz sherry

Fry egg
Move the kale around so a clear spot in the middle of saute pan.
1 egg - fry to your desired level of doneness.
1/4 tsp chili powder.

Serve with a dash of worcestershire sauce.


Rated a 4.7 on the Kale Scale.

Cabbage, Pineapple and Kale Sauted with Wine

Pulling together several things in the refrigerator for this one.  This turned out to be very tasty!

Saute
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup cabbage, chopped
1/3 cup pineapple, chopped
7 olives, castelvetrano, halved
2 fingerling potatos, sliced fine
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp ras el hanout

Let that cook for a bit.

Add, cover and wilt as desired
2 Tbsp wine
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 cup kale, ripped to bitesize pieces

Serve with
1 Tbsp dukkah (Egyption nut and spice mix)

Rated a 4.66 on the Kale Scale.

Nebuchadnezzar Zesty Split Pea Soup with Roasted Vegies and Kale

Found this soup at the Country Mercantile in Ritzville Washington.  It's a dry soup to which you add water, tomatoes and hot peppers. I also had leftover, roasted vegies with balsamic vinegar. Put these items together along with a cup of kale ripped up to bitesize pieces.

The whole thing - delicious!

Rated a 4.68 on the Kale Scale.

Pineapple-Pear Kale Dukkah Dusted

At the holidays, I received handcrafted olive oil and balsamic vinegar from Washington. This mix is one way in which I used a bit of these gifts.

Saute
2 tsp Basil Olive Oil
1/2 cup pineapple, cut up
2/3 red pear, cored and cup up
1 tbsp Prickly Pear Balsamic Vinegar

Steam
1+ cup kale, ripped to bite size pieces

Serve
Put the pineapple and pear on top of the kale.
Dust with 1+ Tbsn of Dukkah (Egyptian nut-spice mix)

Rated a 4.7 on Kale Scale.