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.

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.

Momo Masala Spiced Kale

Just returned from trip to Nepal where momos are a favorite appetizer. Momo is like a dumpling; or a pot sticker. It has spiced veggies or meat wrapped in dough and then steamed.  One of the ingredients
in momo is a collection of spices that one can buy in a spice mix called Momo Masala (which I found at the Nepal Airport for $2).




I did not make momos. Just used the spice. As you can see in the pix, momos by themselves are more work than my typical culinary activity.

This Kale experiment was inspired by the spices.

Next time, I think I'll bypass the tofu marination; and just saute it with the spices.  But overall it was a tasty dish.  These ingredients make 2 servings. The nutrition count is for one serving.

Marinate for 15 minutes or so
7 oz tofu, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 T Momo Masala spice
1 T raw shredded ginger
1 T soy sauce, sodium lite
1 T olive oil

1 T white wine

Saute
2 tsp olive oil
2/3 onion, diced
1 yukon gold potato, small, diced

Move this to a plate when done.

Saute (add oil only if needed)
The marinated tofu
1 tsp turmeric, ground

After tofu is heated through and browned some add, and simmer for 5 minutes or so, stirring every so often:
onion and potato mix
2 brussel sprouts, chopped
1 T white wine
1/2 c soy milk

Steam
1 cup kale, chopped fine

Put the kale on dinner plate. Put serving of Momo masala veggie mix on top.

Serve with a dusting of dukkah (ground Egyptian nut mix)

Rated a 3.60 on the Kale Scale.

Solar Pepper Quinoa with Steamed Kale

Hot weather continues - perfect for a solar cooked dinner!  A present some years ago, my solar cooker still does a fine job.

I put the quinoa, liquid and accompaniments into an orange pepper. I placed the pepper in a small pyrex dish to keep it stable. And this dish was placed in the black kettle that I use with the solar cooker. I also included in the cooker a salmon fillet.

Put the cooker in the sunshine at 1pm. Brought it in at 4:30 pm. 

Mix in a bowl

1/2 cup Quinoa
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 Tbsp, ginger, raw and minced
1 clementine orange, peeled and sectioned
1 Cup water
1.5 Tbsp white wine (finishing off the little bottle)
1 Tbsp lime juice

Assemble

Cut the top and inside seeds from an orange pepper.
Place about 1/2 of the mixture in the prepared pepper.
Place in the solar cooker.
Cook for 2.5 hours.

Serve

Steam 1+ cup of kale for 2 minutes or less.
Place on plate
Put the stuffed pepper on the kale.
Add a dash of Worcestershire sauce.
Eat some kale with every bite!

Rated a 4.71 on the Kale Scale.

Cherry Pineapple Kale Smoothie

Used raw pineapple I had from Whole Foods. And some cherries from a Washington farm, sold locally by Pablo Munoz farms, a local Dayton area establishment. They sell the best strawberries, but I am saving those for my breakfasts. As I noted before, citrus and grapes seem to provide the best naturally sweet base for kale drinks. I thought pineapple and cherry would be outstanding. Hmmm... ok, but not with a wow-factor.

Blend together:

1+ cup of kale, ripped up
1 cup skim milk
1 cup, raw pineapple, cut up
16 cherries, pitted
1/2 tsp raw ginger, peeled, cut up

Serve and enjoy!

Rated a 4.61 on the Kale Scale.

Tipsy Kale

After sauteing the veggies and fruit, I decided to simmer in wine for a bit. And when I was ready to steam the kale, I spritzed it with 2 tsp of wine.  It all worked well!  The one thing I'd do differently is to leave out the tomatoes, and up the number of apricots. The apricot was actually an after thought when it looked like I needed more veggies for the amount of kale I ripped up. All in all, a fine side for a Sunday salmon dinner.

Saute

This is a fully packed cup o' kale and then some.

2 tsp olive oil
1/3 cup onion, cut up (sweet Walla Walla onion)
2 tsp raw ginger, cut up fine

Add and continue saute
9 grape tomatoes, halved
1 apricot, cut up

Simmer, uncovered about 2 minutes, with
2 oz white wine

Cover with steam lid, and steam in microwave, about 2 minutes

1+ cup Kale, ripped up
2 tsp white wine, sprinkled around on the kale

Serve with cut up cilantro garnish and a splash of Worcestershire sauce.

Rated a 4.58 on the Kale Scale.

Kale Caper

It is cold, rainy, stormy in the 50s. Like a nice winter day - but, it's spring! This calls for a warm dinner.  Inspired by some Canadian Bacon and capers that I had in the 'fridge.  This hit the spot for this cool blustery evening.

Saute:
2 tsp olive oil
1/3 cup onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp raw ginger, cut up fine

Add and continue saute:
3 slices lean canadian bacon (the kind that gets you 60 cals for 60 grams of bacon)
8 grape tomatoes, halved

Add and scramble:
1 egg, beaten
3 tsp capers

While the egg cooks, steam:
1 cup kale

To serve:
- put the steamed kale on plate
- top with the scramble mix
- add a dash or worcestershire sauce

Rated a 4.85 on the Kale Scale

Can a Vitamix do kale?

I succumbed to the call of the Vitamix - it was on sale at Costco. It certainly does a smoothie like no other blender! 

Blend together:

1/2 c soy milk
1/4 c yogurt, nonfat Danon vanilla
1 orange, peeled and sectioned
1/3 c pineapple chunks
2 Tbsp ginger root (put in ginger chunks)
1 Tbsp parsley
1 C kale, ripped up

Rated a 4.67 on the Kale Scale.

Kale Chicken Saute with Red Cabbage, Shredded Ginger and Pineapple

I made a delicious chicken recipe in January, froze a piece, pulled it out to use tonight. Remembered the cabbage, and then there was this piece of ginger root that needed to be used. That's how this came together.

Saute
2 tsp olive oil
1/3 C onion, chopped up
1/3 C red cabbage, chopped up

After a bit, add and continue saute
8 grape tomatoes, quartered
1/2 C pineapple, chopped up
3 oz chicken breast, already cooked
2 tsp ginger, shredded
1 oz water
2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Add, wilt to your desire
1 C kale, ripped to bite size pieces
2 oz orange juice

Serve with a dash of dukkah on top.


Rated a 4.65 on the Kale Scale.

Orange Glazed Tofu on Steamed Kale

I've had the tofu for a week, and decided today is the day.  I varied a recipe from Natural Health magazine - one in my archives that I'd never tried before. The original is Orange Glazed Tofu and Turnips - gee, I didn't have turnips. I subbed with fingerling potatoes. I'm pretty sure it tastes better this way!

The recipe serves 4. Nutrition count is for 1 serving. (In reality, I used about 1/3 of the recipe for my meal, but technically, I loaded up my plate..)

Prepare and set aside in a cup
3/4 C orange juice
2 Tbsp soy sauce, lite

Prepare and set aside in a bowl
2 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp ginger root, freshly grated
3/4 C onion, chopped
1/2 tsp red pepper, ground
1 sweet red pepper, chopped

Prepare for use
14 oz tofu, extra firm, patted dry, cut into cubes

Saute and cook until tofu is browned, about 6-8 minutes, and then set aside
1 Tbsp olive oil
Tofu sprinkle with:
Mrs Dash, 1/2 tsp
Chili powder, 1/4 tsp

Saute for 3-5 minutes
3/4 Tbsp olive oil
5 fingerling potatoes, chopped up

Add and continue to saute for another 4-5 minutes
Garlic and onion mixture

Add, and reduce the sauce by simmering on medium for 4-6 minutes
Orange juice and soy sauce

Add and continue to reduce the sauce until tofu and potatoes are nicely covered/glazed.
the cooked tofu

Serve on a bed of
1+cup kale, steamed.


Rated a 4.699 on the Kale Scale.

Spiced Acorn Squash with Kale

Another squash recipe from my archives, to which I embellished a bit. The squash recipe is a keeper!

Bake the squash this way:
Cut the squash in half; bake acorn squash with some 100% orange juice in the cavity of each half; along with ground ginger, nutmeg and ras el hanout. No butter. No sugar. No oil.

When it has about 15 minutes left, I added couple tablespoons of buttermilk to each cavity. Mostly because I had some, and thought it might add something. It didn't hurt.

Once the squash is done, let it cool a bit. Then scoop out the squash meat and put in a bowl.

Add to the squash meet, some dukkah and some parmesan cheese.

Steam
1 cup kale, ripped to bite size pieces

Mix up
Half of the baked spiced, squash meet
Steamed kale pieces

Serve with a topping of
1.5 oz of greek non-fat plain yogurt



Rated a 4.7 on the Kale Scale.