First Kale Salad of 2012

Needed a quick, light meal tonight.

Toss together and serve:

1 cup Kale, ripped up
5 castleverano olives, halved
3 kalamata olives, halved
1.5 oz chicken breast tender, previously cooked with my Z'aatar recipe
8 grape tomatoes, halved
1 Tbsp Safeway Select Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil Dressing


Rated a 4.67 on the Kale Scale.

Steamed Kale, Pecans and Olives

And still another steamed kale concoction using some kalamata olives and castleverano olives. This is a side dish to some Copper River Salmon that was a surprise find at grocery store. I'm beginning to like the steaming thing... Put the ingredients in the pampered chef steaming pot, 2 minutes in the microwave and done!

Steam together:
1 cup Kale, ripped to bite size pieces. I used rainbow kale.
6 castlevetrano olives, pitted, halved
3 kalamata olives, pitted, halved
20 pecan halves, chopped fine

Rated a 4.5 on the Kale Scale.

Steamed Kale Tomato Olive sans Egg

Tonight, another steamed kale concoction using some kalamata olives and castleverano olives I bought this weekend at Whole Foods/olive bar.

Steam for 2 minutes in microwave
1.25 Cups kale, ripped to bite size pieces
10 grape tomatoes, halved
3 kalamata olives, halved (pitted)
5 castleverano olives, halved (pitted)
1/4 tsp Mrs Dash
1/2 tsp black pepper
add 1-2 Tbsp of wine in the steamer for flavor, drain liquid before serving

Serve with
1 Tbsp walnuts, chopped fine
1.5 Tbsp mozzarella cheese shredded

Rated a 4.5 on the Kale Scale

Steamed Kale Scramble

Continuing with my plan to keep it simple, here is my last Friday night dinner. (Dessert was some air popped popcorn).

Scramble:
1 tsp olive oil
1 egg plus 1 egg white
1/4 tsp Mrs Dash

Steam for 2 minutes in microwave
1.25 Cups kale, ripped to bite size pieces
6 cherry tomatoes, halved

Mix:
Kale, tomatoes and scrambled egg together

Serve with
1 Tbsp walnuts, chopped fine
1.5 Tbsp mozzarella cheese shredded
1 tsp worcestershire sauce


Rated a 4.5 on the Kale Scale

Sweet, Sour and Spicy Tofu on Steamed Kale

I did a variation on a theme of a recipe from Natural Healing magazine 2002. Originally designed to serve with rice, couscous or quinoa, but I chose to serve it on a bed of steamed kale.  The recipe here serves 4. The nutrition analysis is for 1 serving on a 1.5 cups of kale.

Prep
Drain 14 oz brick of tofu.
Cut into cubes.

Saute until browned - about 10-15 minutes; stir occasionally. Put in a bowl and set aside when done.
1 Tbsp olive oil
Cubes of tofu.
1/2 tsp Mrs Dash

Saute
1 Onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ginger root, minced

Add and continue saute, stir this up and mix in the spices
Tofu
6 Olives, green castleverano, pitted and halved
3/4 Pear, peeled, cored and chopped. It would have been a whole pear, but I cut out bruises
1/3 to 1/2 cup  dried apricots, chopped small
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cardamon

Add and simmer until liquid is absorbed - about 15 minutes or so
1 1/2 cups  water
1/4 cup  white wine
2 Tbps  balsamic vinegar

Serve on bed of 1 and 1/2 cups steamed kale. Non-fat greek plain yogurt is optional.

Rated a 4.68 on Kale Scale.

Quinoa Stuffed Eggplant served with Kale

Today, I wanted to combine quinoa, eggplant and kale and had to look for recipe since I don't have much experience with eggplant. I found this one on internet at Mother Earth News. It was delicious!!  I cut the recipe in half, and this will make 2 servings. You need to start with an eggplant that weighs about .75 of a pound.  The recipe shown here is my version. The nutrition info is for one serving with 1.5 cups of steamed kale. The non-fat greek yogurt was an after thought and not included in the nutrition count.

Baked Eggplant with Quinoa
1 cup quinoa, cooked (1/2 cup dry)
3/4 pound eggplant
1.5 cups water
1/2 teaspoon Mrs. Dash
1.5 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup chopped red onion
Freshly ground pepper
3/4 cups frozen mixed vegies
1 generous cup chopped tomato
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp sherry or wine
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tsp Basil, dried and ground
1-2 tsp Oregano, dried and ground
3-4 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

1. Rinse and drain quinoa three times. Use the 1.5 cups of water and prepare as per the package instructions. I chose to microwave it, and ended up zapping it on high for some 5-8 minutes.  Stir, cover, and let stand.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Halve the eggplant lengthwise. Carefully cut around eggplant’s perimeter, leaving about a 3/8-inch shell without cutting through the bottom. Remove inner flesh by scoring it and cutting it into chunks (I use a grapefruit spoon to remove the flesh). Chop flesh into 1/2-inch pieces.
3. Rub olive oil inside the eggplant shells and season them with salt and pepper. Place in a lightly oiled baking dish and bake for 15 minutes while you prepare the filling. Smaller eggplants may need only 10 or 12 minutes. The eggplant shells should be partially but not completely cooked.
4. Heat 1.5 tablespoons olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Sauté onion for 1 to 2 minutes, add eggplant, stir, cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir again so it doesn’t stick, season with Mrs Dash and pepper, cover and cook for 3 minutes. Stir and repeat for 3 more minutes. Add vegies, tomato, garlic, and dried herbs (add fresh herbs later); balsamic vinegar and sherrry/wine. Stir and cook 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat.
5. Add 1 cup cooked quinoa to the pan, and toss to mix. Add most of the parmesan, leaving just a little to garnish the top, and toss. Heap eggplant shells with filling, then mound nicely.
6. Bake for 20 to 25 mintues; smaller eggplants will probably take about 20 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes and serve. Sprinkle the rest of the parmesan on top. Optional - serve with non-fat Greek yogurt.

Rated a 4.78 on the Kale Scale.

Eggplant Scallopini Marsala Served on a Bed of Kale

I made a batch of Eggplant Scallopini Marsala from the Moosewood Restaurant Cookbook, but instead of making pasta, I steamed 1-2 cups of kale and served the eggplant mixture on that. Also, the recipe calls for mushrooms, and I substituted a cup of some roasted vegies that I made yesterday.

This recipe serves 4. I used one serving - the nutrition info is for 1 serving, served on a bed of steamed kale and topped with 2 Tbsp of parmesan

Saute until onion is translucent (about 8 min):
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 bay leaf

Add, cover and cook until eggplant is soft (about 15 min):

1 eggplant       unpeeled, diced
1 medium        red pepper, sweet, chopped
3 tsp                basil, dried, crumbled
1 cup               roasted vegies (potato, sweet potato, carrot,  red bell pepper, beet, onion)

Add, Uncover and cook until liquid is absorbed (about 15 min):

1 tsp                black pepper, ground
1 tbsp              garlic, raw, minced, -
14.5 oz            tomato, diced, canned
5 cherry           tomato, red, ripe, raw
6 oz                 cooking sherry

Rated a 4.5 on the Kale Scale