Kale Chips: Easy, Fast, Crunch, Yum!

Look at that brilliant green! I'm an adoring fan of that emerald green seen only on a lovely leaf of kale, but my insides get nervous at the thought of digesting the pretty thing. Lots of chewing required and sometimes it still doesn't get digested properly. But what if we could take the moisture out of the kale, and break down the fibres, and turn it into a crispy yummy snack? Enter the baked kale chip!

Recipe for Baked Kale Chips
- Take 1 head of kale out of the fridge; turn oven on the 300F
- Wash your kale leaves well and dry with a tea towel. Remove them from stems and rip into potato chip sized pieces.
- Take 2 baking trays and line each with a tablespoon of olive oil. Throw the kale on and start to massage the oil into every leaf.
- Now season to your liking. A sprinkle of sea salt and pepper, have some lemony Mrs. Dash? A handful of paprika?
- Place in oven for 20 minutes or until kale is crisp but not dark brown, nor is it soggy in the middle. You may turn with tongs after 10 minutes to ensure an even crisping.
- Dry out for at least 30 minutes. Store in airtight containers with a paper towel in the bottom to eliminate sogginess.

Dish of the Day: Kale Bake

This scrumptious recipe goes out to my good friend Jen C!


Recipe for Kale Bake

Serves four as a side dish
1 large bunch kale, stems removed and washed in a large bowl of water; make sure leaves are ripped into small pieces
1 large bunch of fresh spinach chopped and washed 2 times in a large bowl of water, or 1 block frozen spinach
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced or pressed
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 eggs
¼ cup of whole milk
1/3 cup sharp cheese, grated or chopped
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. When the water comes to a boil, add the kale and boil for 4-5 minutes. If using fresh spinach, add this in the last 1 minute of boiling time. If using frozen spinach, add at the same time as the kale.
2. Transfer to a colander, rinse with cold water, then drain and squeeze out as much water as possible. Using a sharp knife and fork, ensure the greens are chopped into small pieces, not clumped together, or they will not mix well with the eggy mixture.
3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Generously oil or butter a 8” x 8” glass pan or glass pie dish.
4. Beat the eggs with the milk in a bowl, and then stir in the cooked vegetables, herbs, and cheese. Add in 1 Tbsp of the olive oil and then salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and scrape it all into the baking dish. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top, and drizzle on the remaining olive oil.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until firm and starting to brown on the top. Serve hot or warm.
This will keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
Adapted from Martha Shulman

Dish of the Day: Chicken n Rice in the Oven

Tonight I was again bored and feeling uncreative. I had some chicken and that was about it. It was time to search the fridge for leftovers and see how a meal for 4 could be constructed. What I came up with was a saucy baked chicken recipe with rice and leafy greens. Here's how it came together:

- I grabbed some kale from the garden, washed and shredded it and placed in an oven-ready dish with some leftover brown rice.
- I mixed the two together so they were evenly distributed throughout the dish.
- I then took last night's delicious Moroccan Soup, and mixed it with about a cup of chicken broth.
- Meanwhile I was searing the chicken breast and then chopped it up and placed it on the rice mixture.
- Next I poured the soup/broth sauce over everything and ensured that all the kale and chicken was covered in sauce.
- This was placed in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes with aluminum foil on top to keep the heat in.
- I removed the foil, put some shredded cheese on top of the now bubbling dish, turned off the oven and left the dish in for 5 more minutes.
- The dish stood for 5 more minutes on a cooling rack and then we tucked in.

In the photo above, you can see we had a salad on the side. Not a bad meal for being unplanned and using up leftovers.

Cheers to not cooking dinner!

It's been unseasonably hot here in Vancouver and I can't bear to cook over the stove. Plus, with an unruly mess of vegetables growing out back, we can't help but build our meals lately around big salads. Here are some of the combinations I've been putting together:

- Leaf lettuce, green onion, baby corn, colourful bell peppers, fresh peas and radishes
- Homemade caesar dressing with Romaine leaves, artichoke hearts, capers, and bacon (veggie or piggie)
- Romaine or other firm leaves with hard boiled egg, potato, tuna, green beans, olive and green onion
- Any lettuce with baby chard, blanched and chopped kale, chunks of cheese, chick peas and cucumbers
- Mixed greens with cherry tomatoes, and nuts or seeds (pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, pecans or walnuts
- Spinach with peppers, bean sprouts, BC blueberries and chopped pecans or walnuts

And to any of the above, I love to throw in delicious sunflower greens. At our farmer's marketthere is a local guy who sells them by the bag and they are so nutty and delicious. I've tried to grow sunflower greens myself but they're a bit fiddly, and I'd rather pay the $5 to this dedicated urban farmer who grows them far better than I could.

Dish of the Day: Garden Soup

Garden Soup,
originally uploaded by me.

Tonight's dinner included soup made almost entirely from food from our garden. The only exceptions are garlic (which I must plant next year) and chick peas, both obtained from the Portuguese grocers next door. How's that for fresh and local?

This soup was made by heating up 2 tablespoons of olive oil and adding chopped shallots to taste, then chopped garlic and stirring them for 2 minutes. I then added 2 cups of water and a roughly chopped tomato, and 2 handfuls of finely chopped kale. I simmered this on medium for 5 minutes, then added in 1 handful of chopped Swiss Chard, and some chick peas and simmered for a few more minutes. Right before serving I added chopped basil and chives.

Have a look in your garden or vegetable drawer and try throwing them into a soup with the addition of your favourite spices for a quick and healthy meal.

Dish of the Day: Cucumbers!!!

Today we harvested the very first cucumber from our garden. It was big, juicy and delicious. We didn't dip this baby, as it was so yummy that everyone was happy to chomp on it without any added flavouring.

Since we have 2 more cukes on the way and about a dozen little stubs that will soon be big and juicy like this one, we're going to need to get creative about how we eat them. I'm thinking:
- lots of Greek salad
- cucumber, tomato and chickpea salad
- cucumber added to summer couscous
- cucumber raita
- cucumber martinis, and cucumber gin and tonics, and cucumbers and soda with Pimm's No 1 Cup (not for the whole family of course)

Does anyone have any other good ideas...?

How Does my Garden Grow?

I am in awe of the plants in my garden. I've tried to make a hospitable space for them, but it's tough for me to imagine how dirt could possibly be a nice place to inhabit. They seem to like it though - and thank goodness! I've told enough people that I've planted a food garden and my reputation is on the line. Since all I've ever done to-date is kill plants, inadvertently of course, the slow, steady growth of green things in my backyard is truly a miracle to me.

We've planted beans, peas, cucumbers, lettuces, kale, chard, onions, mint and chives. So far, every one if them is getting bigger, and I'm pretty sure this is a good sign! I think I need to start clipping these lettuces for don't they look juicy? I don't want them to get old and dry. As for the rest of the stuff, it's going to take a little while before they are kitchen-ready. But we're educating the kids on where their food comes from, and they seem to be enjoying watching the process thus far.

There are necessarily going to be a lot of summer vegetable recipes on the blog, coming soon. I'd be so happy to hear any ideas and suggestions that readers would like to share, since I'm looking at a steep learning curve here, as a gardener. Bring on the sun and the rain. My leafy friends need it!

The Zen of Backyard Gardening

I have some optimistic ideas this spring. We're planning to do a small vegetable garden in our backyard, now that we have a backyard. I'm incredibly ignorant of the entire gardening world and there's a huge learning gap I need to fill, and fast.

Since it's a long weekend I thought I'd get out there and get a headstart. It's been a rainy couple of days and I decided to do some digging in the beds, to see what the soil is like. I turned over a few shovelfuls and right away I see some lovely plump worms - which I've just chopped in two with the shovel's blade. Gasp!

How do Buddhists garden? Perhaps they turn over the soil with their fingers. Somehow I don't picture extreme Buddhists doing a lot of heavy lifting, nor getting particularly dirty. But I put out the question to the blogosphere. How does one garden without turning the activity into "Saw V" for our little wormy friends? Or is this just part of the whole deal?