A Slight Riff on Ricki's Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Edamame

The Monster and I really enjoyed this dish. I added cubed and sauteed tofu as per Ricki's suggestion and that was our dinner. Nice to have another brussels sprouts recipe in my repertoire...since I usually just roast them whole to nut brown with olive oil and kosher salt.

I was just short on the edamame called for in Ricki's recipe, so I also added in ~3/4 cup of frozen green peas. Use 'em if you got 'em I say. I was also tempted to brave the heat and go pick some basil in the back yard to add in...but dint! The Monster gave his bowl a dousing of Sriracha hot sauce, but I liked it just fine as it was. Next time I make this I'll add in a bit of fresh thyme...I just happened to use all of mine earlier in the day roasting mushrooms. :-)

If you'd rather, you can leave out the tofu and serve just the veggies with an alternate protein source. Fyi, I've since made this dish a second time using finely shredded Savoy cabbage for the Brussels sprouts and it was great.

Ricki's Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Edamame and Tofu:
(only slightly adapted from Ricki Heller's recipe on Diet Dessert and Dogs)

If adding tofu:
~1 Tbs. olive oil
1 block of extra-firm tofu (not silken); drained and pressed in a towel to dry somewhat, cubed and sprinkled with kosher salt and a nice shower of garlic powder

3/4 cup edamame; boiled 5 minutes if frozen
1/2-3/4 cup frozen green peas; thawed

1 Tbs olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic; minced
1 lb brussels sprouts; trimmed, cut in half and shredded

zest of 1/2 a lemon...zest before juicing :-)
juice of half a lemon
salt to taste

Heat 1 Tbs olive oil in non-stick skillet over med-high heat.
Saute cubed tofu until golden on several sides.
Set tofu aside and carefully wipe out skillet if necessary.

Boil your edamame and thaw the peas while the tofu sautes, then set aside.

Heat 1 Tbs olive oil in non-stick skillet over medium heat.
Saute garlic for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add shredded brussels sprouts and a touch of salt and saute until bright green and just starting to soften. Taste some and see if it's done enough for you.

If it is, then add in the edamame, tofu, and peas, stirring to warm through.
Remove sprout mix from heat and mix in lemon zest and juice, adjusting salt if needed.

Pureed Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic

This mash used to be a house standard and I'm surprised it's been so long since I've made it. Monster requested it specifically the other night, and since I'd seemingly forgotten about it, I'm super glad he did! The recipe has morphed a lot from the way I found it originally, changes here and there until I ended up with the simple goodness below. If you do try it, just feel your way through the recipe and alter at will until it suits your specific palette.

I thought we had a reasonable sized cauli last night, but it only fed the two of us with a tiny snack leftover for the next day. Get the largest head of cauliflower you can find and just use two sheet pans to roast, so you won't be sad like I was when you don't have a whole slew of leftovers. :-)
Try serving the cauliflower with Salmon with French Lentils and Mustard Dressing, or just the lentils if you don't eat fish...it's a great combo!

Pureed Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic:

1 head of cauliflower (If you have a super huge head of cauli, just split it between two baking sheets, so you don't overcrowd one pan)
3+ cloves of garlic depending on the size of the clove and your cauliflower, cut into 2-3 chunks ea.
~2 Tbs olive oil
Kosher salt to taste
optional: more olive oil, or a pat of Earth Balance, or butter (I didn't use any this time)
warmed liquid for pureeing to your liking (I used warmed [nuked] unsweetened soymilk, but you can use a light veggie broth, or chicken broth, etc.)
pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 400.
Cut cauliflower into florettes then slice about 1/8-1/4" thick. The more small bits you have the more carmelization you'll get on them...a good thing!
Place on a jelly roll pan and toss with garlic and olive oil.
Sprinkle with Kosher salt to taste.
Roast for about 12 minutes, then stir.
Return to oven and roast about 12-14 minutes more, rotating your pans if using 2.
I bumped the heat up to 425 for the second leg of cooking since I wasn't getting much browning (everything was on one sheet pan).
Once the cauliflower is tender and you have some good browning (browning, not burning), transfer cauliflower and garlic to a food processor, add butter if using and start adding warmed liquid as you puree. Once you've got a texture and consistency you're happy with, taste and adjust seasoning. Add pepper, pulse it in and you're done.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Latin Spice Mix

This recipe hails from my Aunt Judy, and I'm not really sure where she found it but it's a total keeper. We ate this as a side to our black bean, corn and cheese blue masa tamales on Christmas Eve. Soooo good! I already have plans for using more of the spice mix on sweet potatoes roasted in the same fashion. I only mixed up 1/2 a batch of the spice mix, but next time I'd go ahead and make it all. Pretty sure it'd be great on most any roasted veggie. Cauliflower comes to mind as my next victim after the sweet potatoes. :-)

Roasted Butternut Squash with Latin Spice Mix:
(via Judy Deggeller)

Latin Spice Mix
1/4 cup whole cumin seeds
3 Tbs whole black peppercorns
1 Tbs whole coriander seeds
2 Tbs sugar (I used raw sugar and it worked just fine)
1 1/2 tsp sea salt

Combine cumin, peppercorns, and coriander.
Stir in a skillet over medium heat for 8 minutes.
Cool slightly.
Smash in a baggie (this doesn't really work for me, so I put it in my spice grinder and just give it a couple pulses, til crushed looking).
Stir in sugar and salt, and store in a fresh bag or clean jar.

Squash
4 lb butternut squash- peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch cubes
1/4-1/3 cup olive oil
1.5-2 Tbs Latin Spice Mix
1/4 tsp cayenne (I didn't realize that I'd left this out until just now!...didn't miss it at all, was good and spicy without it)

Preheat oven to 400.
Toss squash in a bowl with olive oil and spice mix.
Bake on a large baking sheet, stirring occasionally for 45-60 minutes.
I added some large flake sea salt to the squash to finish since I thought it needed a bit more salt...maybe because I only used 1.5 Tbs of the spice mix.

Roasted Mushrooms with Garlic,Thyme and Balsamic Vinegar

Ok, this completely breaks Monster's "No Mushies EVER Law". But, I'm ok with that. It took me a long time to come to the realization that I could prepare stuff he didn't like at home for MYSELF.
It started with eggplant...pan roasting it with thyme til soft and delicious, then sprinkled with lemon juice. They could be eaten at my leisure, for a quick nosh during the day, reheated as a side that just didn't show up on his plate, etc.
Now, enter the mushroom. I'm really partial to portabellas. I always order them when we're in a restaurant since I don't cook mushrooms at home. Make that DIDN'T. The other day at Costco, I succumbed to a large 24oz. package of "baby bellas", ie. criminis. Not one to start out small like...
With just shy of a pounds worth, I made up a batch of vegetarian soup in the pressure cooker using sliced criminis, whole spelt and a nice touch of sherry. House smelled wonderful. Best thing of all, I just froze what I didn't eat for dinner. Money in the bank. That left me with about 10 oz of mushrooms. Enter Kalyn's Kitchen's recipe for roasted mushies. So simple, so good, and divine eaten alongside my French green lentils and leeks for lunch.
And so, I must encourage those out there that may have a partner/spouse that doesn't like something they do to say "So what!". And make it anyway. :-)

Roasted Mushrooms with Garlic, Thyme, and Balsamic Vinegar:

(Makes 4 side-dish servings, recipe found at Kalyn's Kitchen adapted slightly from Vegetables Every Day by Jack Bishop.)

1 lb. mushrooms (I used brown Crimini mushrooms)
2 T + 1 tsp. olive oil
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 T finely minced garlic
1 T balsamic vinegar
2 T finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 T chopped fresh parsley (optional, for garnish)

Preheat oven to 400F/200C. Wash and dry mushrooms. Pull out stems and cut them in half.
Cut the caps into halves (or quarters if the mushrooms are large, which I did.)
Put mushrooms into bowl and toss with 2 T olive oil, salt, and fresh ground black pepper.
Give a baking sheet a quick spray of canola cooking spray (or a light coating of olive oil) then arrange mushrooms on the pan in a single layer. Spread them out as much as you can.

Roast mushrooms 15 minutes. While mushrooms cook, finely chop fresh thyme, then mix with minced garlic, balsamic vinegar, and the tsp. of olive oil.

After 15 minutes, drain off any liquid that has accumulated (this wasn't necessary with mine). Then toss the hot mushrooms into the bowl with garlic-thyme mixture.
Arrange back on roasting pan and cook about 10 minutes more. Serve hot, sprinkled with chopped fresh parsley if desired.

Feta Stuffed Zucchini

I hadn't made these guys in a long while even though they are a particular favorite of the Monster. Mostly because they are a bit fussier than I like (I feel the same about stuffed tomatoes...what a pain). I mean, with the scooping of the zuke innards, the chopping and sauteeing of said innards, the cooling of the innards, then the stuffing of the zuke shells. C'mon, can't we just have sauteed zucchini and call it a day??
But, he does like them. And, I'd mistakenly bought a second container of feta when we already had a new one in the fridge....so.
They really are lovely though. :-)

Feta Stuffed Zucchini:

2 large zucchini (you might want to make more if you're going to the trouble and all...)
1 Tbs butter
1 large shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg
1 1/2 Tbs flour (I used brown rice flour and I think I'll reduce this amt. next time since the stuffing kind of pulled away from the shell)
2 oz. crumbled feta
dash of salt and pepper to taste
paprika

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease an ovenproof dish.
Cut the zukes lengthwise, then scoop out the insides, leaving about 1/4" shell.
Save the zuke scoopings and chop them.
Melt the butter in a skillet, add the chopped zucchini scoopings, shallot, garlic and salt and saute until soft.
Let the mixture cool a bit, so you don't cook the egg in the next step.
In a small bowl, beat the egg lightly.
Stir in flour, feta, and cooked zuke/shallot mixture and little black pepper.
I like to sprinkle a little salt inside the zuke shells then fill them with your mixture.
Sprinkle tops of filled zucchini with paprika.
Bake for about 40-45 minutes, then pop them under the broiler for a few minutes.

Baked Salmon with Spicy Giardiniera and Herbed Buttermilk Mashers

Rarely do I try the stuff they're sampling at HEB supermarkets (CM not incl. in this statement), but on this day I was weak. First, the sample was wild salmon, and second it was topped with a jarred giardiniera that was free if I purchased the same company's pesto...an item which happened to be on my list anyway. The perfect storm. Canyon Foods, the maker of my giardiniera topping, is a woman-owned Texas company that creates all kinds of sauces and what nots. It was really very good, but had I to purchase it on it's own, the price would have kept me away. I think I ended up paying 6 dollars for the pesto and got the gardiniera for free. Way too much for pesto in my book, but at least it led to this tasty and very easy meal.
The mashed potatoes were a great pairing for the fish, and are "herbed" because I had some tarragon and chives needing to be used up. There are definitely enough flavors going on in the gardiniera to leave those out if you don't have them.

Baked Salmon with Spicy Giardiniera:

1 lb wild Alaskan salmon filet
~1/2 a bottle of storebought spicy giardiniera topping

Heat oven to 450.
Place the fish on a foil-lined baking sheet, then spread the giardiniera over the salmon (I salted the salmon a bit first).
Bake for 12 minutes per inch thickness.
Serve over top of mashed potatoes.

Herbed Buttermilk Mashers:

Yukon gold potatoes, cubed (I left the skins on and only used 2 for us and this made about 3 servings)
salt and pepper
~1 Tbs butter
low-fat buttermilk
chopped fresh tarragon (~1 tsp)
chopped fresh chives (~1 Tbs)

Boil water in a medium saucepan, add salt and cubed potatoes.
Cook until soft enough for mashing.
Drain, then return to pot letting any residual water evaporate.
Add butter, mash, then add the rest of the ingredients until you're pleased with the consistency and taste.

I served this with a nice big salad of Romaine, sliced organic strawberries and cucumbers. The dressing echoed the herbs in the potatoes....dijon, lemon, tarragon, chives, salt and pepper, and olive oil.

Smothered Yellow Squash with Basil



Smothering is a Cajun cooking term that refers to browning anything from meat to vegetables in oil, then braising it in a small amount of liquid, tightly covered, until tender. It makes a nice, quick side vegetable and makes great use of soon to be plentiful squash and basil.

Smothered Yellow Squash with Basil:
(Gourmet Magazine)



2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 lb medium yellow squash, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/2 cup water (I used chicken broth and it was super yummy)

1/4+ teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

~1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil



Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then add half of squash and sauté, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes.
Transfer browned squash to a bowl, then heat remaining tablespoon oil and sauté remaining squash in same manner.
Return squash in bowl to skillet. Add garlic and sauté, stirring occasionally, 1 minute. Add water/broth, salt, and pepper and simmer briskly, covered, until squash is tender and most of liquid is evaporated, 6 to 7 minutes. Stir in basil.


Makes 4 servings.


Roasted Acorn Squash with Chile-Lime Vinaigrette and Chicken with Lime Sauce

In an effort to prevent any sudden outbreak of scurvy, we dosed ourselves heavily with lime juice last night. The acorn squash recipe was gleaned from a blog I read called traveler's lunchbox. Who in turn found it in Gourmet Magazine. Tasty way to prepare acorn squash and I don't know if we were supposed to, but we ate the skins right along with the squash (so make sure you wash them well). I halved the recipe, using only one squash, but made up almost the full amount of the vinaigrette (with less oil)...using the remainder on our salad.

The chicken is just sauteed up then finished with an easy pan sauce. A Cooking Light recipe that calls for using chicken breasts that have been pounded to 1/4" thickness, I used chicken tenders to cut that step out. I usually serve the chicken with cumin roasted potatoes and it's a great combo. Guess I'd better post about those sometime! I just looked at the comments on the chicken recipe at Cooking Light's site and found that people that weren't as into acidic sauces had a problem with the sauce, but others looooved it. So, judge for yourself. Me and tart are good friends...

Roasted Acorn Squash with Chile-Lime Vinaigrette:
(found on travelerslunchbox's blog...Source: adapted from Gourmet, October 2006)

2 large (1 1/2-1 3/4-lb/650-800g) acorn squash
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (90ml) olive oil (probably used less)
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, or to taste
1 tablespoon honey
1-2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh hot red chile, including seeds (I used a serrano pepper)
small handful chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat the oven to 400F/200C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Halve each squash lengthwise, then cut off and discard stem ends. Scrape out the seeds and cut the squash lengthwise into 3/4-inch-wide wedges. Toss the squash with black pepper, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons (30ml) oil in a bowl, then arrange, cut sides down, on the baking sheets. Roast the squash, switching the position of pans halfway through roasting, until squash is tender and undersides of wedges are golden brown, 30-40 minutes.

While the squash roasts, mash the garlic finely with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a mortar (or side of your knife on your cutting board). Transfer the paste to a small bowl and whisk in lime juice, honey, chile (to taste), cilantro, and remaining oil until combined. Taste for seasoning and add more salt or lime juice as needed. Transfer squash, browned sides up, to a platter and drizzle with vinaigrette.

Chicken with Lime Sauce:
(Cooking Light)

4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (I can fit a whole package of tenders in one pan, but when I use pounded chicken breasts I have to cook only 2 at a time.)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil
3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon brown sugar, or sucanat
3 tablespoons lime juice, divided
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon cornstarch (I usually use more, but forgot last night...a little thicker sauce is much nicer)
1 tablespoon butter

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap (or ziplock bag); pound to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 4 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove from pan; keep warm.

Add chicken broth, sugar, 2 tablespoons juice, and mustard to pan; cook over medium heat, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.

Combine water and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add cornstarch mixture to pan; stir well with a whisk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cook 1 minute or until sauce thickens slightly. Whisk in remaining 1 tablespoon lime juice and butter, stirring until butter melts. Return chicken to pan; simmer 2 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly heated.

Baked Salmon over Herbed Mashed Peas

It sure seems like I would have posted about this one in the past year or so, but upon scanning the archives I see that I didn't! Hm...well, the peas are just too yummy not to post now. The original recipe is from Cooking Light and calls for pan-frying the salmon. A stinky method that we do not practice in the Ponder/Butler house. Baking is so much easier, so into the oven it goes at high heat on a foil-lined sheet for only about 10 minutes. Done. No pan to clean either.
The other change I made from the original recipe is using regular ol' onions in lieu of the pricier leeks. It's what I had on hand and since I had to buy the fresh herbs already, I wasn't up for a 10 dollar side of peas. By all means use the leek if you'd like, just sub a cup of leek for the onion.
Oh another thing...the recipe calls for a 10 oz bag of peas, I had a 16 oz. bag, so just adjust up with the herbs etc. if you find yourself in the same position. FYI, more of these peas is a good thing.

Fennel is a nice complement to the tarragon in the peas, so I made a composed salad of thinly sliced fennel bulb, orange slices and avocado on a bed of bibb lettuce leaves. Since I had plenty of tarragon left from the peas, I made a dressing of canola, stone ground mustard, lemon juice, tarragon, s & p and a dash of agave nectar.

Baked Salmon over Herbed Mashed Peas:
(Cooking Light)

1 cup onion, chopped
1 tsp butter
1 10 oz bag of frozen petite green peas (calls for thawed, but I just throw in frozen and cook a little longer)
1/4 cup chicken broth or water
1 Tbs chiffonade of fresh basil
2 tsp chopped fresh tarragon
2 Tbs lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt (+more for salmon)
1/4 tsp pepper (+more for salmon)
~1 lb Wild Alaskan salmon
olive oil

Preheat oven to 450.
Saute onion in butter on medium heat for about 5-6 minutes.
Add peas and broth/water and cook another 5 (if thawed) minutes, or until peas are soft.
Whiz pea mixture, herbs and lemon juice in a food processor until smooth.
Stir in 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper.
Set aside until fish is done.

Place salmon on a foil-lined baking sheet and lightly coat with olive oil.
Salt and pepper generously, then bake for 10 minutes per inch of thickness.

Plate salmon atop a bed of mashed peas and serve with a lemon wedge...or topped with a drib of your salad dressing like I did. :-)

Sweet Potato and Chickpea Curry and Raw Kale Salad

I went to Costco Sunday with a new friend so we could split a bunch of produce that we wouldn't normally be able to get through with only one of our households. Amongst our purchases, a box of sweet potatoes. Now, you'd think given we only have half a box we'd be able to use them up with no problem. Well, there were still an awful lot of potatoes for just 2 people. This is the first recipe (attempt) at whittling down that mere half box o' spuds. Served this up with a raw kale salad, which I'm reposting in hopes that it will give someone else the incentive to try it. :-) I'd never considered eating kale raw until coming across this recipe. It's so good! There were tons of curry leftovers...let's hope they thaw well, since into the freezer they went after I had some for lunch yesterday. (I can now report back that they thawed out beautifully, so definitely a freezeable dish.)

Sweet Potato and Chickpea Curry:
Nigella Lawson
SERVES 6

2 medium red onions, peeled and roughly cut
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 birds eye chile or Thai chile or hot pepper (seeded or not seeded according to taste)
2 1/2 inches piece gingerroot, peeled and cut into chunks
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
3 cardamom pods, light crushed or 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
(Garam masala...not in original recipe, but I added this at the end because I wanted a little more spice)
2 lbs sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces (about 3 medium)
1 3/4 cups light coconut milk
1 tablespoon tamarind paste (I use tamarind concentrate, so don't have to let it soak in hot broth...if you have that, just add the veg. broth with no heating required)
1 1/4 cups vegetable broth (hot)
2 cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
~2 tablespoons cilantro leaves
cooked rice (optional)

In food processor, combine onions, garlic, hot pepper and ginger. Pulse until finely chopped. I thought I'd over done the mincing, but it came out really great.

Pour oil into large saute pan over medium-low heat. Add chopped onion mixture and saute until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add hot pepper flakes, ground ginger, ground coriander, cumin, turmeric, cardamom, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir to mix. Add sweet potatoes and stir until well covered in spices. Stir in coconut milk.

Dissolve tamarind paste in hot vegetable broth and add to pan (or just add tamarind concentrate). Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until sweet potatoes are just tender, about 30 minutes or more. Taste potatoes to make sure they are cooked all the way and allow additional cooking time of necessary.

Add chickpeas and simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes. Adjust salt to taste. Transfer to bowl and sprinkle with chopped cilantro. Serve with rice if desired, but this is very filling on it's own.

Raw Kale and Garlic Salad:
This recipe is from Erin at the Southern Dharma Retreat Center with a few additions.

1 lb kale (Just buy one large bunch)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2-2 cloves garlic, minced. Adjust to taste. (I used one clove for 1 bunch of kale)
1/2 teaspoon salt
~4 Tbs lemon juice (use less to begin with, but I like it perky)
avocado slices
1+ tomato(es), diced

Wash and dry kale after having striped the leaves from their ribs. Cut the leaves up fairly finely.
Mix in olive oil and massage with clean hands for ~2 minutes. I didn't cut the kale up as small the first time I made this and it took a lot longer to massage the leaves. In a smallish bowl mix together the garlic, lemon and salt, stirring until salt dissolves. Pour over your kale and toss to coat. Pop it into the fridge for a bit if you have the time to let it marinate a bit, then serve with avocado slices, tomatoes and a little fresh cracked black pepper.

Bbq 'Tater Chip Cauliflower :-)

I kid you not, this totally tastes like bbq potato chips!! I've made it about 3 times now and it's a mighty delicious side dish every time. When my Auntie J was here for a visit we ate it with baked salmon and my roasted lima bean recipe...but it'd be good with any number of things. I'm salivating just typing this up, so hie thee to the market and procure all the necessary fixin's. This is a good one.

Paprika Sauteed Cauliflower:
(from Seasonal Ontario Food's blog)

1/2 a head of cauliflower (~3 cups cut up into small florets)
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sweet Hungarian paprika
1/2 teaspoon hot smoked paprika

Steam cauliflower florets until just tender.
Combine the paprikas and salt in a medium to large bowl.
While the oil is heating in a large non-stick skillet on medium-high, toss the cauliflower with the salt and paprikas. When the oil is hot, add the cauliflower to the pan. Sauté for about 5 minutes, until the cauliflower is hot through and begins to crisp and brown at the edges. Add the garlic to the pan after the cauliflower has cooked for about 2 minutes.
I've had to add a little extra oil in at times, but probably because I usually end up using more than 3 cups of cauliflower.

Kale and Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes

These were a really nice side dish and a good way to get more nutrition into mashed potatoes.
I can't bring myself to purchase organic kale anymore because it just takes too darn long and too much water to wash out most of the bugs. Ick.

Update! This has all changed since I watched Alton Brown wash his greens in the washing machine. Now I buy enough kale to warrant a small load and let the machine do the de-bugging for me. Tra la!

I deviated from the original recipe by using a combo of buttermilk that I had in the fridge and chicken broth for the liquid. Amounts are all relative to the amount of potatoes you'll have. I would have liked to use Yukon golds for the visual, but found myself at a store that only sold 5 lb bags of them! I ended up using one fat unpeeled Russet tater that made plenty with leftovers for the Monster and myself. I'm writing up the recipe for 3 lbs of potatoes (as I found it), rather than as I made it to feed 2. I don't remember who to give credit for this recipe...one of the blogs I read. :-)


Kale and Olive Oil Mashed Potato Recipe:

3 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
sea salt
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch kale, large stems stripped and discarded, leaves chopped very finely
1/2+ cup warm milk, plain unsweetened soy milk, low fat buttermilk, chicken broth or combo.
freshly ground black pepper
2-4 scallions, white and tender green parts, chopped
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, for garnish (opt)


Put the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Add a pinch of salt. Bring the water to a boil and continue boiling for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and saute until it becomes golden. Add chopped kale, a good pinch of salt, and saute just until tender (2-3 min?). Set aside.

Mash the potatoes with a potato masher or fork. Slowly stir in your liquid of choice a few big splashes at a time. You are after a thick, creamy texture, so if your potatoes are on the dry side keep adding liquid until the texture is right. Season with salt and pepper.

Dump the kale on top of the potatoes and give a quick stir. Transfer to a serving bowl, make a well in the center of the potatoes and pour the remaining olive oil. Sprinkle with the scallions and Parmesan cheese.

Serves 6.