The Amazingness of Kale

I love kale. Actually my whole family does. When I go grocery shopping D asks for kale as we go by the produce section. If for some reason we don't need it that visit (which is rare), K will cry and scream. It's a charmed life I live. :) My favorite time of year is at the end of the summer when the bunches of kale are enormous. It makes me happy. 

There are also a lot of times I will be in line at the grocery store and people will ask me "What do you do with all that kale?" Here are my answers:

Side note- You can do all of these with collard greens, turnip greens, or chard. The turnip greens are a little spicier. :)

Kale Salad:

I love salads. Like really really love them. I was at a restaurant in Phoenix and had a baby kale salad with lemon vinaigrette. The following is my recreation of that. It is now one of my favorites. 

• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 4 cups chopped fresh baby mixed kale
• 1/4 cup freshly-grated Parmesan
• Homemade croutons (optional)

Whisk together the mustard, lemon juice, thyme, salt, pepper, and olive oil. This will make more than you need for your salad. I make mine in glass bottles and keep it in my fridge. 

Mix the kale, Parmesan, and lemon zest. drizzle dressing over and top with croutons. Yum-O!

Kale chips:

• 1 bunch kale, washed, stems removed and leaves cut into 1.5 inch pieces
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Garlic powder
• Black pepper

Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of oil over the kale and turn to coat. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Lay out in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 325 for 20 minutes. They should be crispy but not brown. The single layer part is pretty important. If they are not in a single layer they won't crisp, and no one likes a soggy chip. 

Also- The temperature really depends on your oven. The oven we had at our last house we baked the chips at 300. Here 325. So I would play around with it. Maybe start low and work your way up. 

Kale Pasta:

This is my go to meal for busy nights when I don;t have time to cook. It is done in the amount of time it takes to cook the pasta. Dinner in under 15 minutes? Yes please. 

1 pound penne pasta
2 tablespoons, extra virgin olive oil
1 a bunch of kale, finely chopped
2 handfuls of baby spinach
3 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
3/4 teaspoon, crushed red pepper flakes

2-4 Tbs white wine

1/4 cup Chicken stock

handful of toasted pine nuts
salt, to taste

Parmesan for sprinkling

Start the water boiling for the penne. While the water heats heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and pepper flakes cook gently for about 30 seconds to let the spices bloom. Add the kale, spinach and salt. Cook until greens are wilted. Add wine and deglaze the pan. Reduce by half. Then add chicken stock and sun-dried tomatoes. Cover and let simmer until pasta is done.

Reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Drain pasta. If the veggie mixture needs more liquid add the pasta water. Add kale mixture to pasta. Sprinkle with pine nuts and Parmesan.

Sour Milk Pancakes

I hear you out there. With your nose wrinkled and a look of "gross". But would I lie to you? Have I EVER lied to you about food? Have I?? No. And I am not lying to you about these. So there. 

These pancakes are amazing. They are light, fluffy, and soft. They are a little labor intensive, but so worth the effort. A little butter. Divine. A little maple syrup. Heaven. 

The bast part is that one batch makes more than my family of 4 can eat. So I use the extra to make half dollar pancakes for the girls to eat on weekday mornings. It's pretty much a win-win. They get tiny pancakes and I can make sure they aren't eating food from a box that has ingredients I can't pronounce. I should thank my sister, who can thank her friend for the recipe. :)

Ingredients:

2 eggs, separated

2 cups (scant) milk

2 Tablespoons white vinegar

2 cups all purpose- flour

1 Tbps sugar

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 stick butter melted

What To Do

Put the 2 tbs of vinegar into a measuring cup. Add milk so it equals 2 cups. Let sit for ten minutes. Beat the egg yolks and add to milk mixture. Mix all dry ingredient together in a bowl. Add milk mixture and mix until dry is just absorbed. Try not to over mix. Add melted butter and mix again. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold into batter. 

Now this part is a matter of preference  I put my batter in a old ketchup bottle. It makes it easier to make Mickey Mouse shapes, letters, numbers or half dollar size pancakes. It is all up to you. 

A Twist:

If you are feeling fancy you can add chocolate chips, raspberries, or blueberries (or any combination) to these. Just pour the batter on the griddle and then add pieces of the desired item(s). Then flip them and viola!! A super yummy pancake! My favorite is raspberry chocolate. 

What I do with the extra:

 I put them on a cookie sheet and then stick them in the freezer.

Once they are frozen, I stick them in a bag and pop them back in the freezer. Then on a crazy Tuesday morning all I have to do is microwave them for 30 seconds add butter and maple syrup, and I'm done!!

One for the Road...

I lost my job a few weeks ago. (This is recipe relevant, I swear.)  Every week for the last 6 months or so I brought treats and put them on the end of a table in my cube for people to eat. I brought all sorts of treats: Rice Krispie Treats, Caramel covered shortbread,  cream puffs, molasses cookies, and so many more. And I would always have a funny saying with them on a white board. This last one, the Cherry Almond Biscotti, simply said "One For the Road"

My biscotti is a variation of Anne Burrell's which you can find HERE. On a side note, have you seen her cookbook  Cook Like a Rockstar? If you haven't, it is the greatest. Not a bad recipe in the bunch. If you need a gift for a foodie in your life, buy it. 


Anywho- on with my version of the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 stick room temperature butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Pinch salt
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup whole toasted sliced almonds
• 3/4 cup dried cherries chopped
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• 2 tsp coconut oil

What To Do:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs 1 at a time mixing thoroughly between additions. Add the vanilla.

Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest in a separate bowl. Add to the butter mixture and mix just until it is combined. Fold in the almonds and cherries.

Divide the dough in half and roll into 2 logs. Roll the logs to the length of a half sheet pan. You either need to place them at least 3 inches apart (it spreads) or bake on 2 different sheet pans. 

Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven let cool for 10 minutes. Move logs to a cutting board and slice with a serrated knife on the bias while warm. If you wait until they cool they will be too crumbly. 

Put the biscotti back on the sheet pan cut side up and return to the oven for another 10 minutes to harden. Cool completely on a rack.

While the biscotti is cooling, melt the chocolate in the microwave or in a double boiler. Stir in coconut oil. Now you have 2 choices in your chocolate approach. You can dunk it in the chocolate if you want a heavy chocolate side. You can smear it with the back of a spoon (time consuming). Or you can drizzle. 

I drizzle. Scoop some in a spoon and go back and forth over the tray of biscotti. This gives you a variety of chocolate covering. Some have a little, some have a lot. If you want to get really fancy, you can  do half white chocolate and half dark. It looks smashing. 

I also have done a blueberry version of these. They are sooooo good. I don't do chocolate on those, though. I brush the logs with egg white and sprinkle with turbinado sugar before baking. Really the possibilities are endless with these puppies. 

I hope you enjoy them. 

There's a monster in my soup!

I know. I know. I'm on a soup kick. But it's getting colder and as I've said before, to me Cold weather begs soups. The Munchkins love soup. They love the dipping, the spoons, and  the fact that they can drink right from the bowl (which we reserve for soup nights and cereal milk).

What I love? Hearing KK say "soup". I know full and well that to others it will just be a little kid saying a word but to me it is a treasured auditory experience. I really wish you could hear her say it. Her little voice wraps around the word, but blends the sounds together in a way that I will never be able to replicate and my mommy heart will never forget. In fact, I may be on a soup kick just so I can hear her say "soup" over and over while we eat. Maybe...

Anyway...back to food. We have a soup that I found years ago through Better Homes and Gardens' 100 Days of Holidays e-newsletter series. If you haven't subscribed to this series, you should. It sends you an e-mail every day for 100 days starting from before Halloween to about New Years and gives you suggestions on food, decor, costumes, crafts, and much more. Parents magazine does one as well, so I actually get 2 emails every day. And while I HATE spam, I LOVE those emails. Wait wasn't I supposed to be talking about food???

Oh right! The soup. We call it Monster Soup because it is green and when my nephews were younger we told them we caught wild monster in Arizona and made them into soup just for them. I love how something that is totally gross to adults makes kids want to gobble it up.

Here's the original recipe

And here's what I do:

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, minced, pressed or grated
• 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning, crushed
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons dry white wine
• 32 ounces veggie broth
• 1 large potato, peeled and chopped
• 1 pound fresh spinach, washed and trimmed (The big box from Costco is the perfect amount)
• Salt
• 2 cups arugula
• 2 ounces Parmesan cheese, sliced with a veggie peeler
• 2 small tomatoes, quartered, seeded, and thinly sliced 

 In a deep soup pot over medium heat, saute onion, garlic, and Italian seasoning in hot butter for 5 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring occasionally.

•   Slowly add white wine and cook while stirring until reduced by half about 1 minute. Add broth and potato. Bring to boiling. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes or until potato is tender. Remove from heat.
  3. Stir spinach, half at a time, into soup just until wilted. Cook about 5 minutes.
  4. Transfer soup, half at a time, to a blender; cover and blend until smooth. Return to pot and heat through. Season with salt to taste.
  5. To serve, top with arugula, Parmesan, and tomatoes.
   

We Have House Guests

We have new house guests. Fairy house guests to be clear. At least we think we have fairy house guests, We aren't sure they have moved in just yet. But we did find a fairy door and both girls are convinced that a fairy has moved in. Which, of course, was the whole idea.

Here's the scoop. We bought a door from our local hobby store (the lobby kind) and painted it white. We then glued door trimming around it and glued door furnishings on (also bought at the hobby store). We then used double side tape (of the 20 lb variety) to hold it in place. This is what it looked like in the end:

We then waited until the girls saw it and asked us about it. It took all of 24 hours for them to see it. And let me tell you, they LOVE the idea of a fairy living in our house. We told them that they couldn't pull on the door because fairies sleep during the day and don't like to be disturbed. If we bug them, they might get angry and move out.

Here is D waiting for the fairy.

 And waiting...

 And waiting.

I finally convinced her that it was time for bed, but she is determined to see the fairy. =D


The plan now is to begin decorating the fairy door for holidays and provide convincing evidence that fairies have moved in.

I can't wait!!! Don't worry I'll keep posting with updates.

When Mother Nature Gives You Fall... Make soup

Ah soup. It is the purpose of fall. OK. Maybe not THE purpose. But it certainly is one of the better parts of Fall and Winter to me. And after 7 years in Phoenix where "Winter" is a relative term, I am thrilled to be able  to make soup and not have Sweet and Charming complain that the house is too hot.

During one of my many stints in food service I learned about soups. Glorious soups that intrigued the palate and satisfied the soul. One of my favorites is a Green Chilli Cheese Soup. It has potatoes at its heart and begs to be dipped with crusty breads. For those of you that are in a soup mood, here you go:

Green Chili Cheese Soup

2 Tbs olive oil
2 stalks celery
1 medium onion chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 medium potatoes peeled and chopped
1 cup of montery jack cheese, shredded
3 oz cream cheese
4 cups of chicken stock, or veggie stock
4 ounces fire roasted green chilies (mild)

In a large soup pot, saute the onion and celery over medium heat util the onions are soft, about 5 mins. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant about 45 seconds. Add stock and potatoes and boil until potatoes are tender (15- 20 mins depending on how small they are).   Ad cheese and stir until it's melted. ad chilies and blend until smooth. Serve garnished with cilantro. Or if you are like my husband and the Munchkins, with bacon. :)

Cookies!!!

My family loves cookies. But cookies from a bag or a box are not desirable to any of the other people that share my house (except Oreos. Oreos are always welcome... but not the birthday cake ones. Those are gross). What that means for me is that I have to make cookies. A lot. Now I do not have the time nor the energy to make a batch of cookies when the cookie fancy strikes Sweet and Charming or the Munchkins. So I make a bunch and freeze the unbaked dough in gallon bags. This way if someone wants a cookie or two all that has to be done is grab a few frozen cookie balls and throw them in the oven! I can be free of the kitchen in no time.

Not every cookie takes well to this approach. But here are a few of my favorites that I keep "in stock"-

Chewy Crinkle Molasses - makes about 18 cookies using my #30 disher
This is my #2 most requested cookie. (#1 is snicker-doodles,  but those are a family recipe that I am not ready to give to the internet)


1/2 cup butter softened
1/4 cup molasses
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp powdered ginger
2 cups white flour
1/4-1/2 cup of raw demerara sugar (or large baker's sugar)


Cream the butter, sugar, and molasses on high. Add egg and mix well. Mix the spices, salt, baking soda, and flour in a separate bowl. Add the butter mixture and beat until incorporated.

Put remaining sugar on a plate and keep close at hand. Scoop dough and roll into balls with your hands. Then roll the ball in the sugar.

To bake: 350 degrees for 13-15 mins. Rotate them 3/4 of the way through for even baking. These cookies should be firm on the edges but soft in the middle. They firm up when they cool, so if they are firm when you get them out, they will be HARD when they cool.

To freeze: Put balls in a mini muffin tin (this makes sure they retain their shape and don't smoosh each other  It also keeps them from rolling about while in your freezer. I can't tell you how many times I've had a cookie dough rainfall when I put cookie sheets in there.... Place tin in the freezer until the dough is hard (about 10 mins). Then transfer to a bag and freeze. They will last a few months in the freezer. The longest we've done is about 3 months and they were still great! Follow baking instructions above adding a minute of baking time due to the freezing.


Heavenly Chocolate Chip- makes about 2 dozen with a #30 disher

1 cup butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

1 Tbs instant coffee granules
2 cups chocolate chips (dark chocolate is the best for this recipe, but semi sweet is fine)

Cream the butter and sugars on high. Add egg one at a time and mix well. Add vanilla. Mix salt, baking soda, coffee, and flour in a separate bowl. Add the butter mixture and beat until incorporated. Fold in the chips.


To bake: Put dough balls in the fridge for 10-15 mins. This will help them stay gooey and soft after baking. Then put them in a 350 degree oven for 13-15 mins. Rotate them 3/4 of the way through for even baking.

To freeze: Put balls in a mini muffin tin. Place tin in the freezer until the dough is hard (about 10 mins). Then transfer to a bag and freeze. Follow baking instructions above adding a minute of baking time due to the freezing.



Dark Chocolate Peppermint Cookies-  makes about 2 dozen with a #30 disher


1 cup butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
3 tsp peppermint extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cups cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups dark chocolate chocolate chips

Cream the butter and sugars on high. Add egg one at a time and mix well. Add peppermint. Mix salt, baking soda, cocoa, and flour in a separate bowl. Add the butter mixture and beat until incorporated. Fold in the chips.


To bake: Put dough balls in the fridge for 10-15 mins. This will help them stay gooey and soft after baking. Then put them in a 350 degree oven for 13-15 mins. Rotate them 3/4 of the way through for even baking.

To freeze: Put balls in a mini muffin tin. Place tin in the freezer until the dough is hard (about 10 mins). Then transfer to a bag and freeze. Follow baking instructions above adding a minute of baking time due to the freezing.



Hope you enjoy them!