Hide the cheese

Watercress and Hot Shiitake Mushroom Salad

I always get a little thrill when I see a new vendor at the farmers' market. Last week at the Silver Spring market, I zeroed right in on the new mushroom stand, North Cove Mushrooms. I zipped over there faster than Buddy runs when he hears food drop off the dining room table.

There were two types of mushrooms, dried oyster mushrooms and fresh shiitakes. I went for the shiitakes with the thought that Gabe and I could add them to a kid-friendly meal to dress it up a little.

Gabe had bought a beautiful bunch of watercress, though, and I started to think that the peppery crunch of the watercress would make a nice contrast to those earthy, tender mushrooms. To add another contrast to the salad, I decided to make a hot dressing and pour it over the watercress to wilt it just slightly (I had that amazing shiitake and spinach salad from Sushi Ko in mind).

When I first served this, the mushrooms and dressing had cooled by the time we ate. It was better the next time, when we ate it while the mushrooms and the dressing were still hot.

We skipped back over to the mushroom vendor again this week and bought even more mushrooms this time. They're still in their brown paper bag in the refrigerator. What should we make next?

2009: Pea Shoot Pasta with Lemon Cream Sauce
2010: Artichokes with Quick Hollandaise Sauce
2011: Simple Crusty Peasant Wheat Bread
2012: Avocado and Radish Quinoa Salad

Watercress and Hot Shiitake Mushroom Salad

Serves 4 as a side salad
15 minutes preparation time
15 minutes cooking time

1/2 pound shitake mushrooms, cleaned, stems removed, and sliced (about 3 cups)
1 large bunch watercress, rinsed (about 6 heaping cups)
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 garlic clove, sliced into a few big pieces
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
3 tablespoons puffed rice
salt and pepper to taste

Heat a tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and garlic and spread them as evenly as possible across the pan. Let them sit for a minute or two until the mushrooms sear slightly. Keep cooking, stirring only occasionally so that the mushrooms become golden brown, until the mushrooms are tender, about 10 more minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set them aside.

Just before you are ready to serve the salad, snip the watercress with scissors into bite-sized pieces and arrange it on a platter. (I prefer using scissors rather than a knife because it better keeps the shape of the cress).

If the mushrooms are no longer hot, heat them again in the pan over medium heat just long enough to get them piping hot. Scrape them out of the pan onto the watercress.

Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and, using a wooden spoon, scrape up any bits of mushroom. When the oil is hot, remove the pan from the heat. Add the vinegar, salt and pepper, and whisk. Drizzle the dressing over the mushrooms and watercress. Sprinkle the puffed rice over the top and serve immediately.

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Kale and Clementine Salad

Raw kale salads are everywhere now and I'm jumping onto the bandwagon. In experimenting with this recipe, I tried a few different approaches to preparing the kale. First I tried just adding the dressing to the kale. This wasn't bad, but the dressing didn't incorporate very well into the salad and didn't do much to soften the kale.

One recipe I found calls for pouring boiling over the kale to soften it. I liked this approach because it was straightforward. The salad tasted good and the kale was a bit softer, but, again, the dressing mostly ended up in the bottom of the bowl.

The last approach I tried was massaging the dressing into the kale. I resisted this approach because, well, kale just didn't seem like something I wanted to massage. I barely have time to massage the people that I love and only rarely -- and usually as the result of a gift -- have I had a massage myself. So, kale? Who has time for that?

But when my other approaches didn't work, I resigned to give it a try. The good news/bad news is that it worked very well. The dressing incorporated well into the kale and along the way, it softened the kale just a touch. The kale was still good and chewy, but the massaging took the edge off. The even better news is that it really didn't take that long. Just a few minutes of working the kale with my fingers was enough to get the job done.

This salad has been perfect for this time of year, when I'm craving the taste of spring, but the spring vegetables aren't yet available at the farmers' market. There is still a lot of kale available, but, instead of cooking it into a heavier dish, eating it raw freshens it up. The citrus and sweetness of the clementines is a bright foil for the kale, too, giving the salad a lighter touch that has seemed just right to us as the days get longer and warmer.

And when I say "us," no, I do not mean the kiddies. Although Olivia and Chloe do like kale, they haven't been wild about this salad. But Gabe and I have been happily munching through it, feeling it do its work as the antidote to the excesses of many birthday celebrations and vacation eating.
2009: Kale Chips
2010: Greens and Basil Risotto
2011: Green Lasagne
2012: Green Apple Fizz

Kale and Clementine Salad
15-20 minutes preparation time

Unlike lettuce salads, this salad can be made in advance. The salad keeps well after the dressing has been added, even for a day or two.

2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch kale (about 8 cups after it is sliced)
2 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
4 clementines, peeled and broken into sections

In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and soy sauce. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking continuously.

Remove the spines from the kale. Lay the pieces flat on a cutting board and slice the kale across into very, very thin strips. Toss the kale strips in a salad bowl with the dressing, rubbing the leaves between your fingertips until all of the dressing is incorporated.

Add the scallions and clementine sections, and toss gently. Serve immediately or refrigerate for a day or so.

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Sweet Potato and Cranberry Tart

Years ago -- please don't make me tell you how many -- I worked a waitress at the Spring Mill Cafe outside of Philadelphia. The restaurant was tiny and to prepare for dinner, the owner often had the waitstaff in the kitchen making soups, whisking vinaigrette, juicing oranges, and glazing cakes. Apparently, we also made sweet potato and cranberry tart. The owner also opened a bottle of wine before each meal and we all toasted and sipped before the dinner rush. Maybe that's why I remember my waitressing days so fondly. Or maybe it was the wad of cash that I shoved into my pocket at the end of the night.

Anyway, this tart balances the creamy sweetness of the sweet potato with the tart crispness of the cranberries all in one dish. No reason to serve them separately because they are so much better together. I only add a little bit of sugar to the cranberries so that they remain fairly tart to enhance that contrast. Each bite offers a bit of creaminess and a bit of zest. The yin and yang of Thanksgiving sides.

As Oscar said, it tastes just like Thanksgiving. All these years later, it's still one of my favorites.

There it is, folks. The last of my five-side-dishes-for-Thanksgiving parade. I hope you have found something in these that appeals to you. If you don't get them made by Thanksgiving, they will still make tasty side dishes to some other meals. They will be here, waiting for you, all autumn and winter.

And now that we're done with the savory, we can move on to dessert! I've been cooking up a storm and will have a couple of Thanksgiving dessert recipes for you.

Sweet Potato and Cranberry Tart

Because this side dish is served in a tart shell it is fairly substantial and could stand as a main course for the vegetarians at your table.

The dish can be assembled a day and reheated just before serving in a 300 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

30 minutes preparation time, plus 1 hour to prepare and pre-bake the tart crust
30 minutes baking time

1 Pre-Baked Tart Crust
2 large sweet potatoes
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup cream
8 ounces (2 cups) cranberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
salt and pepper

Prepare and prebake the tart shell according to these instructions. Slide the tart pan onto a cookie sheet so that it is easier to move without the bottom panel popping out.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into large chunks. Put them in a medium stockpot with a few shakes of salt and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer until the sweet potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the cooking water and drain off the remaining water.

Turn the potatoes into the bowl of a food processor, add the cream, and blend until smooth. If needed to make the sweet potatoes smooth, add some of the reserved cooking water a splash at a time. The puree should be as stiff as possible so that it holds its shape in the tart. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if needed.

In another stockpot, add the cranberries, about a cup of water, the sugar, and the lemon zest. Cover the pot and bring it to a simmer. Keep it covered because as the cranberries cook, they will pop open and you don't want them flying all over your kitchen. Simmer until the cranberries have all popped open and are soft, about 20 minutes. Mash them with a potato masher until the mixture is the texture of a thick fruit jam. If it is too thin, let it simmer for a few more minutes uncovered.

After the tart shell has baked, smooth just over half of the sweet potato mixture over the bottom of the shell, reserving the remaining sweet potato. Next add a layer of the cranberry sauce, spreading it evenly across the top of the sweet potato. There may be more than you need. Reserve a few tablespoons of the cranberry mixture to put on top of the last layer.

Layer the remaining sweet potato on top of the cranberry layer. Don't worry about spreading the layer too evenly; you want some of the cranberry sauce peeking through. Add a few dollops of the remaining cranberry mixture for color.

Bake the tart until it heats through, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for a few minutes before serving.

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Roasted Cauliflower or Brussels Sprouts, with Options

This is the simplest of the side dishes in this week's parade, but if you haven't had these vegetables roasted, you must. Today.

Cauliflower and Brussels sprouts are everywhere these days, from farmers' markets to the grocery store. I love the crazy wild purple and yellow cauliflowers from the farmers' market and the stalk of Brussels sprouts from Trader Joe's.

Roasting cauliflower and Brussels sprouts gives them a deep, rich flavor that is more than worth the 10 minutes it takes to prepare the vegetables and toss them with a bit of olive oil. I am convinced that roasting is the reason that all three of our kids love cauliflower. It hasn't won them over on the Brussels sprouts, but as you know, I do not give up easily. I keep trotting roasted Brussels sprouts out onto the dinner table and one of these days, I expect that, like their mother, they will eat these right out of the pan because they can't wait the three minutes between pulling the pan from the oven and sitting down to dinner.

If you already have enough strong flavors on your Thanksgiving table, just roast some cauliflower or Brussels sprouts with a bit of garlic and salt and, I promise they will not disappoint. But if you want to try something a bit more creative, I've got options.

The first is to toss the roasted vegetables with parsley-lemon-garlic just before serving. It will add freshness and brighten up the flavors, a nice contrast to the earthiness from roasting.

Or you could roast some onions alongside the vegetables, slice them, and toss them with the vegetables and some toasted almonds for a riff on the standard green beans with onion and almonds.

Finally, if you add some pimenton to the vegetables before roasting them, they will develop a deep smoky flavor while cooking. Toss on a few toasted pumpkin seeds after the cooking process and you have a fantastic, but very simple, side dish.

You could also mix it up for Thanksgiving. Serve half of the veggies with the one of the optional enhancements and the other half au naturel. It would be interesting to see which disappear first.

Roasted Cauliflower or Brussels Sprouts

 You can, of course, roast both Brussels sprouts and cauliflower, but cook them in separate pans because the cooking times will vary. The vegetables can be roasted ahead and reheated just before serving. Be sure not to overcook them during the first roasting so that they don't become overly mushy when you reheat them. If you are going with one of the options, add the parsley-lemon-garlic mixture or nuts after reheating.

Serves 8 as a side dish
Approximately 10 minutes preparation time
20-30 minutes roasting time

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets or 6 cups Brussels sprouts, with the ends trimmed off
olive oil for drizzling, approximately 2 tablespoons
2 garlic cloves smashed
salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a large roasting pan, arrange the cauliflower florets or Brussels sprouts in a single layer. Drizzle on the olive oil, sprinkle some salt and pepper over the top, and mix everything together with the garlic cloves.

Roast until the vegetables are tender but not mushy. The time will depend on the size of your florets or sprouts, but start checking for doneness at about 20 minutes. The vegetables should be easy to pierce with a knife.

Option 1: With Parsley, Lemon, and Garlic

1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons lemon zest

Follow the instructions for roasting above.

While the vegetables are roasting, mix the parsley, garlic, and lemon zest together in a small bowl. After the vegetables have finished roasting, toss on the parsley mixture and stir gently to completely coat the vegetables.

Option 2: With Roasted Onion and Almonds

1 large sweet onion, such as Vidalia, peeled and sliced lengthwise into eighths
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Follow the instructions for roasting above, but add the onion to the roasting pan and roast it alongside the cauliflower or Brussels Sprouts.

While the vegetables are cooking, toast the almonds in a sauté pan over medium heat, tossing them a few times, until they are fragrant and begin to turn golden, 2-3 minutes.

When the vegetables have finished cooking, remove the onion chunks. Let them cool for a minute on a cutting board, then slice them into bite-sized pieces. Toss the onion pieces and almonds back into the vegetables and serve.

Option 3: With Smoked Paprika and Pepitas

2 teaspoons Pimenton (smoked paprika)
1/4 cup shelled pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

In a small bowl, whisk the smoked paprika with the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Drizzle the olive oil onto the cauliflower or Brussels sprouts and roast as instructed above.

If the pepitas are not pre-roasted, toast them in a sauté pan, tossing them a few times. Cook until they are fragrant, about 3 minutes.

When the vegetables have finished roasting, add the pepitas and serve.

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Cardamom Roasted Butternut Squash with Lime-Yogurt Drizzle

Are you a traditionalist at Thanksgiving, wanting the comfort of your favorite dishes each year? Or are you adventurous, eagerly branching out to try something new?

Whichever camp you find yourself in, chances are you will be seated at a table with someone from the competing camp. Or maybe there is a little bit of both camps in you.

To make everyone happy, my solution is to play with the side dishes. Keep the turkey (for you meat eaters) and stuffing, a traditional side or two, and pumpkin and pecan pie. But add something new this year, some new flavors or vegetables -- nothing too wild, but just enough to keep things interesting.

To help you with this, I'm going to give you a week of side dishes starting today. I have five side dishes to share, all with vegetables that are in season and available at the farmers' market now. They'll shake things up a bit and I'll get them to you in time to hit the market next weekend.

For the vegetarians, a couple of these sides, along with some mashed potatoes and stuffing, would round out a meal. If you want a heartier main course, serve them along side that cauliflower tart or vegetable shepherd's pie).

If my ability keeps pace with my ambition, I may even have a dessert recipe for you at the end of the week.

This first side dish recipe is derived from a recipe in Plenty, one of my favorite cookbooks for party food these days (see past posts here and here). We made it for a first course for a dinner party last weekend and I loved the flavors. The warmth of the cardamom was fantastic with the butternut squash and the contrast with the cool flavors of the tangy yogurt sauce, lime, hot peppers, and cilantro elevated the dish beyond the ordinary.

The preparation involved brushing the individual pieces of squash with the cardamom mixture, sectioning limes, making a yogurt sauce, and separately scattering on limes, hot peppers, and cilantro. The presentation was lovely to serve on individual plates but a bit too fiddly to serve with a weeknight meal or on the buffet at Thanksgiving.

So I switched it up, cutting the squash into large chunks, tossing them with the spiced and roasting them. To simplify the accompaniments, I combined all of the flavors into one sauce. Granted the result was not as pretty, but it was simpler to prepare, easy to serve family style, and maybe even a bit tastier because each bite was an explosion of all the flavors. Try it!

Cardamom Roasted Butternut Squash with Lime-Yogurt Drizzle

Depending on the heat of the pepper you use, the dish may have a bit of a kick to it. Since spiciness is not a common flavor on traditional Thanksgiving tables, you may want to warn your dinner companions.

The yogurt sauce can be made up to a day early and the butternut squash can be roasted a few days ahead. Just undercook it so that when it reheats it doesn't get too soft. When the pan cools, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap. Reheat it just before serving dinner. 

Adapted from Plenty
Serves 6 as a side dish
30 minutes preparation time
30 minutes roasting time

For roasting the squash:
1 large butternut squash
1 1/2 tablespoons cardamom pods
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
a few grinds of pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

For the yogurt drizzle:
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons tahini
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 jalapeno, minced
2/3 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Trim the top and bottom off the butternut squash. Set the squash on its bottom and slice it down lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and discard them.

Peel the butternut squash and dice it into large chunks. I left mine quite large, maybe 2 inches per side so that they would retain some shape when roasted. Arrange the squash in a single layer in a roasting pan.

To prepare the spice mixture, pound the cardamom pods with a mortar and pestle until the pods crack open. Pour out the pods onto a cutting board or plate and separate the pods from the seeds inside. (Granted, this process seems like it will be very time consuming, but it only took a few minutes and the resulting fresh cardamom is worth the effort.) Return the seeds to the mortar and pound again until the seeds are finely ground. 

Empty the ground seeds into a small bowl. Add the allspice, salt, and pepper and whisk together. Add the olive oil and whisk again. Pour the spice mixture over the squash and mix it with your hands or a wooden spoon so that it thoroughly coats the squash pieces. Roast until the squash is tender when pierced with a knife, but not mushy. The roasting time will depend on the size of the squash pieces, but count on somewhere between 20 and 40 minutes.

While the squash is roasting, prepare the yogurt sauce. Whisk the yogurt and tahini together with the lime juice. Add the cilantro and jalapeno and mix again. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. The dressing will be quite tart, but resist the urge to temper it because it is excellent with the sweetness of the squash.

When the squash has finished roasting, arrange it onto a serving platter or into a large bowl, taking care to keep the pieces intact. The squash can be served hot or at room temperature. Just before serving, drizzle the yogurt sauce over the top or serve it in a small pitcher on the side.

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Cauliflower and Gorgonzola Tart

Those of you have been reading this blog for a while know that my sister, Sarah, and her husband, Ed, own Black Ankle Vineyards, the best vineyard in Maryland. And I'm not just saying that because Sarah's my sister. Their goal was to show that excellent wine can be made in Maryland and, against the odds, they have done exactly that.

It has been amazing to watch over the past 10 years as they built their business from an idea to a successful, thriving enterprise. It has been a phenomenal amount of work, with long days and nights and zillions of decisions -- big and little -- along the way.

I like to joke that it is best to be the sister of someone who owns a vineyard. I get to enjoy the results without the stress and exhaustion that yielded those results.

When Melissa, Black Ankle's fantastic manager, asked me if I would be willing to put together a recipe to send out with the quarterly wine club shipment, I loved the idea. For the first shimpment, we wanted a dish that would complement the 2011 Bedlam. After tasting the wine on its own (tough work!) around the dinner table one night, we hit on the idea of a dish that would include a blue cheese as well as a hearty vegetable such as broccoli, cauliflower, or green beans.

The cauliflower won out and after a couple of tries, I settled on the creamy mildness of Gorgonzola to go along with it. The tart is substantial enough to be served as a main course with a big green salad and a slab of good bread. It would make an excellent main course for any vegetarians at your Thanksgiving table. Cut into smaller slices, it also could be served as an appetizer or a side dish.

Either way, serve it with a chilled bottle of the Bedlam 2011 and a toast to someone you love. Cheers!

2009: Vegetable Shepherd's Pie
2010: Pumpkin Soup with a(n optional) Kick
2011: Garlicky Cuban Yuca

Cauliflower and Gorgonzola Tart

Serves 8 as a main course
Approximately 1 hour preparation time, plus time for the dough to chill
Approximately 1 hour cooking time

This tart is substantial enough to be served as a main course with a big green salad and a slab of good bread. It would make an excellent main course for any vegetarians at your Thanksgiving table. Cut into smaller slices, it also could be served as an appetizer or a side dish.

For the dough:
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into about 10 pieces
1/2 cup white wine*
1 egg, lightly scrambled

For the filling:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 small cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets
a splash or two of white wine
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped sage leaves
4 tablespoons chives, snipped with scissors or chopped
salt and pepper to taste
4 eggs, lightly beaten
3 ounces Gorgonzola, crumbled

Make the crust: Whisk the flour and salt together in a medium-sized bowl. Add the butter and work it into the flour with your fingers until the butter bits range in size from grains of sand to small pebbles. Add the white wine and egg and mix with a wooden spoon or your hands until the egg and wine are fully incorporated into the flour. The dough will be sticky.

Form the dough into a ball and flatten it slightly into a disk Wrap in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour (or as long as a couple of days).

Make the filling: Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is translucent and has softened, 6-7 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and scrape the onion into a large bowl. Set aside. Wipe the pan out with a paper towel.

Return the pan to the stovetop, turn the heat to medium-high, add the canola oil, and swirl it around the pan so that it coats the sides. After about 30 seconds, add the cauliflower and arrange it with a wooden spoon so that it covers the bottom of the pan in a single layer. Let it sit for a couple of minutes. Stir, and continue to cook the cauliflower, stirring it only every few minutes so that it browns.

Cook until the cauliflower begins to soften, but is still quite firm, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and add a splash or two of white wine. Stir with a wooden spoon, scraping up any of the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Pour into the bowl with the onions. Let cool for a few minutes.

Add all of the remaining ingredients to the cauliflower except the egg and Gorgonzola. Stir well to incorporate. Add most of the egg, but reserve a few tablespoons to use later to brush the dough. Mix the egg in quickly so that it fully incorporates but doesn't scramble.

Assemble the tart: Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and unwrap it. Generously flour the counter and the top of the dough and roll the dough into a large circle, at least 15 inches across, adding more flour if needed to keep the dough from sticking. Transfer the dough to the baking sheet. It's okay if it hangs over the sides at this point because it will be folded onto the sheet after the filling is added.

Spoon the cauliflower mixture onto the dough, leaving a 2- to 3-inch border around the edge. Spread the filling out evenly. Sprinkle the Gorgonzola over the filling. Starting on one side, fold the dough from the edge of the circle up over the filling. Continue around the entire circle, pleating the dough as you go and leaving a wide opening in the center.

Brush the top of the dough with the remaining egg. If you have any left over, drizzle it over the top of the cauliflower in the middle of the tart. Bake until the tart's crust is golden brown, 50 minutes to an hour.

Remove the tart from the oven and let it rest for about 5 minutes before serving.

* If you have a decent bottle open from last night, use it. Otherwise, open the Bedlam, use what you need for the recipe, and pour yourself a glass to sip while you cook. But save some for dinner!

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Togetherness: The Whole Beet Sauté

Peas in a pod. That's what we've been here for the past week or so. Five of us, together, nearly every day, around the clock. With no power and no air conditioning, we ended up congregating in the coolest places -- on the porch, in the basement -- so that even though we had plenty of space to spread out in this house, we were never far apart.

And it was too hot to do much besides sit around and try not to think about how hot we were. All those summer projects that I had on my list seemed much less critical with the temperature hovering at about 100.

Summertime has a togetherness rhythm anyway, with vacation, lots of time at the pool, and weekend outings. But this year, we got thrown into our togetherness in a hurry. 

We were together all day for three days straight, had a one-day interlude and then were together for the Fourth of July. Most of our time was great. We turned the dining room table into a ping pong table, spent time together at the pool, played games, went to the movies, and read and read.

But the togetherness wasn't always ideal. At times our nerves wore thin, patience waned, and tempers flared. I led the way on that one. One afternoon, I found myself arguing with Chloe, one of those ridiculous arguments that escalated beyond the point of no return. Afterwards I had to remind myself that I am the adult and need to set a better example, rather than acting like the 7-year old that I was arguing with. Now I can't even remember what our argument was about, but at the time it all seemed so very important.

And one afternoon, as we set out to stay with our super wonderful friends who offered to take us in to their air conditioned home with dog and all, each of the kids decided to test our patience, whining, complaining, fussing. One at a time, they pushed our buttons, almost breaking us.

We lectured them all the way over to our friends' house about gratitude and giving us a break. I'm not whether it really sunk in, but we needed it. And it does seem that things are improving.

I feel like we're moving in synch now. Not without our challenges. Not without needing a little break apart or a series of long, deep breaths. But slowly it is coming together. We're coming together again.

Summertime togetherness.

2009: Lentil and Feta Salad (we still love, love, love this recipe)
2010: Red Wine Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Crostini
2011: Fresh Pea and Potato Gratins

This song has been running through my head while writing this post. Does anyone else remember it or am I showing my age here?

The Whole Beet Sauté

Serves 6 as a side dish
15 minutes preparation time
30-60 minutes cooking time

Beets and goat cheese are a classic combination but we used a soft goat's milk cheese with a rind rather than the usual chevre for this recipe. If you're in the D.C. area, you may be able to find it: Cherry Glen's Monocacy Gold. But even if you can't find it, try another soft goat's milk cheese that is a bit different.

The beets can be roasted in advance and stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days.

1 bunch beets, with their greens
olive oil
2 garlic scapes, chopped (or 1 garlic clove, chopped)
a splash of balsamic vinegar
a couple of slices of goat's milk cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash the beets and cut off their tops. Wrap the beet roots in foil and layer the wrapped beets on a baking sheet. Bake them in the oven until they are tender. The cooking time will depend on the size of the beets, but could be anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes.

When the beets have finished roasting, let them cool until you can touch them. Unwrap them and remove the skins with your fingers. Cut the beets across their middles and then into quarters so that you have small wedges.

Wash the beet greens and cut the stems off the bottom. You need not remove the center stalk of the leaves; they will become tender when they cook. Chop the greens roughly.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large sauté pan. Add the greens and the scapes, along with salt and pepper. Cook until the greens wilt, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. If the greens begin to brown, add a splash of water.

Add the beets to the greens and cook them until they heat through. Add a splash or two of balsamic vinegar and stir to loosen any caramelization on the bottom of the pan.

Serve the beet-green mixture onto individual plates and top with a slice of the goat cheese. Eat it while it's hot.

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Shaved Asparagus Salad with Parmesan and Pine Nuts

I've been seeing recipes for shaved asparagus pop up here and there. They are made with raw asparagus shaved thinly and mixed with any number of ingredients. I finally decided that I better try one to see what all the fuss is about.

I used parmesan because I thought the nutty saltiness would complement the freshness of the asparagus and I wanted to shave it to mirror the shape of the asparagus. Parmesan and pine nuts go well together so I added pine nuts to my list. I decided to keep the dressing simple, using lemon and chives to enhance the freshness of the raw asparagus.

The result was very refreshing. Leaving the asparagus raw brought out the green, new flavor rather than highlighting the sweeter side that you would get from blanching or roasting. That bright new flavor was perfect for spring.

Shaving the asparagus is a bit fiddly, but it wasn't as hard as I expected it to be. Just dig in and give it a try and by the third one, you'll be a pro. If you want some more tips, Amanda and Merril at Food 52 offered this helpful tutorial. The only change I would make is that I keep the ends on my asparagus before I shave them as a handle.

Oscar doesn't like asparagus and Chloe can't tolerate much lemon, so they weren't fans. But Olivia joined the adults at the table in giving it two thumbs up.

2009:  Roasted Asparagus and New Potatoes with Tarragon
2010:  Olivia's Warm Goat Cheese Salad
2011:  Asparagus and Cannellini Bean Salad

Shaved Asparagus Salad with Parmesan and Pine Nuts

Fatter asparagus will be easier to shave than the ultra thin ones, although the thin ones still work. I like to leave the shavings long because they look pretty curled into a tangle in the bowl. They are too long to be bite-sized, however and if you'd like to save your dinner guests some work, cut the lengths into thirds or quarters after shaving them.

Because the asparagus shavings are more sturdy than lettuce greens, they can be tossed with the dressing ahead of time and they will not wilt. I'd wait to add the pine nuts and cheese, though, or they will lose their texture.

Serves 4 as a side dish
20 minutes preparation time2 tablespoons pine nuts

1 bunch asparagus (about a dozen)
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons fresm lemon juice
1 tablespoon chives
chunk of pramesan for shaving

Put the pine nuts in a single layer in a pan over medium-low heat. Toast until they are fragrant and begin to turn golden, 3-5 minutes.

Rinse and drain the asparagus. Leave the ends on. Lay an asparagus stalk on a cutting board. Using a potato peeler, begin shaving the asparagus lengthwise from the base, beginning where the aspargus stalk starts to change color from white or pale green to a deeper green. Depending on the shape of your potato peeler, as the stalk gets flatter, you may need to shift it to the edge of the cutting board to get a better angle. Continue all the way to the tip so that the result is a long thin sheet of slightly curled asparagus. Discard the handle end of the stalk (or save it for stock).

Keep shaving until the asparagus is too thin to yield another piece. Repeat with the remaining stalks. Toss the curled asparagus pieces into a shallow bowl. If there are any short pieces or tips that didn't get curled, toss then in as well.

Put the lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Whisk it together and, while you are whisking, slowly add the olive oil. Using a pair of scissors, snip the chives into the dressing, pour the dressing over the asparagus, and mix gently.

Just before you are ready to serve, sprinkle the pine nuts over the top of the salad. Using that same potato peeler (rinse it if you must), shave some parmesan over the salad. Use as much as you like, but I'd count on at least 12 to 16 pieces to ensure that each serving gets three or four pieces of parmesan.

Gently mix the salad and serve.

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Roasted Zucchini Gratin

Sometimes an idea sits just under your consciousness, lurking.  Like a tiny pebble in your shoe that you only feel every tenth step. Or a neighbor who always knows when you're home. She doesn't come to the door, but just peeks out every once in a while to let you know she's still there.

I have had an idea for zucchini gratin pestering me like that. About a year ago we had a delicious version at our friends' house. It tasted fresh but was also comfortingly cheesy, everything you want in a gratin. Of course Gabe and I thought it was delicious, but more importantly, our kids all loved it too. All three of them, which is not easy to pull off, especially for a dish whose primary ingredient is a green vegetable.

I came home and immediately tried to replicate it, but my versions were always soggy and watery, not at all ideal. Then on Food52, I found this recipe that involved roasting the zucchini first. Not only does that give the zucchini more flavor, but I hoped it would dry it out a bit so that the end result would be cheesy and tasty and wouldn't turn into a mushy mess.

Bingo!

I added a bit of egg to the dish so that it could stand up as a main course for us vegetarians. It approaches a frittata, but isn't quite that eggy. We ate it with salad and bread for a perfect weeknight meal.

This is another one of those recipes that can be embellished or adapted according to your likes or dislikes. We made it with manchego and mozzarella, but you could substitute your own favorites. Gruyere? Stilton? Cheddar? Any of those would be delicious too, as would switching the out the rosemary for basil, thyme, or chives.

I'm so glad we've gotten this lurker out into the open.

2011: Moroccan-Style Vegetable Stew
2010: Wasabi and Garlic Mashed Potatoes
2009: Roasted Shallot and Buttercup Squash Soup

Roasted Zucchini Gratin

Serves 8
20 minutes preparation time
1 hour baking time

3 medium-sized zucchini, cut into large chunks
1 large onion, diced
1 shallot, diced
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, chopped or 1 tablespoon dried
2 teaspoons lemon zest
4 scallions, sliced
1 cup shredded Manchego
1/4 cup mozzarella, cubed
3 eggs
approximately 1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Oil a 9-by-13-inch casserole dish.

Layer the zucchini, onion, and shallot in the casserole dish. Drizzle on 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil, sprinkle the vegetables with the rosemary, salt, and pepper, and stir them enough to coat them with the oil. Roast the zucchini in the oven, stirring once or twice, until it is tender when pierced with a knife but still holds its shape, about 20 minutes. 

In a small bowl, mix together the cheeses and the scallions. Break the eggs into a 2-cup measuring cup, and add milk until the mixture hits the 1 1/2 cup mark.

Remove the zucchini from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Sprinkle on the lemon zest and stir it in. Pour the egg-milk mixture over the zucchini. Sprinkle the cheese on top and return it to the oven. Bake until the gratin is golden brown and bubbly, about 40 minutes.

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Garlicky Cuban Yuca (or is it Yucca?)

Apparently we need a new song. Yes, thanks to George and Ira Gershwin, we have "you say potato, I say patahto," but we also need "you spell it yucca, I spell it yuca."

According to Wikipedia, the plant we eat is known as "yuca," whereas the perennial shrub is "yucca." A quick search on epicurious revealed lots of recipes for "yuca" but also one for "yucca." Hmmmm. Even the venerable Versailles Cuban restaurant in Miami has it both ways on the menu, suggesting that in Spanish it is spelled "Yuca," but in English it's "Yucca."

I am thoroughly confused. But I think I have more often seen it in restaurants as "yuca", and, most importantly, my Cuban husband spells it "yuca" and the man is an excellent speller. So I'm going with the Cuban on this one.

To confuse things even more, yuca is also known in South America and Africa as cassava or as manioc. Whatever you call it and however you spell it, yuca is a starchy root vegetable that provides much of the world with those essential carbohydrates.

In this version, commonly seen in Cuban restaurants, the yuca is boiled until it is tender, then smothered in garlic oil and baked. We made it in Corolla as part of a Cuban meal with black beans, tostones, and mojitos. Yum!

Garlicky Cuban Yuca

Serves 6
20 minutes preparation time
20-30 minutes cooking time

2 large yuca roots
6 garlic cloves
1/4 cup olive oil
salt to taste

Peel the yuca. This isn't the easiest of tasks because the skin is thick and hairy, but use a sharp knife and cut the skin off of one side first. Then set that side on your cutting board to give some stability while you peel the other sides. Cut the yuca into large chunks. If there is a thick, woody fiber running through the pieces, scape it out with the point of a potato peeler.

Put the yuca in a large, oven-proof stockpot, cover it with water, and add a few dashes of salt. Bring the water to a boil and cook the yucca until it is tender when poked with a sharp knife (it will not be as tender as potato; more like cauliflower). Depending on the size of your chunks, this will take at least 20 minutes, so begin testing it when you hit the 20 minute mark.

While the yuca is cooking, prepare the garlic oil. In a mortar and pestle, mash the garlic until it is reduced to small chunks. Scrape it into a small bowl, add the olive oil, a few sprinkles of salt, and mix.

When the yuca has cooked, drain the water off. Return the yuca to the pot, and add the garlic oil. Serve immediately or keep in a covered dish in the oven until you are ready to serve.

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Grilled Fava Beans with Pepper and Pecorino

Those who know me well know that I have a terrible memory. I would be embarrassed to tell you how many times I have bought a book that I have already read. But a bad memory can be a blessing as well as a curse. As my clever aunt once said, "The great thing about having a bad memory is that you can have the same great experiences over and over again and always feel like you are discovering something new."   The bad memories fade more quickly for me, too.

When it comes to food, though, it's another story. I can remember what I ate on vacation in Italy 12 years ago, which is before we had kids, and some days I cannot even remember what it feels like not to have kids.

So when I gave in to my farmers' market compulsion and bought fava beans last weekend, something was tickling my memory about grilling them. I love the nutty flavor and substantial texture of fava beans, but unless you have an afternoon to kill (and if you do, it can be quite pleasant), then they take a long time to prepare. I normally prepare them by first removing the beans from the pods, blanching them, and then removing them from their inner skins.

When I finally figured out what was nagging at me, I realized that it was this post on 101 cookbooks about grilling fava beans. Aside from the flavor that grilling adds to the beans, grilled fava beans are served at the table in their pods so that everyone shares in the peeling. And the eating, of course. Plunk a pile of these fava beans down on the table, and you have a communal activity,  an appetizer that is perfect to linger over.

You could toss these fava beans with anything that appeals to you, even just adding sea salt and olive oil would do nicely. We have tried them two ways, with pepper and pecorino,and a bit of parsley thrown in for freshness, and with mint and cumin. They were quite different, but I think the pecorino version was the slight winner. The cheese has such a sharp tang that it was delicious with the mellow flavor of the fava beans.

I wish I could tell you that our children were enthusiastic about trying these and loved them, but only Olivia liked them. The other two wrinkled their noses, and after a small nibble, Oscar even made a few retching noises just so I would know how much he despised them.

Ah, well. More for us.

Second helping: Fresh Pea and Fava Bean Risotto
Thirds: Grilled Grape Leaves Stuffed with Goat Cheese, Pine Nuts, and Rosemary

Grilled Fava Beans with Pepper and Pecorino

Serves 6 as an appetizer
5 minutes preparation time
15 minutes grilling time

1 quart fava beans
a splash of olive oil
a sprinkle of sea salt
a few grinds of black pepper
1/2 cup pecorino Romano
4 tablespoons chopped parsley

Heat a grill to medium heat.

Toss the fava beans with the olive oil and salt. When the grill is hot, add the fava beans and cook  them until they are partially charred on the outside, about 7 or 8 minutes on each side.

While the fava beans are cooking, mix together the pepper, cheese, and parsley in a medium-sized bowl. When the fava beans are done, toss them in the bowl with the cheese mixture and stir to coat the mixture evenly on the pods. Serve immediately.

To eat, remove the beans from the pods. If the beans inside are small, they may be tasty just as they are. Otherwise, remove the thin pale green skin on the outside of the bean. Be sure to lick your fingers as they get coated with the cheese mixture.

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Cilantro Rice, Chipotle Style

I have a confession to make. You may think it's nonstop cooking around here, even that we are whipping up wholesome, local, organic, vegetarian, completely-from-scratch meals day after day. We all have to have our aspirations, but the truth is that as a family we have developed a wee addiction to Chipotle.

As fast food goes, Chipotle is fresh, tasty, and fairly healthy. Added bonuses are that there's one close to home and we all like it. It's hard to beat for a quick dinner when no one feels like cooking or we are behind on our shopping.





The base for all of their dishes is a fresh tasting rice, with just a hint of lime and cilantro. One of the employees who worked there told me that there's no oil in it, but I just don't believe it. It's not at all sticky and the grains are smooth and moist, so I'm guessing that it contains a good bit of oil.

When Chloe suggested that we make burritos at home recently, I told her that we'd recreate our own homemade version of Chipotle's rice. I only used a touch of oil, so our version was a bit stickier but it was still quite tasty. Also, we kept the flavor mild to ensure that it would keep its universal kid appeal, but if just Gabe and I were eating, we would have punched up the flavor by adding more cilantro and lime juice. The beauty is that because you add those flavors at the end, you can taste and adjust to suit yourselves.


The result was a hit, even before we added all the other fixings. We've now added burrito night into our regular repertoire, although I don't think our Chipotle addiction is going anywhere anytime soon. This week, we were away for the weekend so didn't shop, daily swim practice started, and I have been a bit under the weather. In other words, we were there last night.

As my very wise aunt said, "The one good thing about an addiction is that you always know how to satisfy it."

Cilantro Rice, Chipotle Style  

If you chop the cilantro and squeeze the limes while the rice is cooking, this dish is very quick to make.

Makes about 4 cups of cooked rice
15 minutes preparation and cooking time

2 cups Basmati rice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (from about 2 limes)

 Pour the rice into a strainer and run it under cold water to rinse it.

Heat the olive oil over low heat in a large stock pot. Add the rice and salt and stir to coat the rice with the oil. Add 3 cups of water and bring the water to a boil. Boil the rice for 1 minute, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and fluff with a fork.

Add the lime juice and cilantro and stir.

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Black Sesame Carrots

I'm not sure why, but even many children who are picky eaters seem to like carrots. Our children prefer them dunked in copious amounts of Ranch dressing, and presented that way, they will munch through a lot of them. This recipe is an attempt to change the humble carrot into something a bit more interesting for those of us that like to deviate from the Ranch dip once in a while.

I was inspired to make this recipe by a food52 contest, and my approach was to give those carrots an Asian twist, tossing them with sesame seeds, five spice powder, and sesame oil. They are cooked on the stove top so they do not get mushy, the kiss of death for cooked carrots. I loved the way they came out, slightly blackened from cooking at high heat, and laced with sesame flavors from the oil and the seeds. I think they will be even better with the first spring carrots that will soon be available.

We ate these carrots as a side dish on their own, but I think they would also be an excellent addition to a noodle salad or a stir fry.

As for the children, they all tried the carrots, resulting in the usual range of reactions from enthusiastic to lukewarm. I'll definitely make them again and try to win the children over so that I can eat them more often. The carrots, that is.

Black Sesame Carrots

Serves 6 as a side dish
10 minutes preparation time
10 minutes cooking time

2 teaspoons black seasme seeds
1 teaspoon five spice powder
2 teaspoons sesame oil (untoasted)
10 carrots, peeled and sliced thinly on a diagonal
salt to taste
1 garlic clove, peeled and sliced in thin slivers
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Place a medium-sized saute pan over medium heat and add the sesame seeds. Toast them by cooking them for about a minute, tossing them a couple of times so that they cook evenly. Add the five spice powder and toast it until it is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the mixture into a bowl. Use a clean paper towel to wipe out the pan.

Return the pan to the stovetop and raise the heat to high. Add the sesame oil and when it is hot, swirl it around the pan. Add the carrots and let them sit for a minute or two without stirring so that they brown. Add the slivers of garlic.

Stir the carrots or, if you are feeling chef-y, shake the pan so that the carrot slices flip and land on their opposite sides. Continue to cook, stirring or tossing so that the carrots brown evenly, until they are tender but still crisp, about 10 minutes. Add the sesame seeds and five spice powder as well as the toasted sesame oil and stir to coat the carrots evenly. Serve immediately.

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Warm Garlicky Lentil and Potato Salad

Several cultures have a tradition of eating legumes on or around New Years' Day. In the South, it's tradition to eat black-eyed peas for good luck. In Italy and Brazil, lentils are thought to bring luck. One theory is that the round legumes are symbolic of money and eating them will bring you good financial fortune for the new year. In these economic times, it may be worth a try.

But kicking off the new year with legumes is also a way to break with the indulgences of the last couple of months. After all those sumptious meals and decadent desserts, I always find myself wanting to scale back a bit in January. Many of us will make resolutions to eat healthier, exercise more, maybe even lose a few pounds. We may want to tighten the belt financially even as we are loosening the belt to account for our holiday splurges.

Lentils offer it all. They are healthy and inexpensive. Maybe they do bring luck after all since they offer health at a discount. Much cheaper than a gym membership.

When a friend told me that she had made a warm lentil and potato salad recipe that she found in the Washington Post's archives, it sounded like it would be perfect for the new year. This recipe laces the warm lentils and potatoes with a vinaigrette made with roasted garlic. The result is a simple, delicious salad with an earthy sweetness from the garlic that is hard to beat. The chopped parsley adds a counterpoint of freshness that makes this dish seem more of a treat than a resolution.

The children in this house love lentils, and we make our lentil-feta salad all year, but we love it best as a picnic food in the summer. I think this recipe will stand in nicely in the colder months. If it brings us luck of any sort throughout the year so much the better.

Second Helping: Cuban Harina with Broccoli Rabe and Crispy Fried Eggs
Thirds?: Black Bean and Monterey Jack Casserole

 

Warm, Garlicky Lentil and Potato Salad

Adapted from The Washington Post

Serves 6
15 minutes preparation time
20 minutes cooking time

1 head of garlic
1/2 cup olive oil, plus a drizzle more
2 1/2 cups small French lentils
2 teaspoons salt, or more to taste, divided
4 medium potatoes, peeled, and cubed (about 4 cups)
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, or more to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel the outer layers off of a head of garlic, but leave the skin on the individual cloves of garlic and leave them attached in the head. Cut off the top of garlic head so that you can see the tops of the individual cloves. Place the head of garlic on a piece of foil and drizzle it with olive oil. Wrap the foil around it and bake it until it is tender and fragrant and the cloves are soft and brown, about 30 minutes.

While the garlic is roasting, in a small saucepan, cover the lentils water and bring them to a boil over medium-high heat. When the pot begins to boil, lower the heat, add half a teaspoon of salt, and let the lentils simmer until they are tender, about 15 minutes.

In a separate saucepan, cover the potatoes with water and bring them to a boil over medium-high heat. When the pot begins to boil, lower the heat, add half a teaspoon of salt, and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

When the garlic is finished, remove it from the oven and let it cool enough so that you can handle it. Peel back the foil and remove the individual garlic cloves from the skin with a knife or fork. Mince them finely.

Wisk the garlic, red wine vinegar, thyme, remaining teaspoon of salt, and pepper together in a small bowl. Slowly drizzle in the remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil, wisking continuously, so that the dressing emulsifies.

When the lentils and potatoes have finished cooking, drain them and pour them into a large serving bowl. Add the dressing and toss everything together gently. Add the parsley and mix again. Serve warm.

Jobs for Children: Children can drizzle the olive oil over the garlic, wisk the ingredients for the dressing and scrub the potatoes. Older children can peel the potatoes, too, and chop them or the parsley.

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Brussels Sprouts with Lemon Persillade

 
Ever since I posted that recipe for Fresh Broccoli Lemon Pasta, I can't get that flavor profile out of my head. I am hooked on that fresh lemony, garlicky flavor, especially paired with winter vegetables. The latest vegetables to fall victim to my obsession are Brussels sprouts.

I know that they are not for everyone, but I am a huge fan of Brussels sprouts. I love their bitter-sweet flavor and they're just so darn adorable. Also, I lived in Brussels as a child, so the name conjures up childhood memories.

Sautéing Brussels sprouts gives them a golden caramelized flavor that could convert even the staunchest sprout hater. Tossed with garlic, parsley, and lemon zest, these sprouts have a fresh flavor that would be delicious as part of a holiday dinner spread, or just as part of a weeknight dinner.

Fry 'em up in a pan.

If you want to prepare them ahead, sauté them in advance, but don't add the persillade or lemon zest. Just before serving, heat them again in the pan. After they are hot, remove them from the heat, add the zest and persillade, and serve.

Second Helping: Kale and Gruyere Strata

Top 10 cutest vegetables.

Brussles Sprouts with Lemon Persillade

8 cups Brussels sprouts, cleaned and cut in half
2 tablespoons olive oil 

pinch of red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
1 teaspoon lemon zest

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the Brussels sprouts, salt, and red pepper flakes and sauté, stirring occasionally so that the sprouts brown but do not burn.

Cook until the sprouts are tender to the bite, which, depending on their size, will take about 15 minutes.

While the sprouts are cooking, chop the parsley and garlic cloves together and zest the lemon. When the sprouts are tender, remove the pan from the heat. Add the parsley, garlic, and lemon, and toss it together.

Jobs for children: Younger children can scrub Brussels sprouts and zest lemons. Older children can chop garlic and slice sprouts, too.

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Leftover Mashed Potato Pancakes

My sister and her husband brought the mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving. They went through all the work of peeling potatoes for 16 of us, cooking, mashing, and adding whatever secret ingredients they mixed in to make them taste delicious.

But they made one crucial error. They left their pot -- complete with the leftover mashed potatoes -- at my house when they left for the night. I know that the polite thing to do would have been to take them over to their house or at least call before I used them up. But I didn't do the polite thing. Instead, I happily cooked them up into some yummy potato pancakes.

Mashing the potatoes and forming them into pancakes.
These pancakes would be perfect for brunch, as a side dish, or even as the base of a quick meal. Served with a fried egg on top and some leftover Brussels sprouts, they made an excellent little lunch.

There is a wide variety of things that you can add to the mashed potatoes to make these pancakes. I added red onion, parsley, and rosemary because that's what I had on hand. But any combination of a member of the onion family with some fresh herbs would work. You could also add cheese. I debated adding some grated parmesan, but because I made these in the shadow of a huge Thanksgiving meal, I decided to skip it.

In case you are lucky enough to still have some mashed potatoes in your refrigerator, here's what I did.

Second Helping: Caldo Verde (Portugese Kale and Potato Soup)A quick supper.

Leftover Mashed Potato Pancakes

Makes approximately 8 pancakes
15 minutes preparation time
10 minutes cooking time

2 cups mashed potatoes
1 egg
2 tablespoons minced red onion or scallions
2 tablespoons minced fresh herbs, such as parsley, chives, rosemary, and/or sage
salt and pepper to taste
Canola oil for frying

With a fork or masher, mash the potatoes in a medium-sized bowl. Taste for seasoning. Add the egg, red onion, herbs, and, if you like some salt and pepper. Form the mixture into 2-3 inch pancakes.

Heat a large non-stick skillet or griddle over medium-high heat and brush it with canola oil. Cook the pancakes until they are golden brown, turning once, about 2-3 minutes per side.

Kids can help mash potatoes, mix ingredients together, and form the pancakes. Older children can also chop onions and herbs.

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Pumpkin, Radicchio, and Feta Salad

I have written about my friend Andrea before because she inspires me in the kitchen. Remember these macarons (and these) that we made together?

But this recipe was one that she submitted to our preschool cookbook before I knew her well enough to know what a cooking talent she is. I have made it many times now and every time it is a hit. I brought it to a pot luck at the office a couple of years ago, and several people asked me for the recipe. The sweet pumpkin, bitter radicchio, sour lime, salty feta, and crunchy pine nuts and onions are in perfect harmony. Delicious.


Tearing radicchio.

Chloe and Oscar didn't eat much of this salad, but they had fun helping make it. I think there's something theraputic about tearing into that radicchio. The rest of us loved, loved, loved it, and we gladly ate their share.

Squeezing limes.

The contrast of the orange pumpkin and dark red radicchio are also visually stunning. It would be a perfect side dish for Thanksgiving. It is even hearty enough that along with some stuffing, mashed potatoes, and a few Brussels sprouts, it would round out a perfect Thanksgiving meal, at least for this vegetarian.

Second Helping: Vegetable Shepherd's Pie

Pumpkin, Radicchio, and Feta Salad 

If you'd like to prepare this recipe ahead, roast the pumpkin in advance. It will keep in the refirgerator for a few days, and the rest of the salad is quick to pull together.

Serves 6
40 minutes preparation time
30 minutes cooking time

1 small pumpkin, peeled, seeded, and cubed (about 2 cups before cooking)*
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3/4 cup red onion, finely sliced into half moons (about 1/2 of a red onion)
4 tablespoons lime juice (about 2 limes)
1 tablespoon peanut oil
approximately 1/2 pound feta, crumbled into large chunks
2 cups radicchio, torn into bite-sized pieces (1 small head)
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Toss the pumpkin cubes with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and roast the cubes until they are tender but still hold their shape. The cooking time will vary, but it likely will take between 30 and 40 minutes. Set it aside to cool.

In a small bowl, mix the onion with the lime juice and set it aside to marinate for 15 minutes or more. After it has marinated, add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and the peanut oil.

Add the pumpkin, feta, radicchio, half the pine nuts, and onion mixture in a large bowl, and stir gently to combine. Serve the salad in a large flat bowl or on a platter garnished with the remaining pine nuts.

Jobs for children: Children of any age can tear the radicchio and crumble the feta. Slightly older kids can squeeze limes, measure, and mix.

* For tips on wrestling that pumpkin into cubes, see this post.

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Grilled New Potatoes

Although it wasn't always so, my children now love potatoes. (I so wanted to write that they "dig "potatoes for the pun, but I couldn't open with that; instead the pun gets relegated to the parenthetical). Baked potatoes are their favorites, but now we can add grilled to the list.

Two varieties of new potatoes. The red ones are from our farm garden.

We dug up some sweet little potatoes from our farm garden recently and bought another variety at the farmers' market. These small gems -- dug up early when the potatoes are still small and tender -- are sweet and delicious and don't need much fuss. But I have often found grilling them to be a challenge. Too often they blacken on the outside before they are fully cooked inside. The other day, we took an after-dinner stroll around the neighborhood and popped in to see my sister and her family. They were just finishing up their dinner, and on their table were a mound of stripey grilled potatoes.

It wasn't that we had planned to stop by and see what they had cooked to eat up any odd bits that they wanted to share. Sometimes it just happens that way. And I had just learned that potatoes are an excellent source of potassium (and check out all of that vitamin C!), an electrolyte that is important to maintaining proper hydration during exercise, during a triathlon, for example. I'd much rather eat regular food than supplement my diet with goo and Gatorade when training. (Here's an interesting article about the relative merits of foods and energy drinks and bars). So I popped one into my mouth. Yum.

The stripes came from slits that my brother-in-law had cut around the potato to help them cook more evenly. I tried the technique and presto, it worked!

Cutting the slits.

Can you see the rings where the slits are cut onto each potato?

Over medium heat, the potatoes cooked quickly and didn't burn before they were tender all the way through. We just tossed the potatoes with olive oil and sea salt, but you could add some fresh chopped parsley or chives, or go fancy and make a cumin-scented cilantro pesto. 

A drizzle of olive oil and onto the grill.

Oh, and about that triathlon. I did it! My two sisters and I signed up for the race together, trained together, and raced together. Having that common goal was an excellent way to bring us together despite the other demands for our time. A friend recently said to me, "I can't believe you have two sisters when I don't have any!" Having two sisters does seem to be an abundance of riches, but at least I appreciate them. They have been my closest confidantes and friends throughout my life and I hope that will always be the case. Even if they did beat me to the finish line.

Second Helping: Harvest Vegetable Tart with Parmesan Crust

Grilled New Potatoes

Serves 6
10 minutes preparation time
approximately 20 minutes grilling time (depending on the size of the potatoes)

12-18 new potatoes
olive oil
sea salt

Turn the grill on and let it warm at medium heat for about 10 minutes.

Scrub the potatoes but leave the skins on. With a sharp knife, cut several parallel slits into each potato about half an inch deep and at least half way around. Put all of the potatoes in a large bowl and drizzle  a generous amount of olive oil over them. Shake some sea salt over the top. Stir the potatoes with the olive oil and salt to coat them evenly.

Place the potatoes on the grill, reserving the bowl with any remaining olive oil. Grill the potatoes, turning them so that the skins brown evenly. They will be done when they are tender when you pierce them with a knife. The tiniest potatoes -- about the size of a grape -- took  about 10 minutes. The largest -- about the size of a lime -- took about 25 minutes. 

Remove the potatoes from the grill and toss them again in the bowl with the olive oil and salt. Serve just as they are or with chopped herbs or the accompaniment of your choice.

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Artichokes with Quick Hollandaise Sauce

I have written this before, but I have a theory that children are more willing to try something new if it involves eating with your hands.  My kids love edamame, carrot sticks (much more than carrots cut up in a salad), and dumplings.  Dips, too, seem to have an allure for kids that extends beyond ketchup and ranch dressing.  With their leaves that peel off, artichokes are the ultimate dipping food.  And the pointed tips on the leaves make them look like the claw feet of some medieval creature.  Good stuff.

 
I have to admit that I was skeptical when a friend asked if our children liked artichokes.  But after they had helped prepare them and saw how they were served, they were hooked.  Now that spring is here and they are plentiful, I am hoping that they make a regular appearance on the dinner table.  Or maybe even in the lunch box.  I wonder how that would go over in the cafeteria?

  
As for the dipping, the simplest way to serve them is with melted butter, and, at least around here, everything is better with butter.  A little lemon juice or minced tarragon added to the butter is also delicious.  But my favorite accompaniment is a hollandaise sauce.  This version is adapted from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking and is very quick because it is made in a blender. 

Happy dipping!

Second Helping:  Homemade Ketchup

 
Artichokes with Quick Hollandaise Sauce
Adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking

Serves 6
15 minutes preparation time
25 to 40 minutes cooking time

6 whole fresh artichokes
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons lemon juice
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
salt and pepper

Fill a very large pot with enough water to submerge all of the artichokes.  Bring it to a boil.

To prepare the artichokes, rinse them while they are still whole.  With a large serrated knife, cut the top inch off of the artichoke, cutting through all layers of the top leaves.  Use scissors to trim the remaining prickly tops off of the lower leaves.  When the water has begun to boil, add the artichokes.  Boil them until the bottom of the artichoke can be pierced easily with a knife.  Depending on the size of the artichokes this could take anywhere from 25 to 40 minutes. 

While the artichokes are cooking, melt the butter in the microwave or in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.  Put the egg yolks, lemon juice, a few sprinkles of salt and a couple of twists of pepper into a blender.  Cover the blender and blend the egg yolk mixture for a couple of seconds just until combined.  Uncover the blender and drizzle the butter in veeeerrrrrrryyyyy sssslllloooowwwwwlllllyyyyyy.  You can drape a towel around the top of the blender to keep it from splattering.  Keep drizzling until the mixture is the consistency of heavy cream.  Taste the sauce and add more salt and pepper if you like.  Transfer the hollandaise to a small bowl and keep it slightly warm by placing it inside a larger bowl that holds just a bit of warm water.

When they are tender, drain the artichokes upside down in a colander.  When they are cool enough to touch, remove the choke, which is that fuzzy bit in the in center of the leaves.  Pull by the top of the fuzz and it should detach easily.  If not, scrape out any remaining fuzz with a spoon.

To eat the artichoke, pull off a leaf, dip the bottom end in the sauce, and scrape the lower part of the leaf between your teeth to remove the flesh.  After you have eaten all of the leaves, the heart, which is pure goodness, will remain.  You can, of course, cut this up with a knife and fork, but dipping and eating with your hands is still acceptable.  Miss Manners might not agree, but sometimes we have to relax those etiquette rules in favor of fun. 

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Pressure Cooker Saffron and Artichoke Risotto

I bought a pressure cooker years ago for Gabe because I had heard it was great for making beans, and we loved to make Cuban black beans.  But I was afraid to use it.  I don't know whether I had a repressed bad pressure cooking experience in my youth or if it is just my active imagination, but I always picture the pot exploding all over the kitchen, and splattering hot food all over my innocent children.

But when my friend Andrea told me about her technique for making risotto in a pressure cooker in 7 minutes I knew I had to dust that cooker off and put it to work.  Andrea is a fantastic and creative cook, and I completely trust her judgment and recommendations about anything to do with food.  Now I have conquered my fear of the pressure cooker.  Sure it whistles and hisses, but the lid stays firmly locked on until I am ready to remove it, and I no longer worry about it combusting.

Making risotto in a pressure cooker is not only fast, it is easy.  There is no standing over a hot stove stirring slowly.  Instead, almost everything goes in the pot up front and, after a few minutes of checking e-mail or typing on the blog, the risotto is ready. 

I am looking forward to making this risotto with fresh artichokes and peas when they come in at the farmers' market, but for now, the frozen versions are mighty tasty.  But I still keep the children out of the kitchen once that cooker starts sounding like a steam engine.

Second Helping:  Homemade Ketchup

 

Pressure Cooker Saffron and Artichoke Risotto

Serves 6
20 minutes preparation time
20 minutes cooking time

3 tablespoons Spanish olive oil
2 small onions, diced (about 2 cups)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 cups arborio rice
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 cups frozen artichoke hearts
1 cup dry white wine
3 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1 teaspoon salt
a few grinds of black pepper
1 cup frozen peas
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Heat the olive oil over medium high heat in the pressure cooker and add the onion and garlic.  Cook until the onion is soft, about 7 minutes. 

Add the rice and stir to coat it with the oil.  Add the saffron, lemon zest, artichoke hearts, and mix again.  Add the white wine, vegetable stock, salt, and pepper and stir again.  Cover the pressure cooker with its lid and lock it on.  Bring the pressure up.  Follow the directions of your pressure cooker, but in mine, this is when the cooker will begin to make a hissing noise.  

Cook the risotto for about 6 minutes.  Each pressure cooker will cook a bit differently, but it shouldn't take less than 6 minutes.  You can always cook it a few minutes longer with the top off.  It's much harder to come back from an overcooked gloppy mess.

Release the steam and stand back.  When the pressure has been released, remove the top.  Add the peas and stir.  If the risotto still contains a bit more liquid than you would like, let it sit for a minute or two.  Stir in the butter and parsley.  Taste and add more salt and pepper to taste.  Serve immediately.

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Baked Potatoes with Cilantro Pesto

We have been reading our way through Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books.  The stories are beautifully written and transport me to a time and place that I will never know.  And the children are so well behaved.  The wonder and gratitude that they express when they receive an orange or a peppermint stick for Christmas makes me yearn for those simpler days. 

Wilder wrote those books well into her adult years (prompted by her daughter), but her attention to detail is amazing.  I really thought I might be able to build a log cabin after reading her description of Pa making one.  We had to take a breather after The Long Winter, though.  It is a phenomenal story of resilience and survival, but living in a wood cabin with blizzard winds whipping through the cracks and months of intense snow storms makes me happy to live in the age of brick, insulation, and furnaces. 

And, of course, there is the problem of the food.  At the beginning of the winter, the family's staples were bread, baked potatoes, and butter.  First the butter runs out, then the potatoes.  By the end, they were dipping into next year's seed wheat to make bread to survive.  Rough times.

Since we read that book, though, baked potatoes have become a regular item in our dinner rotation.  We have such a rich range of choices for toppings, but this pesto offers a taste of green spring, which I welcome after our own long winter.

Baked Potatoes with Cilantro Sauce

Serves 6
15 minutes preparation time
About 45 minutes baking time

6 large baking potatoes, scrubbed and rinsed
1 teaspoon cumin
1 cup parsley
1 cup cilantro
1/4 cup olive oil, preferably Spanish
a few generous pinches of sea salt
a couple of grinds of fresh pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Using a fork, poke a few holes in each potato.  Place the potatoes directly on the oven rack and bake until they are tender, about 45 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes.

In a frying pan, toast the cumin over medium heat just until it is fragrant, about 1 minute.

Blend all of the remaining ingredients with the cumin in a food processor.  Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.  When the potatoes are done, split them open, smear them with the pesto, and dig in.

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Wasabi and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

 
We went to the Smithsonian's American History Museum a couple of weekends (and snowstorms) ago.  There are many great exhibits there, including the first ladies' inaugural gowns and several interactive rooms for the children, but somehow we managed to find ourselves in Julia Child's kitchen.  I love visiting that kitchen because it is so down to earth and homey.  I could picture myself cooking in there with the children at the table helping out, doing their homework, or having a snack. You know, if I had four times the space of my current kitchen.

The exhibit includes a continuous loop with excerpts from several of Julia's cooking shows.  Many of these are not so vegetarian friendly.  I have seen her truss a duck, stuff a chicken, and boil live lobsters.  And she did not mince words when it came to her assessment about vegetarianism.  But no matter, I was still riveted.  When I heard her describe her method of making mashed potatoes with 2 whole heads of garlic, I swooned.  Any recipe that uses that much garlic has me interested.  She said that the process makes the garlic mild so I was eager to try it.

Of course I had to put my own twist on it.  I wanted to make them with wasabi, one of my favorite flavors, and I made a few modifications to alter the flavor profile.  The resulting mash balances the sweetness of the garlic with the nuttiness of the sesame oil and the zip of the wasabi.  I made these with a wide audience (and children) in mind.  The wasabi flavor definitely comes through, but if you are a wasabi lover, you may want to add more. 

The horseradish flavor would make these mashed potatoes a fantastic accompaniment to beef stew or roast beef, or would go equally well with beans or a root vegetable stew.

 

Wasabi and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Serves 6 as a side dish
20 minutes preparation time
30 minutes cooking time

2 heads garlic
4 tablespoons sesame oil
7 medium Yukon Gold potatoes (approximately 2 1/2 pounds), peeled and quartered
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus a generous pinch for the potato water
2 teaspoons wasabi powder (or  more to taste), mixed with an equal amount of water
1/4 teaspoon white pepper

Bring a small pot of water to boil.  Separate the garlic into individual cloves and drop them with their skins still on into the boiling water.  Boil them for 2 minutes, drain them, and peel the skins off. 

Dry out the pot with a paper towel and return it to the heat.  Add the sesame oil and the garlic cloves.  Cook the garlic over very low heat until it is very soft and golden, about 20 minutes.  Set aside.

Meanwhile, boil the potatoes with a pinch of salt until they are soft, about 20 minutes.  Drain the water.  Put the potatoes through a ricer or a food mill. 

Pour the softened garlic with the oil through the ricer or food mill, too.  Scrape out any garlic left in the bottom of the food mill or ricer and add it to the mix.  The garlic will be so mild that even if there are a few chunks, it will not be overpowering.

Add the wasabi mixture, salt and pepper and stir.  If necessary, return the mixture to the pot and heat over low heat.  Serve hot.

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Trinidadian Garlicky Butternut Squash Mash

 
Our children's babysitter, Rosalyn, is a fabulous cook.  I have posted her recipes for Trinidadian roti and chick pea and potato curry on this site before.  When she has us over to dinner, we fill ourselves up with all of her fantastic dishes, including this incredibly easy butternut squash.  

 
This recipe has just four ingredients, and that's only if you count the olive oil and salt.  The combination, however, is delicious.  I think the secret is waiting to add the garlic with the squash so that it never browns.  It just steams with the squash and when it all gets mashed together it retains much of that garlicky bite.  Fabulous.

 
It makes a great winter or fall side dish.  We often have it with roti as a main course, though.  It is not supposed to be served with the split pea roti that I make, but I don't yet know how to make the bread that better complements it.  Rosalyn showed me once, but I wrote it on a tiny scrap of paper as I followed her around the kitchen and now I can't make sense of it.  One of these days, I will get  the rest of the story and I promise to share it with you.  Until then, serve this with the split pea roti or as a substitute for mashed potatoes. 

Trinidadian Garlicky Butternut Squash Mash 

Don't worry about getting the measurements exactly right for this recipe.  Just use the measurements below as a guideline.  If you have a large squash or if you love garlic, add a bit more. 

Serves 6 as a side dish
10 minutes preparation time
20-30 minutes cooking time

1 medium butternut squash
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt, or more to taste

Cut the top and bottom off the butternut squash.  Stand it on its bottom end and slice lengthwise.  Peel each half and scoop out the seeds.  Cut the squash into approximately 1/2-inch cubes. 

Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.  Add the squash, minced garlic, and salt and stir to coat with the oil.  If the squash looks dry or fibrous, add a few splashes of water.  Cover the pan and cook until the squash is soft, stirring occasionally.  Check the pan after about 10 minutes and if the squash begins to brown or the squash sticks to the pan, add a(nother) splash of water.  Depending on the size of your squash and the dice, it should take between 20 and 30 minutes for the squash to cook.

When the squash is soft, remove it from the heat and mash it with a potato masher.  Serve with roti, flatbread, or as a side dish.

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Corn, Tomato, and Quinoa Salad with Cilantro Vinaigrette

 
Aren't neighbors wonderful?  We had our neighbors over for dinner the other night, and we grilled some corn to go along with our tacos.  I had gotten the corn at the farmers' market, and as I husked it with the children, we found several caterpillars inside the husks.  I actually find this reassuring because it means that the corn has not been sprayed within an inch of its life with noxious chemicals.  I cut them all out, but the children were still a bit put off.  I explanied why I didn't mind them, but I'm not sure they got it.  At the end of my explanation, I asked them which they would prefer, a few caterpillars or chemical sprays.  They all chanted, "chemicals!"  Apparently I have a bit more persuading to do.

In the course of this conversation, I told the children not to mention the caterpillars to our dinner guests because it might make them afraid to eat the corn.  As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I realized my mistake.  Not only was I advocating deception, but my mere suggestion that we not say anything meant that the children were guaranteed to say something.  I saw a glint in Oscar's eye, but he is usually shy in a crowd, so I thought I was safe.

No such luck.  After toiling over a hot grill to get the dozen or so ears of corn cooked, I brought a huge platter heaped with corn to the table.  When offered corn, Oscar passed and then said, "we found lots of worms in that corn." 

There were lots of leftovers.

We also had lots of tomatoes.  Not only are the tomatoes coming in at our farm garden, but other neighbors left for a two-week vacation and asked us if we would pick their tomatoes so that they would not go to waste.  Anything for a neighbor.   

 

Corn, Tomato, and Quinoa Salad with Cilantro Vinaigrette

You could substitute any other grain for the quinoa, but quinoa is loaded with protein and its chewy texture is a nice complement to the softness of the tomatoes and the crunch of the corn and onion.  Quinoa is also gluten free for those who must avoid wheat.  We served this salad as a side dish, but it could easily be doubled to become a main course.  Because it can be served at room temperature, it makes a great pot luck or picnic dish.

Serves 6 as a side dish
20 minutes cooking and preparation time, plus additional time for cooling

4 tablespoons, plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup quinoa
1 teaspoon salt
a few grinds of pepper
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/4 cup diced red onion
corn cut from 2 ears of cooked corn (about 1 cup)
2 medium tomatoes, cored and diced

Heat a teaspoon or so of olive oil in a skillet.  Add the quinoa and cook it until it is fragrant, 1-2 minutes.  Add 1 1/2 cups of water, and bring to a boil.  Turn off the heat, cover, and let the quinoa sit for about 12 minutes, until it is soft and the round grains have opened up.

Meanwhile, make the vinaigrette.  Whisk together the salt, pepper, cilantro, and white wine vinegar.  Slowly add the remaining olive oil, whisking continuously.  When the quinoa is cooked, toss it with the dressing in a large bowl.  Let it cool for a few minutes, and add the onion, corn, and tomato.  Serve the salad warm or let it cool to warm temperature.

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Roasted Asparagus and New Potatoes with Tarragon

For some reason, tarragon is an excellent complement to many spring dishes.  Of course, I love it in egg salad, but it is also perfect with those tender spring vegetables like asparagus and peas.  For this dish, I paired it with asparagus and new potatoes that I oven roasted.  With a bit of crunch from the onions, the combination was wonderfully fresh and delicious. 

We ate this dish at room temperature as a main course, but it would also make an excellent side dish and it could be served warm or chilled.  Because it is so portable, it makes a great picnic or pool side dish.  That seems to be what I am craving more and more on these (finally!) warm spring evenings.

I have to admit that Oscar and Chloe had a bit of Jack Sprat and his wife going on: Oscar picked out the asparagus and ate the potatoes;  Chloe picked out the potatoes and ate the asparagus.  But they both enjoyed the tarragon flavor, and Gabe, Olivia, and I loved the entire combination. 

Roasted Asparagus and New Potatoes with Tarragon

The proportions in this salad are not set in stone, so you needn't follow measurements exactly.  You really can't go wrong.

Serves 5
10 minutes preparation time
25 minutes cooking time

1 1/2 pounds asparagus, trimmed
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
salt and pepper to taste
approximately 25 small new potatoes, scrubbed
2 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon
1/2 vidalia or other sweet onion, sliced thinly
1/4 cup white vinegar

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Snap the ends off the asparagus and reserve them for another purpose.  Toss the asparagus with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, a few grinds of pepper, and a sprinkle of salt.  Roast the asparagus until they are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.  In a separate pan (or in the same pan if you have time and want to save dirtying another pan), toss the potatoes with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper.  Roast them, too, until they are tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. 

While the vegetables are cooking, slice the onion and mince the tarragon.  When the potatoes are done,  let them cool enough to handle.  Cut them in half or in smaller pieces if they are large and toss them in a large bowl with the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil and the white vinegar.  Add the asparagus and tarragon.  Taste, and adjust seasonings as necessary.

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Kale Chips

If you want your children to love kale, this is the way to do it. 

My friend Gina McNeal gave me the idea, although she says that she learned it from a friend of hers.  Gina worked at Marvelous Market for many years baking and creating many of their delicious lunch dishes.  She is still a fabulous cook, and when I see her come into a room with something she made, I always try it.  She is now a personal trainer and has inspired many of us to better health through Bleacher Club (a weekly running workout), classes, or individual workouts.  So with all that in mind, when Gina mentioned this way of cooking kale, I knew I had to try it.

This dish is incredibly simple.  It is just roasted kale.  After its turn in the oven, the kale develops a delicate crispiness that is delicious.  And the kale is so beautiful that it is appealing to eaters of all ages.  I used soy sauce to add flavor because it adds a subtle saltiness.  You can certainly use salt instead, but if you do, be careful not to add too much.  As the kale cooks and reduces in size, the flavor intensifies.  I used a purple kale because it looked so pretty at the farmer's market, but any curly kale would work.

Kale Chips

Serves 5
5 minutes preparation time
20-25 minutes cooking time

approximately 1/2 pound kale, rinsed
1 tablespoon olive oil
several dashes soy sauce

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  In a large bowl, toss the kale with the olive oil and a few dashes of soy sauce.

Scoop the kale onto two cookie sheets, and spread it out into a single layer.  Roast in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Watch carefully as it nears the end of the cooking time because it can brown quickly. The kale is done when it is crispy and slightly brown.

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