Week 13: Massaged Kale Salad

Don't you love how food brings people together? I have a new acquaintance, and we are bonding over our mutual experiences with community-supported agriculture, and, in particular, kale.

Kale is great stuff, but it's easy to fall into the "saute with olive oil and garlic" rut when you are trying to throw dinner together after a long day. So I have to thank E. and her mother for suggesting this recipe to me. It's quick to make, it keeps well in the fridge, and it's different from the sauteed standard. Best yet: It's an excuse to really play with your food. 

Massaged Kale Salad
(Slightly adapted from Aarti Sequeira's recipe -- which is to say, I used peaches instead of mango, because I had a ton of peaches from the farm. There's a nice companion video to the recipe on the Food Network site, from which I learned, after the fact, that I did not slice my kale as thinly as recommended. Serves 4.)

1 bunch kale, stalks removed and discarded, leaves sliced into thin ribbons
Juice of 1 lemon, divided use
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
Kosher salt
2 teaspoons honey
Ground black pepper
1 cup diced peaches
2 to 3 Tbsp pepitas (roasted pumpkin seeds)

Place the kale in a large bowl. Add half of the lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil, and a pinch of salt. Massage the kale with your hand for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the kale begins to break down and wilt.

In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining lemon juice, honey and black pepper. Stream in the olive oil slowly and whisk until a dressing forms. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Pour the dressing over the kale, then add the peaches and pepitas. Toss and serve.

Week 8: Kale (or Chard) Tacos

Sometimes I come across a recipe idea that's so simple, so logical, that I'm a little bit embarrassed that I didn't come up with it myself. Of course, I'm not too embarrassed to share this idea with you now, in case you didn't come up with it either.

Tacos. Brilliant.

Start off by sauteing kale (or chard, but I happened to use kale) with onions and garlic and some spices. Gosh, I do this for almost every kale or chard recipe. Spoon the mixture into tortillas or taco shells, and top with cheese and salsa. That's pretty much it.

Naturally, you can add your own spin to this. Go ahead and caramelize the onions first. Mix in a jalapeno or two. Bump up the protein with black beans. Make a fancy salsa. You get the idea. Or, keep it simple and get dinner on the table in a flash.

Kale (or Chard) Tacos
(Adapted from several Internet sources, which attribute their own adaptations to Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless. This might be the cooking equivalent of "Whisper Down the Lane." Serves 4.)

1 bunch (12 ounces) kale or Swiss chard, stems removed
1-1/2 Tbsp canola oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste
1/2 cup water or vegetable broth
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste (omit if using salty broth)
Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

For serving:
8 to 12 soft corn tortillas (6-inch size) or hard taco shells, warmed (I'm partial to the shells)
About 4 ounces crumbled feta, Mexican queso fresco, or another fresh cheese
Salsa as desired

Slice the kale (or chard) leaves into 1/2-inch ribbons. Heat the oil in a large skillet or a wide Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until they begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds, or until the garlic is aromatic, then add the water, salt, cayenne (if using) and the sliced kale/chard leaves. Lower the heat to medium-low, cover the pan, and cook until the greens are almost tender. (This will take about 8 minutes for kale; 5 minutes for chard.) Uncover the pan, return the heat to medium-high, and cook the greens another minute or two, or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Build your tacos with the greens, warm tortillas, cheese, and salsa.

Week 2: Strawberry Freezer Pops

As in years past, our CSA season has started off with a whole mess of green leafy things and a couple of quarts of luscious strawberries. Some people might consider it a sacrilege to alter said strawberries in any fashion, but we are not such people. We are definitely not such people during a legitimate heat wave. Besides, these freezer pops are only the teensiest step away from fresh fruit.

Of course, strawberries are one of the easiest items in the CSA share to use up, and I'm guessing you might want to know what's happened to that whole mess of green leafy things. So before we get to this week's recipe, here's a quick rundown of some of the other foods we've been eating:

• Kale, held over from last week, never made it to the freezer. Instead, I boiled and drained it; seasoned it with sauteed garlic, a little olive oil, salt, and lemon; and mixed it into leftover spaghetti.
• Arugula and red leaf lettuce became a salad with scallions, strawberries, and my balsamic vinaigrette.
• Another head of leaf lettuce went into a braise with onions, garlic, and salmon, based on this recipe from Everyday Food. As far as cooked lettuce goes, I'm going to stick with grilled or stir-fried romaine. But the fish was very good, and the dinner reduced the volume of lettuce in our refrigerator considerably.
• Collard greens received the "stuffed cabbage" treatment with a tabbouleh-influenced filling of bulgur wheat, mint, parsley, carrots, and bell pepper. Not bad, but still a work in progress.
• Radishes are not in the "green leafy" category, but we've had a lot of them, too. Last week, some became pickles (David Lebovitz's recipe); some went into a "summer roll" (aka fresh spring roll) along with more mint. I had high hopes for the summer rolls, and I did like the vegetable combination, but I was completely turned off by the gelatinous cellophane noodles and the equally gelatinous rice paper wrappers. Still, if you want to take a stab at this, you could start with this recipe here. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Strawberry Freezer Pops
(adapted from Everyday Food)

2 cups halved, hulled strawberries
2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp lime juice (about 1/2 lime)

Combine ingredients in a blender. Puree, scraping down sides as needed.

Divide puree among four 3-ounce freezer-pop molds. Freeze until solid, 4 to 6 hours. Run molds under hot tap water to release pops just before serving.

Culinary Confessions and a Non-Recipe for Colcannon

As you know, this blog is focused on produce and community-supported agriculture, and it features a lot of from-scratch recipes. But I didn't always eat or cook this way. My culinary beginnings included a fair amount of Cheez Whiz and Bisquick, brownie mixes, and cans of cream-of-mushroom soup -- though, fortunately, not all in the same dish.

Every once in a while I still dip into the realm of "semi-homemade"; which is why The Programmer did not get a home-baked layer cake on his birthday, but rather a parfait that featured instant pudding mix, frozen whipped topping, strawberries, and cubes of angel food cake. The cake, which I had in the freezer, was homemade, but it may have been a relic from The Programmer's birthday celebration last year. This reminded us of the "leftover parfait" bit from Malcolm in the Middle. Ours was a leftover parfait parfait.

Not from scratch ...
but it tasted good.

By way of redemption, I present to you a non-recipe for Colcannon, just in time for St. Patrick's Day. Colcannon is simply boiled potatoes mashed with boiled cabbage or kale -- seasonal ingredients and authentic to Ireland.

Colcannon (Kale version)

Use a waxy potato variety, such as Yukon Gold, for mashing. I cut my potatoes into quarters for boiling, and don't bother peeling them until they have cooked.

Boil and drain about 2 pounds of potatoes. Let them cool slightly and remove peels as needed. Mash the potatoes, adding butter and warm milk, or pareve margarine and potato-boiling liquid, depending on whether you need to keep the recipe dairy free. Keep the mashed potatoes warm.

Meanwhile, remove and discard the stems from a bunch of kale. Roughly chop the leaves and boil or steam them until tender. Let the kale cool a bit, then chop finely.

Mix the cooked kale into the mashed potatoes, adding salt and pepper to taste. And that's pretty much it, though you could easily add in onions, garlic, or other seasoning if you like. If you have more cooked kale than you need for the potatoes, save it for another use, such as quiche or soup.

Fish With Winter Greens, Two Ways

Somewhere on the lawn, under an 8-foot mound of snow, is the spot where we planted tomatoes last summer. It doesn't look like we'll be seeing anything green outside for a while, so we are gravitating toward greens anywhere we can find them. Kale, chard, mint chocolate chip ice cream ... .

Cod Steamed on Kale, with Asian-Style Spices
(Adapted from two Mark Bittman recipes)

Cod steamed on kale.

1 Tbsp canola oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into matchsticks
1 bunch kale (about a pound), tough stems removed and discarded, leaves coarsely chopped
2 Tbsp soy sauce, plus extra for drizzling
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup water
1 pound skinless cod
Sesame oil (optional)

Heat the oil in a deep skillet or Dutch oven. Saute the ginger and garlic for about a minute, then stir in the kale, soy sauce, sherry, and water. Cover the pot and let the kale cook until it is just about tender, about 10 minutes.

Put the fish on top of the kale, drizzle with a bit of soy sauce and, if desired, sesame oil. Cover the pot again and let the fish steam on top of the greens until it's cooked through, about 10 minutes.

Salmon and Chard in Spiced Tomato Sauce
(Adapted from Spry magazine)

Salmon and chard, with a side of rice.

1 Tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
1 cup tomato puree
1 jar (12 ounces) roasted red peppers, drained, rinsed, and sliced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 bunch Swiss chard (about a pound), thick center stems removed and discarded, leaves coarsely chopped
3 or 4 skinless salmon fillets, about 6 ounces each

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in a large skillet. Saute the garlic in the oil for about 1 minute, then add the tomatoes with their liquid, the tomato puree, red peppers, and spices. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer the sauce for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the Swiss chard on the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, and place the salmon fillets on top of the chard. Pour the tomato sauce on top of the fish and greens. Cover the dish and bake about 20 minutes, then remove the cover and bake another 5 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through.

Week 15: Lasagna With Squash and Kale

I had ambitious cooking plans for the week. I also had ambitious work plans. Work won out, and that's why I have a head of green cabbage, a butternut squash, and a couple of beets to carry me into the coming CSA week.

Still, we had two good CSA-centric meals. One was a pot of roasted vegetables that included this week's eggplant and tomatoes along with onions, garlic, pepper, and potato. It was similar to ratatouille, but accompanied by a Thai-inspired peanut sauce. (I liked it better without the sauce.) The other meal was lasagna, a multi-step, multi-pot concoction that I decided to tackle when a client's database problems prevented me from logging into work. (Ah, the joys of being a remote freelancer.) The lasagna, which used up one of our butternut squashes and our kale, ultimately was worth the work. It would make a lovely vegetarian entree for Thanksgiving.

Lasagna With Squash and Kale
(Adapted from Sunset Magazine. The lasagna can be assembled and refrigerated up to a day ahead of baking.)

4 Tbsp olive oil (divided use)
1 medium red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic (1 minced; 2 peeled but left whole)
1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes
1 tsp dried oregano
Salt and pepper
6 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 3 pounds squash)
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 pound kale
9 whole-wheat lasagna noodles (8 oz.)
1 container (15 oz.) part-skim ricotta cheese
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese (divided use)

Prepare the sauce: Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a sauce pot over medium heat. Cook the onion and minced garlic for about 5 minutes, or until the onion softens, then add in the tomatoes, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Reduce the heat and simmer the sauce for about 20 minutes, then set aside.

Prepare the squash: Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the squash cubes and the whole garlic cloves with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle with the thyme; sprinkle with salt and pepper as desired. (I used only pepper.) Spread on a large baking pan (10 by 17 inches) and bake until soft, about 15 minutes. (Note: The squash won't cook that fast if your cubes are larger than the 1/2-inch dice.) Let the squash and garlic cool a bit, then puree them in a food processor and set aside.

Prepare the kale: Bring about 3 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Remove the center ribs from the kale leaves. Discard the ribs and boil the kale leaves for about 5 minutes or until soft. Drain, let cool, then squeeze out as much water as possible from the leaves. Chop the leaves finely.

Prepare the noodles: Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add the lasagna noodles, a few at a time, to keep the water boiling. Cook the noodles for about 10 minutes, or as directed on the packaging, until tender. Drain the noodles and rinse with cold water. Separate the noodles and lay out on wax paper to keep them from sticking to one another.

Prepare the cheese: Mix together the ricotta cheese, nutmeg, 1 cup of mozzarella, and another 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Set aside.

Assemble the lasagna: Layer the components in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish in this order, spreading the layers as evenly as possible:

• 1.5 cups tomato sauce
• 3 noodles
• All of the squash
• One-half of the kale
• 3 noodles
• All of the ricotta cheese mixture
• All of the remaining kale
• 3 noodles
• Remaining tomato sauce
• Remaining 1 cup mozzarella (or a bit less, depending on taste)

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the juices are bubbling. Add 10 to 15 minutes to the baking time if the lasagna has been pre-assembled and refrigerated. Let the lasagna stand 10 minutes before slicing.

Bubble and Squeak

I made a passing reference to Bubble and Squeak back in the summer when I had a head of cabbage on hand. I bring it up now, because you just might have the right combination of leftovers to make this dish sometime after Thanksgiving.

Bubble and Squeak has a place in the pantheon of British Foods With Odd Names. Basically, it's a shallow-fried pancake or hash made from leftover potatoes and vegetables. Cabbage is a traditional ingredient, but you can use whatever greens or vegetables you have on hand. Throw in some chopped herbs, too, if you'd like (mmmm, sage and rosemary would be good). Use the directions below as a very loose guide.

Bubble and Squeak
(adapted from The Frugal Gourmet by Jeff Smith)

3 potatoes, boiled and smashed, or leftover mashed potatoes
4 cups chopped, cooked cabbage, or other cooked greens, such as kale or chard
1/2 medium onion, peeled and chopped (sauteed, if you choose, but it's not necessary)
1 raw zucchini, grated (or try cooked Brussels sprouts, broccoli, or carrot)
olive oil

Gently mix the potatoes, greens, and vegetables. Lumps are good; you are not looking for a smooth paste. If your potatoes are too cold to mix, warm them a bit in the microwave first.

Heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a large, heavy skillet. Add the potato-vegetable mixture, press it into the skillet bottom, and let it heat and brown. Flip it in sections to brown both sides or stir it like hash until it's evenly cooked and hot throughout. Serve with salad, leftover meat, or scrambled eggs.

Week 12: Chard!

THIS WEEK'S HIT: Greened Beans (aka Chard, White Beans, and Tomatoes)

Our vacation week straddled the CSA pickup day, so this week we shared with a friend. She kept the green beans, some corn, a tomato, and the first apples of the season. Waiting for us at home were radishes, more corn, kale, a couple of tomatoes, and (yeah!) Swiss chard.

We were beginning to miss the chard.

In any case, we put our "leftovers" to good use. The radishes became a salad with a lime-orange dressing and the corn was simply boiled. Everything else went into an Italian-tinged side dish that I served with baked haddock.

You can use any combination of hardy greens for this recipe, which I adapted from one by Lidia Bastianich. Kit gets credit for coming up with the punny name.

Greened Beans (aka Chard, White Beans, and Tomatoes)

Ingredients

1 bunch Swiss chard, stems trimmed and leaves sliced into strips
1 bunch kale, trimmed and sliced as above
1 Tbsp olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or less, if you don't like the heat)
2 to 3 tomatoes, diced
1 can (15 ounces) cannellini or other white beans, drained and rinsed
Salt
Black pepper
Lemon juice (about 1 Tbsp)
Extra olive oil

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the greens, cover, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until tender. Drain.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes or until the garlic turns golden. Add the tomatoes, and cook, stirring, for another 2 minutes, or until the tomatoes begin to soften.

Add the beans and greens and cook for about 5 minutes more. Add salt, black pepper, and lemon juice to taste. If desired, sprinkle with extra olive oil before serving.

Week 10: Cool as a ... Well, You Know ...

THIS WEEK'S HIT: Raita and Tomato-Vegetable Curry

• Outside air temperature: 88 degrees
• Kitchen temperature, with AC on: 78 degrees
• Internal temperature of cucumber, pulled from refrigerator into air-conditioned kitchen: 40 degrees

Hey, these babies really are cool!

This week's farm share held the antidote to a sudden stretch of hot weather: a dozen cucumbers and seven tomatoes. We took the remedy in the form of pickles, gazpacho, Greek salad, Indian raita, and vegetarian curry. Mmmmm, cool (except for the curry, which was mmmmm, spicy hot). We also received blueberries (eaten out of hand), cherry tomatoes (sauteed with garlic, basil, and sage, and served over pasta), kale (went into the curry), carrots (steamed), eggplant (grilled), green bell peppers (added to the pickles and gazpacho), and a bunch of flowers (vase).

I know tomatoes are hard to find in some locations, but our farm is not organic and the crop hasn't succumbed to blight. Enjoy them if you have them.

Raita

Adjust the proportions of yogurt, cucumber, and spices to your liking.

Mix together the following:

1 tsp cumin, toasted in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 1 minute
1 cup plain yogurt (non-fat is okay)
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
salt, pepper, and paprika to taste

Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve with curry or similar spicy food.

Tomato-Vegetable Curry

1 Tbsp canola oil
1 tsp black mustard seed (yellow mustard seed also works)
4 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 onion, chopped
2-3 tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 small bunch kale, chopped (can substitute other greens or cabbage)
6 ounces tomato juice
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp cardamom

In a 5-quart Dutch oven, heat the oil until hot. Add the mustard seeds, cover the pot, and let the seeds pop. Add the cloves and cinnamon stick, cover, and cook until the spices are fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.

Carefully remove the cloves and cinnamon (you may want to do this off-heat), then add the onion and tomatoes to the pot. Cook them covered, about 5 minutes or until they soften. Add the ginger and cook one minute more. Then add the kale and all of the remaining spices and cook, covered, about 5 minutes or until the kale begins to wilt.

Add the tomato juice and cauliflower. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, 30 to 45 minutes or until the cauliflower is soft. (Watch the level of liquid and add a bit of tomato juice or water if the mixture becomes too dry.) Serve with raita and warm naan.

Week 2: Salad Days

THIS WEEK'S HIT: Beans and Greens Soup

When the CSA gives you lettuce, you make salad. And stir-fry. And maybe cooked lettuce and peas, but only once.

This week's basket was similar to last week's, with lettuce, strawberries, radishes, and rhubarb, plus baby beet greens and Tuscan kale. The baby beet greens I sauteed with onions and shitake mushrooms and served over pasta (yumm); the rhubarb and some of the strawberries went into a crisp (Moosewood Cookbook; highly recommended); and the kale went into a hearty soup that makes a nice meal with a side salad. After all, we had a lot of salad available.

I received the soup recipe a year or two ago in the mail with a supermarket promotion that credits it to "the Taste for Life test kitchen." The paraphased version:

Beans and Greens Soup

Ingredients

olive oil, for sauteeing
1 large onion, diced
1 tomato, diced
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup carrot, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced [I used more]
4 cups broth or water [I used about 6 cups of water to accommodate the large head of greens that I had]
salt and pepper to taste [you can add other spices or herbs, of course]
2 cans (15 ounce) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 bunch greens (kale, collards, spinach, etc.), cleaned and sliced or chopped
Parmesan cheese, for garnish, optional

Directions

In a large soup pot, saute onion, tomato, celery, carrot, and garlic until the vegetables begin to soften and the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add water and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring often, until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes more. Stir in beans and greens. Cook until the greens are just tender, 5 to 15 minutes depending on variety. Serve in bowls and top with cheese if desired.