Simple Salad

I have been meaning to post this recipe for a while. This is hands-down one of my favorite salads. I first tried it at True Food Kitchen in Phoenix, it is one of the most popular dishes at the restaurant. It is incredibly simple with just a few ingredients, and it packs a super antioxidant boost. During winter when kale is in abundance, we made this salad probably about once a week. You can still find lacinato/dinosaur/Tuscan kale in the store all year round, though it is a bit more expensive during the summer. You can use regular kale in this salad, but I really enjoy the taste of lacinato kale. You can also easily substitute different cheese or types of breadcrumb. I have done this salad with regular breadcrumb and also with panko. This salad will keep in the fridge for a few days, so it's great to make a big batch and have leftovers. 

Tuscan Kale Salad
from Dr. Weil's True Food Kitchen (there is also a video here)

4-6 cups kale, loosely packed, sliced leaves of Italian black (Lacinato, "dinosaur," cavolo nero) midribs removed  juice of 1 lemon  3-4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil  2 cloves garlic, mashed  salt & pepper, to taste  hot red pepper flakes, to taste  2/3 cup grated Pecorino Toscano cheese (Rosselino variety if you can find it) or other flavorful grating cheese such as Asiago or Parmesan  1/2 cup freshly made bread crumbs from lightly toasted bread

Instructions

Whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and a generous pinch (or more to taste) of hot red pepper flakes. Pour over kale in serving bowl and toss well. Add 2/3 of the cheese and toss again. Let kale sit for at least 5 minutes. Add bread crumbs, toss again, and top with remaining cheese.

Sick Day = Soup Day

I haven't posted in forever. I apologize. The beginning of last week I was at the Nutrition & Health Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. It was amazing and so interesting. It was hosted by the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine and was right up my alley. Dr. Weil talked about an anti-inflammatory diet and we learned about healthy eating that can also be super tasty. I totally overdosed on salmon because everyone is so up on omega-3 fatty acids. We had at least two servings of salmon every day, plus they had these tasty little gummy worm omega-3 vitamins. I also had the chance to meet James Beard Award Winning Chef Scott Peacock and a dual Chef/MD Dr. Wendy Kohatsu. She finished her MD and during her clinicals went to culinary school so she could better consult her patients on the importance of diet and healthy cooking. I am obsessed. This is my new dream in life. The conference was an overall success. I hope I will be able to attend the next one in San Francisco.

Only downside, I came back with a cold. I have completely lost my voice and I feel like I'm coughing up a lung. Solution: make soup. The bf and I had decided on a yummy, hearty potato kale soup last week with our CSA but never got around to making it. So this was the perfect opportunity. It reminded me of the Olive Garden Toscana soup, but without the cream, and much more healthy. Unfortunately, I couldn't taste the soup (that's what happens when your nose is completely plugged) but I can say the texture was really nice, if that counts for anything. The kale gave a nice crunch that reminded me of Japanese wakame seaweed. The potatoes were nice and soft and made the soup hearty and filling. I had frozen the sausage and thawed it out yesterday, so they became a little mushy. When we cut them, they just squished and the casing didn't hold up around them. They turned out like spicy mini meatballs in the soup which I was totally fine with. I think the recipe would also be great with some carrots to give it a little more body. We also added some garlic and used our wonderful torpedo onions from the CSA. The look like giant green onions and really mild. We simply took the white bulbs and sliced them. You could easily substitute any other kind of onion. Super quick and easy and so wonderful when lying in bed sick.

(I think I need to take a food photography class because my pictures really do not do the food justice)

Sausage, Kale, and Potato Soup

• 1 package spicy sausage, sliced into rounds or with casing removed shaped into meatballs
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 torpedo onion bulbs, sliced
• 5 1/2 c. low-salt chicken broth
• 6 small red lasoda potatoes, thinly sliced
• 2 c. dry white wine
• 5 c. thinly sliced trimmed kale leaves
• 1/4 tsp. caraway seeds, lightly crushed

Saute sausage, garlic, and onion in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Add chicken broth, sliced potatoes, and white wine and bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer until potatoes are almost tender, about 10 minutes.

Add kale and caraway seeds to soup. Simmer soup uncovered until potatoes and kale are very tender, about 10 minutes longer. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls and serve immediately.

Potato Chips are SO Last Year

New color scheme, I was tired of the plain white. Let's see how long it takes for me to get sick of these crazy circus colors.

I love potato chips. They are so bad for you, but they are always the perfect remedy for a salt craving. They are crispy, salty, and delicious. Unfortunately, they are not the best for you, so I thought I would make kale chips instead. Interesting fact about kale, because it is so high in Vitamin K, patients taking warfarin or other anti-coagulants are encouraged not to eat it because warfarin inhibits Vitamin K dependent synthesis of clotting factors. How fascinating!

I have made kale chips before, but with red kale. I used too much oil and too much salt, so they weren't very tasty. This time we had beautiful green kale. One thing I noticed was that bugs love to hide in the nooks and crannies of the leaves. I washed each leaf about three times and I still kept finding bugs, but I guess that's what you get with organic veggies. After you wash the leaves, be sure to dry them completely. Either pat them down with paper towels, shake them off, or use a salad spinner. With the oil, a friend recommended using spray olive oil rather than drizzling it on. Either way, just be careful. If you use too much the leaves will never crisp up and stay a soggy mess on your baking pan. If you use too little, they will turn brown and burn. One last thing, you can season these with anything you like. In a spicy mood? Cayenne and paprika. In a garlic mood? Garlic salt. In a citrus mood? Lemon and salt. So easy, so fast, and so healthy. Kick those lame-o potato chips out and put these scrumptious little guys next to your hamburger or hot dog.

Kale Chips

• One bunch of kale, washed and dried
• 2 Tbsp olive oil or Olive oil spray
  
• Salt and any other seasonings your heart desires!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place kale on a baking sheet and drizzle/spray with olive oil. Season with salt and any other seasonings. Place in oven for 20 minutes or until leaves are crispy.