kale | Say Yes to Salad

31 July, 2013

July Shenanigans & Recipes…

This summer has been one of the best.

Bobby and I have been cooking up a storm…

^^A moscow mule (a drink my dad introduced me to).^^

This was mine, but I gave it to Bobby – after one sip I didn’t want anymore! It’s delicious but I wasn’t in a drinking mood. {HERE} is the recipe I posted 5 years ago when my dad first told me about it. It’s a mix of ginger beer, vodka, lime, and mint. Sometimes we do half seltzer / half ginger beer. Gingerale also works.

^^Sweet and Savory Tempeh with Onions^^

I started off following Gwyneth Paltrow’s recipe for Tempe Manis (Sweet Tempeh) but changed it… a lot. As you guys know, I’m not really into sweets that much, so I cut out just about all the sugar, and instead caramelized some onions to give it sweetness. I will hopefully remember what I did so I can post my version of the recipe later. So delicious.

^^Kale & Seaweed Salad with Avocado – Except with Mustard Greens because I mistakenly grabbed the wrong bunch of greens!^^

Another Gwyneth Paltrow recipe. Which she actually got from Cafe Gratitude (in LA I think?). {HERE} is her recipe. I changed it a bit – I only used one avocado, I didn’t add the cucumbers (all of a sudden I am hating cucumbers, weird!), and I accidentally bought mustard greens instead of kale. I’ve remade it with kale and I actually prefer it with mustard greens. They don’t come out bitter.

^^Random plate^^

This plate has a veggie stir-fry that was *amazing* – it has fake chicken from Trader Joe’s, but aside from that I don’t know what’s in it because Bobby (a budding cook, apparently) made it. I’ve also been *loving* white rice. Having it almost daily, in large amounts. My appetite has been interesting the last month or so. In this pic there is also kabocha (simply steamed, though I have another kabocha recipe I’ve been meaning to share), Rachel Ray’s sesame green beans, a cucumber salad (before I started hating cucumbers), and roasted mushrooms – I think these were oyster mushrooms.

Lastly…

^^Natto^^

This is a fermented soybean product that is eaten a lot in Japan. It has an interesting (funky) smell and it’s slimy/stringy like okra (only more so). It’s definitely an acquired taste, but I have learned to love it. In fact, Bobby made a batch of homemade natto this week, which is aging in the fridge right now. It should be ready this weekend.

Aside from lots of good eats, other wonderful things have happened recently.

I got to meet my close friend’s baby:

She is so sweet. So cuddly and adorable.

And Bo the cat is a weirdo 😉

I can’t believe I caught that picture! I was reorganizing the area next to my washer/dryer and was taking these shelves downstairs, but Bo decided to hang out in the shelf and I got him mid-yawn.

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What have you been up to the past couple of weeks?

22 June, 201324 November, 2014

Summer Solstice Surf & Turf

Last night Bobby and I celebrated the end of this week + the summer solstice with a delicious home-cooked surf & turf dinner. And I even made it to yoga beforehand (Friday Night Flow @ Pure Yoga).

I posted this on Instagram (@magpie707) last night. It’s a small piece of filet migon (right), scallops & shrimp, and a side of kale + shiitake mushrooms. The recipes were all super simple. They aren’t even recipes, really.

Filet Mignon:

olive oil
steak (this one was small – 3.5 ounces. it’s about 2cm thick.)
butter (optional)

Heat a nonstick pan until it’s screaming hot. Drizzle your steak with olive oil on both sides, and also put a little in the pan. Cook the steak ~3-4 minutes on each side (3 on each side is medium; 4 on each side is done – I did about 3.5 on each side). Done! Serve with a pat of butter on top (optional).

Shrimp & Scallops:

big scallops (I did 5)
big, cleaned shrimp (6)
olive oil
salt and pepper

Heat a nonstick pan until it’s screaming hot. Season the shrimp and scallops with salt and pepper and put some olive oil in the pan. Cook the shrimp & scallops about 2.5 minutes on each side. Done!

Kale & Shiitake Mushrooms Asian Style:

olive oil and a little bit of sesame oil
salt
garlic powder
sesame seeds
1 head of red kale
1 box of shiitake mushrooms
balsamic vinegar (I used a cherry infused one)

Wash and dry the kale. Chop the mushrooms and kale. Heat a wok to high heat and add the olive oil (1-2 tablespoons) and sesame oil (2-3 teaspoons). Add the mushrooms and kale. Add garlic powder, salt and sesame seeds. Cook on high heat for 3-4 minutes, then turn it to medium and cook for another 4-5 minutes, or until the kale is tender (stirring occasionally). Add a few splashes of balsamic vinegar. Stir it around and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add more salt, if it needs it.

All told, this meal cost about $31 from the grocery store. (Filet mignon = $7, scallops = $14, shrimp = $3.50, organic kale = $2.50, organic mushrooms = $4.) A little pricey for 2 people, but much cheaper than it would be at a restaurant! I’m not including the cost of the pantry items I already had (olive oil, salt, etc…).

Bobby had the steak (I had a bite) and we split the rest, but I got an extra scallop. He was a very happy husband 🙂

Do you like surf & turf? What’s the most expensive meal you cook at home?

16 February, 201114 June, 2011

Butternut Kale Salad (Whole Foods Inspired Recipe)

I made this salad ages ago (early January) and almost forgot to post, but it was so good that I just had to. It’s a Whole Foods-inspired recipe and it’s quite good. Back in January I was in a kale phase so I made this several times and each time it did not disappoint.

Butternut Kale Salad (Whole Foods Inspired Recipe)

Ingredients

1 bunch of kale
1/4 cup water + 1/2 veggie boullion cube (or vegetable broth)
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
10 ounces chopped butternut squash
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt + pepper
chopped romaine lettuce (optional)

Method

Preheat oven to 400F. Toss the chopped squash with the olive oil and a little salt. Roast for 30 minutes, or until it’s done to your liking.

Rip up the kale into pieces, removing the stems.
Heat the water in a sauce pan over medium-high heat; add the veggie cube, honey, and vinegar. Mix until dissolved.
Add the kale pieces to the broth and cook briefly, while stirring (30 seconds to a minute) until the kale begins to wilt. Remove from heat immediately.

Mix together the roasted squash and the kale; add salt and pepper as desired.
Optionally, serve over chopped romaine lettuce – a salad on a salad!

I served this with my Indian brown rice, which you can see in the picture. Recently, my squash consumption has mostly been kabocha squash, but I see some kale/butternut creations in my future.

What’s your favorite way to eat kale? To eat squash?

My favorite way to eat kale is in a massaged kale salad. My favorite squash/way to eat it is – chop a very ripe kabocha and steam it for about 5 minutes. Freeze it for 5 minutes so it cools to room temp. Enjoy plain 🙂

P.S. I’m definitely going to write a followup to Sunday’s post – got some great comments and did some more research.

16 July, 201031 August, 2010

7 Instant Diet Boosters

7 Instant Diet Boosters

(I wrote this title using HBH’s tips)

Eat in color. Your food should be as diverse in color as a rainbow – seriously. Colorful foods are appealing to the eye because they are good for us (not talking about food dye color here!). Brightly colored foods generally have more vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Take the grapefruit for example – pink and red grapefruit both have lycopene (a heart-healthy antioxidant) while white grapefruit does not (lycopene is what gives the pink and red ones their color).
(This picture is a colorful Italian open air market (in Venice).)
Choose brown rice over white. Brown rice is not only more flavorful and satisfying, but it has 6 times the fiber of white rice, exponentially more nutrients, and it’s great for digestion.

Choose rich leafy greens over watery lettuce. Lettuce is a healthy start, but leafy greens pack a powerful punch of calcium, iron, folate, and vitamins A, K, D, and E.

(My favorite leafy green = KALE (click for recipe).)

Choose whole grain bread and grains over white. Same logic as the brown rice – whole grain breads have more fiber, iron, and potassium than their white counterparts. (Beware of brown breads like pumpernickel – they’re not actually whole grain. I love pumpernickel, but I don’t kid myself by saying it’s whole grain. I just eat it cuz it’s good.)

(This is one of my first recipes: Spiced Holiday Braid from 12/07.)

Drink iced (or hot) tea instead of soda. Soda is very bad. Sweeten your iced tea a little (sugar, honey, etc…) and drink up. Green tea is supposedly very healthy (I think all tea is healthy).

(This iced tea is from Slanted Door in San Francisco.)

Pick nut milk over dairy. Nut milk has no cholesterol and no added hormones. Plus, a lot of people are sensitive to dairy and they don’t even know it.

(Chocolate Almond Breeze is my favorite.)

Try fruit sorbet for dessert. Fruit has lots of vitamin C and phytochemicals (color, remember!).

(This is from San Fran too.)

You have any more diet boosting tips?

Exercise of the day: walking home from work (1.4 miles) + the first 25 minutes of Crunch: Fat Burning Pilates.

Here is a cool deal from FreshDirect (a very affordable grocery delivery service that I use a lot) for you – 20% off all local products with this code:

Go local!

8 July, 2010

Veggies are a Healthy Snack: Turnips over Massaged Kale

Last weekend (Friday) I picked up turnips at the farmers’ market. I have never bought turnips because my dad hates them and I always assumed they were gross. It turns out they are only gross if you steam them too long and don’t season them (not what I did; I am assuming this is how he had them).

Turnips are a root (starch) but only have a third the calories of potatoes (36 calories in 1 cup – 130 grams). They have a ton of nutrients – vitamin C, fiber, folic acid, manganese, pantothenic acid, copper, thiamine, potassium, niacin, magnesium, vitamin B6 and E, and riboflavin.

These turnips happened to be pink! The farmer said they taste about the same as the white ones. She suggested I saute them in oil. So I did.

(For my original massaged kale recipe click here.)

Sauteed Turnips over Massaged Kale

Ingredients (serves 1)

1 large turnip
peanut oil (<1 tablespoon)
kale
olive oil, salt, lemon juice, soy sauce, honey
nooch (nutritional yeast)

Method

Chop the turnip into bite sized pieces. Heat the peanut oil over high heat; add the turnips. Cook (stirring) for 4-5 minutes or until the turnips are tender.
Massage your kale with olive oil and salt. Add lemon juice, soy sauce, and honey, to taste.
Top the kale with the turnips and add a sprinkling of nutritional yeast.

While not big enough for a full meal, this was a perfect late afternoon snack. Voluminous and yummy.

Exercise of the day: Self’s Slim and Sleek, Fast! with Ellen Barrett (my favorite instructor). This is free from Netflix streaming. Ellen takes you through a quick warmup (3 minutes or so), then a ballet sequence, cardio, weights, and finally a cool down. It’s about 35 minutes total. When we started the ballet sequence I though that it would not be a good workout, but by the time we finished cardio I was sweating. Will definitely do this again. I also plan on walking home (1.4 miles) if it’s not raining.

Have you eaten turnips? How do you like to cook them?