White Pizza with Kale and Pepperoni

I had some leftover pizza dough after making some broccoli and mozzarella stromboli the other night (which were good, but messy and difficult to roll up!), so we decided to make a white pizza with crispy kale. Tim insisted that we also put pepperoni on it, because he's a man and men apparently need meat. The pepperoni was good, so I shouldn't complain. We also added some red pepper flakes in with the garlic oil that was spread on the dough. The goat cheese was a tasty and unexpected addition... the tang complemented the earthy flavor of the kale and the salty pepperoni.

I broke my baking stone a while back, so I decided to try a different method for getting a crispy pizza crust: I placed the rolled out dough on an upside-down baking sheet covered in a layer of cornmeal. I think using the baking sheet upside down let the air circulate around the crust a little more- I'd definitely use this method again!

Butternut Squash, Kale and Cheddar Bread Pudding

The flavor of this bread pudding was really great... very appropriate for fall! I liked this, as did Tim, although Chuck was not enamored. I've taken note of her dislikes over the past couple years and, by my calculations, it appears she doesn't like custards... oh well!I switched out the baguette for the heels of a couple loaves of whole grain sandwich bread, which I think gave the bread pudding some heft, and definitely some healthy. Also, for extra flavor, I threw a couple cloves of garlic in when I sauteed the kale.

Kale and Chickpea Soup

Chuck made this kale and chickpea soup a couple weeks ago while I was working late. Definitely good for you- meatless and full of veggies and legumes. But not the most exciting soup I've ever tasted- a little bland. Easy enough and a healthy choice, for sure, though.

Curried Lentils with Sweet Potatos and Kale

Chuck made this recipe on her day off. Good flavors, although texturally a little bit of a mushy one-note. SmittenKitchen is definitely right though: not pretty to look at!

I think we're a little tapped out after three days in a row of healthy legumes and grains and such. Nurse, bacon and cheese, stat!

Mushroom Barley Soup with Kale

Saw this recipe for a healthy mushroom barley soup with kale in the New York Times, and went for it. Pretty tasty! Making the mushroom 'stock' by reconstituting dried mushrooms in some boiling water made it really meaty tasting and hearty, despite the fact that it's vegetarian. I think throwing the parmesan rind in there as it simmers is essential, too.

I served it with grated parmesan on top and homemade whole wheat rolls using the basic dough from Healthy Breads in 5 Minutes a Day.

Please don't read anything into the fact that every time I tried to write "barley soup," I wrote "barely soup."

Cajun Spiced Scallops with a Sour Cream/Brown Sugar/Lemon Sauce on Sauteed Kale

For Martha's birthday dinner, Mike was searing Cajun-seasoned scallops and making a sour cream, brown sugar, and lemon sauce for them while I was sauteeing some kale in olive oil, garlic and a splash of chicken stock. At some point along the way, as we jostled each other for elbow room at the cooktop, we decided that the scallops and sauce might be best served on top of the kale. It worked out perfectly!

Neither of us used recipes, so I can't link you, but the basic idea was thus: sprinkle scallops with Cajun seasoning and sear in a cast iron pan, saute the kale with minced garlic and olive oil, then splash the chicken broth in and cover it for a few minutes to soften the tough veggie. The sauce is a mystery to me... Mike? My only input was "Add more lemon juice."

Butternut Squash and Greens Chili

This is a useful chili recipe to have in your arsenal. Healthy, tasty, easy (except cutting up the butternut squash = PITA!).

Changes I make to sass up the recipe a bit:

• substitute one can of chickpeas for one of the cans of black beans
• use whatever leafy greens you have on hand: kale, swiss chard, collard greens, spinach (this time we ended up using a bag of random mixed greens Chuckie bought by accident when I requested mixed baby greens.)
• add some cayenne (1/2 tsp) and cinnamon (a couple shakes) when you add the other spices

Enjoy!

100th Post! Kale Quiche with Potato Crust!

Hey all! It's the blog's 100th post! Woo!

This is another Frankenrecipe... cobbled together from a couple sources:

• The potato crust I found from Emeril and from this blog... shredded potato mixed with a little oil and salt, pressed into a pie plate, baked at 425 degrees for 1/2 hour until brown and crispy.
• The custard part of the quiche is just onion, garlic and kale, sauteed until soft, then thrown in the parbaked crust, topped with shredded gruyere, salt and pepper, and a mixture of 4 eggs and 1/2 cup of cream.
• Bake the whole thing at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until the custard is set.

Pretty tasty! The potato crust is probably healthier for you than pastry pie crust.

Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

I had a whole bunch of fresh oregano and a whole bunch of fresh parsley from the CSA that were on their last leg... I had made this Mark Bittman recipe for grilled skirt steak with chimichurri sauce a few months ago, and knew that it was easy, it was good, and it would utilize my ailing herbs.

Bittman's recipe doesn't call for fresh oregano, but a quick Google search showed that lots of other recipes do, so I used a mix of half oregano, half parsely. I also added a splash of red wine vinegar in addition to the lemon juice, as called for in this recipe. I "eyeballed" the whole thing- I don't think precise measurement is necessary here.

Mmmm.

Served with new red potatoes cooked in salt and this salad, which is barely blanched kale mixed with ricotta and a lemon-shallot dressing (we were afraid of the raw kale, hence the blanching).

Asparagus with Fresh Horseradish Butter

I got fresh horseradish (that hairy root above) in my CSA share this week, and wasn't totally sure what to do with it. I also had the last asparagus of the season. A quick search on epicurious.com brought this recipe for asparagus with horseradish butter. The recipe calls for drained prepared horseradish, but I just substituted my fresh horseradish , peeled and grated with the microplane. Pretty good!
Served if with BBQ chicken thighs (followed this recipe except for the addition of some hot sauce) and Trader Joe's brown rice medley cooked in chicken broth and mixed with steamed kale and some feta cheese.

Perhaps I'll prepare the rest of the horseradish the way Simply Recipes recommends.