Syrian Kale & Carrot Salad with Shattered Dates

During the hot summers of our new desert existence, 

savory salads are my go-to.  This deliciousness

adapted from Seattle's Nue was one of the best.

The Trick

1 hour before assembling salad, put in freezer

• 1/4 cup pitted dates 

The Dressing

Combine in blender and mix well

• 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1-1/2 Tbs Dijon mustard
• 1 Tbs fresh ground black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, mashed and minced
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp pomegranate molasses
• 2 tsp salt

With blender running, drizzle in until emulsified

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Set aside.

The Salad

Bring  a small saucepan of water to boil.

Add and blanch for 30 seconds

• 1/4 cup sliced almonds

Drain and set aside to cool.  Spread in a single layer on baking sheet and toast until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes.  Set aside.

Coarsely chop frozen dates.  Combine in large bowl and toss with

• 1 large bunch young kale, center ribs removed, coarsely chopped*
• 2 large carrots, cut into 1/8-inch matchsticks

Pour on dressing and toss again

Top with toasted almonds and 

• 1 cup crumbled feta
• Nigella seeds

*If the kale is a little too old and stiff, massage with a little olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a pinch of salt.

Kung-pao Stir-fry

Just yum.  
Also very veggie.

                     

chicken marinade

1 Tablespoon pineapple juice

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

½ teaspoon salt

⅛ teaspoon pepper

2 chicken breasts, diced (alternatively, tofu chunks, marinate overnight)

1 Tablespoon peanut oil

1.       Combine juice, starch, salt, and pepper. 

2.       Add chicken and oil, stirring to coat.

3.       Let stand 15 minutes.

cooking sauce:

2 Tablespoons tamari (or soy sauce)

1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar

2-3 teaspoons cornstarch

(optional coconut milk)

¼ cup liquid: pineapple juice, mandarin juice, a touch of honey; or broth or water with 2 tsp sugar

1.       Mix and put aside.

stir fry:

3-4 cups vegetables, chunked: broccoli, carrots, bok choy, onions, celery, cauliflower, green beans, etc.

4-6 small dried hot chili peppers

½ cup peanuts or cashews

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated

2 green onions

(optional: pineapple chunks, mandarin oranges, bean sprouts, water chestnuts)

3 Tablespoons peanut oil

1.     Heat wok over medium heat.  Add 1T oil. 

2.     Add hot peppers and nuts, stirring until peppers just barely char.  Remove and set aside.

3.     Add 2T oil, heat to high.

4.     Add ginger and chicken, stir fry until chicken is opaque (3 min).

5.     Add raw vegetables and stir fry.

6.     Add peppers, nuts, green onions and optional fruit, etc. 

7.     Stir cooking sauce and add to pan until sauce bubbles and thickens.

8.     Serve with rice.  (Brown basmati is best.)

Makes 4-6 servings

Full Moon Soup : Portuguese Kale, Bean and Linguica Sausage

Portugese kale soup from the best cookbook for children and their adults:  Blue Moon Soup, by Gary Goss. We tend to like more vegetables and more spices than his recipes call for, so here are our tweaks played upon his general theme.  The original recipe calls for canned kidney beans which you can certainly use, but we think it looks especially full moony with lima beans soaked overnight. 

A quicker always-on-hand version uses frozen kale and canned beans

Rinse

1 cup dried beans 

and soak overnight in

3 cups of water 

Crockpot HIGH for 4 hours.

[or substitute 1 can of  beans]

Heat skillet over medium heat, then add

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 - 2 onions
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 - 3 carrots, chopped
half of 2 - 3 cups kale, chopped
1 - 2 teaspoon dried basil
(or 1 - 2 cubes frozen basil)
1 - 2 teaspoon dried oregano
(or 1 - 2 Tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped)
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Sauté for 5 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon. Add

2 cups canned crushed tomatoes
2 pieces linguica sausage, sliced into rounds 

Sauté for another 5 minutes. Add the other half of the kale, the beans with their broth and more water if desired. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer, covered, 20 minutes.

Ladle into bowls and garnish if you wish with

minced kale, optional
grated parmesan cheese, optional

Though it's very good just as it is and even better served with Cornbread.

Brazilian Black Bean Soup

 We love this bean soup, adapted from one 

in Mollie Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook.  
The orange juice is not optional.  Trust me, you will love it.

2 cups dried black beans, soaked overnight in

           6 cups water

1 Tablespoon olive oil

3 cups onion, chopped

10 medium cloves garlic, crushed and minced

2 teaspoons cumin

2 to 2 ½ teaspoons salt

1 medium carrot, diced

1 medium yellow bell pepper, diced

4 sprigs fresh cilantro

1 ½ cups orange juice (fresh is really good)

black pepper, to taste

cayenne, to taste (go light)

(optional: pinch of cinnamon or cardamom)

2 medium tomatoes, diced

optional toppings:

sour cream

minced cilantro

1. Bring soaked beans to a boil, cover and simmer until tender (2+ hours).  For crockpot directions, see below.
2. Heat olive oil in skillet.  Add onion, half the garlic, cumin, salt, and carrot.  Sauté over medium heat until carrot is just tender.
3. Add remaining garlic and the bell pepper.  Sauté until everything is very tender (another 10 to 15 minutes). 
4. Add sautéed mixture to the beans, scraping in every last morsel.
5. Simmer until ready to serve, then stir in orange juice, black pepper, cayenne, and tomatoes.  Mash or purée some of the soup and return to pot.  Simmer over very low heat 10 to 15 minutes more.
6. Sprinkle in minced cilantro and serve topped with a teaspoon dollop of sour cream.  Also salsa if desired.

Delicious served with sweet potatoes baked in their skins until very soft, then split and sprinkled with fresh lime juice.

To adapt to crockpot:  Cook beans 1- 2 hours on high alone.  Then add sautéed carrot, onion, cumin, bell pepper, and garlic to crockpot.  Cook on high 4-6 hours (on low 6-8).  Right before serving, stir in orange juice, black pepper, cayenne, and tomatoes.  Sprinkle with cilantro.). 

Peace Soup + Sweet Dreams Carrot Soup: Two Soups in a Blue Moon for a faraway daughter (+ croutons)

Today my Eldest calls from college for two soup recipes.   Because these are her comfort foods:  Peace Soup (fresh peas in a sweet and slightly minty, gingery milk-based broth)  and Sweet Dreams Soup (creamy, slighty spicy, very carrotty carrot soup) ~ both adapted from her childhood favorite cookbook, Blue Moon Soup by Gary Goss, illustrated by Jane Dyer.

Peace Soup

My girl (who is a peacemaker as well as soup maker and at the same time plenty well-versed in savories and spices) likes her soup with a little more emphasis than suggested in the original and so increases the leeks, ginger, curry and mint at least this much.  



Melt in a soup pot over medium heat

2 Tablespoons butter

Add

2 cups leeks, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh mint, minced
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon.

Add, with enough water to cover (~ 2 cups)

1 (10 oz.) package of frozen peas (or 2 - 3 cups fresh green peas)
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped

and stir.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered until veggies are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.

In a blender or a large bowl, blend or mash 2 cups of the soup with

2½ cups milk

Return the blended to soup to the soup pot and stir.  Season to taste.  Garnish with

fresh mint, or
carrot curls

Sweet Dreams Soup

The consensus of a discussion on Epicurious suggests at least increasing the number of carrots, leeks and celery and upping the spice amounts for a better Sweet Dream Soup.  We concur.  

One commenter even suggested using coconut milk in place of the bovine variety which we will have to try sometime.  Here are our tweaks of this gently filling soup, guaranteed to turn any hungry lion into a lamb.

Boil

2 cups salted water

Add

2 potatoes, peeled and chopped

and boil until tender, about 15 minutes.  Drain, save the broth, and set the potatoes aside.

Melt in a soup pot over medium heat

2 Tablespoons butter

Add

2 cups leeks, chopped
1 - 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon curry
1 - 2 teaspoons fresh thyme (half the amount if using dried)
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (or more to taste)
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Sauté for 5 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon.

Add the cooked potato and the potato broth plus

2 stalks celery, chopped
2 - 3 more carrots, finely chopped

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until the carrots are tender, about 20 minutes.

In a blender or a bowl, blend or mash 2 cups of the soup (or all of it if you prefer) with

2½ cups milk

until thick and silky smooth.

Return the blended soup to the soup pot, and stir.  Ladle into bowls and garnish with

carrot curls
croutons  (see recipe below)

Crusty Croutons

Preheat oven to 325.  Cut

good bread 

into cubes and put in a large mixing bowl.  Add enough

olive oil 

to moisten all the cubes.  Sprinkle with

basil, oregano, or crushed garlic 

Or sprinkle with

grated Parmesan or cheddar

 Place on a cookie sheet, and bake until golden grown and crisp, about 7 to 10 minutes.

PLUS Grandma's School Lunch Dressing and Orange-Cranberry Relish (week of Nov 23-29)

Grandma's School Lunch Dressing

Those must have been some mighty fine school lunches back in Grandma's day. This is a heavier stuffing than some - especially if made from homemade whole-grain bread. I like the moistness and the savory vegetables. Best if the bread crumbs are crushed or cubed quite small.

Slice thinly and toast in a warm oven enough bread to make:

• 2 quarts of breadcrumbs

Remove from oven and cube and partially crush the dried-out bread.
Cook over medium heat, until transparent:

• ½ cup butter
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 2 cups carrots, shredded
• 2 cups celery, chopped

Mix vegetables and breadcrumbs with:

• 5 - 6 Tablespoons fresh sage, chopped (1¾ teaspoons dried)
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup milk or broth
• Salt to taste

Bake at 300° for 1½ hours or until good and hot.



Orange-Cranberry Relish
a marriage of Epicurious' uncooked relish and the one in Thanksgiving 101 by Rick Rodgers with additions from my Mom.

This relish was the surprise hit of this year's Thanksgiving dinner. 

Good with roasted turkey. 

Great on turkey sandwiches with a little blue cheese

softened with cream cheese the next day.

Cut into quarters and pick out seeds from:

• 4 - 5 satsumas (or 1 medium orange), including rinds

In a food processor, combine one-part satsuma pieces with one-part of

• 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

until the fruit is evenly chopped.

Mix in:

• ½ cup walnuts, finely chopped (and the fresher the better, walnuts go rancid dismayingly fast.)
• 1 cup orange marmalade.