Kale Salad

After making this kale salad, I know that it is going to become a regular part of our weeknight and weekend meals, and after you try it I'm pretty sure that you'll start rethinking your regular lettuce salads as well. I got the inspiration for it from an event we recently attended at Scribe Winery, where we're wine club members. If you happen to visit Sonoma, I would highly recommend it - they not only make amazing wine (chardonnay, pinot noir, cabernet, and syrah) but they have also managed to create a winery experience unlike many other places we have been to. Tastings are served at picnic tables looking out over the valley with wildflowers from their garden (they operate an organic garden on site and have chickens and pigs) and they bring out complimentary cheese, salami, and crackers with each tasting. They have perfected the sort of laid-back chic look and mentality - you can feel free to hang out after your tasting, bring a picnic, or explore the grounds. The winery also throws periodic parties for wine club members and it was at one of these events when we had the kale salad, which was fresh from their garden. They also roasted 2 pigs that were raised on the property and served fingerling potato salad, roasted peppers from their garden, baked white beans over the fire with herbs and tomatoes, and of course poured their wine freely. I've included some pictures from the event below.

Back to the kale salad - we actually eat a lot of kale, but I usually always cook it - whether it's a quick braise over the stovetop with garlic, olive oil, and salt and pepper, an added ingredient to soups, or even part of a stir fry. I've had kale salad before and excluding the version at Scribe, I always thought of it as a little too bitter and raw tasting. The secret is lettuce the dressing sit on the kale for a little bit of time before serving, much different from lettuce salads where you want to dress it at the last minute. Dressing the kale early allows it to soften a little bit and absorb the flavor of the dressing. I also love it because you can make it ahead of time if you're having company, or before you start making the other components of your dinner on a weeknight, and then just let it be until you're ready to serve. I'd recommend letting it sit for at least 30 minutes or so before serving. I made it before a dinner party and let it sit for about 3 hours, although I don't know that I'd do it overnight. Lacinato (or dino) kale is best in this recipe vs. the regular curly kind, although either would probably be good.

Kale Salad

Active Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes (plus time to sit)

2 bunches lacinato kale, rinsed, leaves ripped from stems, and cut into thin strips

1/2 c. freshly grated pecorino or parmesan cheese

Dressing:

1 clove garlic, finely minced

2 T. fresh lemon juice 

3 T. extra virgin olive oil

1 T. dijon mustard

1/2 t. kosher salt

Lots of freshly ground black pepper

Prepare the kale and grate the cheese. Combine all of the dressing ingredients and whisk together, then combine in a large bowl with the kale and cheese. Let sit for at least 30 minutes or up to several hours before serving.

Green Enchiladas

Enchiladas are becoming one of my favorite thing to make when we're in the mood for Mexican food, and they actually can be healthy when you pack them with fresh vegetables and don't go overboard on the cheese. They are a little bit time consuming, but I attempted to cut down on the prep time here by making a green tomatillo and cilantro sauce that whips us easily in the blender. Like lasagna, enchiladas are something where you can vary the ingredients depending on the season to take advantage of what is fresh (see my prior post for enchiladas with yams in the fall/winter). For this recipe, I made one big batch (since you're already doing the work) and divided the enchiladas into one pan with 8 and another one with 4. You can either cook them all at once or pop one of the pans in the freezer for the future - just put it in the fridge the night before you want to make it to allow it to unthaw and cook per the same instructions the following night.

Green Enchiladas
Serves 6 (2 enchiladas each)

Active Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

1 lb. roma tomatoes, diced
1 lb. yellow summer squash, halved and cut into thin half moons
Two 15 oz. cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
2 yellow onions, peeled, halved, with one onion thinly sliced and one cut into chunks
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 lb. tomatillos, husks removed, rinsed, and quartered
2 serrano peppers (for medium spiciness, or use only 1 for mild), with stems cut off
2 c. cilantro, chopped
1 c. low sodium vegetable broth
4 oz. queso fresco cheese, crumbled
6 oz. monterey jack cheese, grated
12 whole wheat tortillas (about 8'' in diameter)
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Black pepper
Avocado, sliced, for garnish

Prep all of the vegetables, rinse/drain the beans, and preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat 1 T. olive oil in a large skillet over high heat and 1 T. olive oil in another large skillet over medium heat. Put the whole tomatillos, garlic cloves, onion chunks, and serrano peppers in the skillet on high heat. Cook 3 minutes, making sure that they get some color, then turn and cook 2 minutes more. Transfer to a blender.  Meanwhile, in the other skillet, add the squash and sliced onion and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook about 8-10 minutes until softened, then transfer to a large bowl.

In the blender with the tomatillos, peppers, and onion, add 1 c. of the cilantro, 1 c. of vegetable broth, and 1/2 t. kosher salt. Blend until smooth.

In the bowl with the squash and onions, add the beans, tomatoes, the other cup of chopped cilantro, the queso fresco cheese, 1 1/2 t. kosher salt and 1/2 t. black pepper. Stir to combine.

Add 1/2 c. of the green enchilada sauce from the blender to a 9x13'' baking pan and 1/4 c. of the sauce to an 8x8'' baking pan. Heat the tortillas in the microwave between two pieces of dampened paper towel for about 45 seconds - 1 minute to soften.

Get everything together in one area (tortillas, sauce, bowl of filling, and pans) to assemble the enchiladas.  To do this, take one tortilla at a time, put it on a plate, scoop a generous amount of filling along the middle, then roll it up and place it seam-side down into the pan. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, putting 8 in the 9x13'' pan and 4 in the 8x8'' pan. Then, top with the remaining enchilada sauce, using your fingers to help you spread the sauce, trying to moisten each enchilada (and keep it from drying out too much during cooking). Top with the monterey jack cheese. From here you can either bake all of the enchiladas at once, or freeze either the smaller or larger pan if you'd like.

Bake for about 35 minutes until the cheese starts to turn golden brown. Let sit for a couple of minutes before serving, then divide onto serving plates and top with sliced avocado.

Fingerling Potato & Summer Squash Gratin

There is still an abundance of summer squash (at least down here in California) as we're experiencing the last part of all of the wonderful summer produce. Tomatoes and summer squash tend to do exceptionally well late in the season, when they've had a chance to ripen with some warmer temperatures. I attempted to take advantage of the summer squash here in a rustic gratin with some fingerling potatoes, fresh herbs, and a little bit of cheese. Serve with a salad and some bread and you have a delicious late summer/early fall meal.

Fingerling Potato & Summer Squash Gratin
Serves 4

Active Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Extra virgin olive oil
1 1/4 lb. fingerling potatoes
1 1/4 lb. assorted summer squash, thinly sliced
1 t. fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 t. fresh thyme, finely chopped
2 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
1/4 c. lowfat or whole milk
1/2 c. gruyere cheese, grated
1/2 c. parmesan cheese, grated
Kosher salt
Black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Put the potatoes in a pot with water covering to 1'' above the potatoes. Cover and bring to a boil, then uncover and let cook 10 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool slightly.

Meanwhile slice the squash and heat 1 T. olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the squash and saute for about 5 minutes or until slightly softened.

Slice the potatoes into thirds lengthwise and combine with the squash in a large bowl. Add 1 T. olive oil, 1 1/2 t. kosher salt, 1/2 t. black pepper, and the rosemary and thyme and stir to coat.

Coat an 8x8 inch baking dish with olive oil or cooking spray and add 1/2 of the potato/squash mixture to the pan, pressing down with your fingers. Then add the goat cheese and top with the other half of the potato/squash mixture, pressing down again with your fingers. Drizzle the milk over the whole thing, then top with the gruyere and parmesan cheeses.

Bake for 30 minutes covered with foil, then uncover, return to the oven, increase the temperature to 425, and bake for another 10 minutes until golden brown.

Almond Butter Cookies

I whipped up these cookies using only a few ingredients, with one of my favorite things as the star - almond butter. They are particularly great because they're just sweet enough for a treat but also healthy enough to be a great snack. I would even bring these along with me on a hike or trail run. As an added bonus, they're gluten free since I made them with oat flour instead of whole wheat flour. You can find oat flour at almost every supermarket (I bought mine at Trader Joe's), or make it yourself by putting some rolled oats in a food processor and running it until it resembles a coarse flour. To add some extra interest (and texture), I rolled these cookies in chopped sliced almonds before baking. The agave nectar and almond butter combination does lead these to leak out a little bit of stickiness while they're baking - don't worry about this, it actually creates a nice caramelized bottom. I was also able to fit all of these onto one baking sheet since they don't expand much when baking, which makes these quick enough to make even on a weeknight.

Almond Butter Cookies
Makes 16-18 cookies

Active Time: 10 minutes
Baking Time: 10-12 minutes

1 c. creamy almond butter
1 egg
3/4 c. oat flour
1/2 c. cane sugar
1/4 c. agave nectar
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. fine grain sea salt
1/2 to 3/4 c. sliced almonds, chopped

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and put in the fridge for 30 minutes (you can also leave them in there longer if need be). Remove from the fridge, roll the dough into about 1-1 1/2'' balls, then flatten slightly with your hands, and roll in the chopped sliced almonds. Transfer to a baking sheet and cook for 10-12 minutes. Let cool for at least a few minutes on the baking sheet to set, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.