Golden Avocado Dressing Bulgur Bowl

Here's my version of a delicious and healthy grain bowl recipe from Cooking Light magazine.  Cooking Light gave credit to Adam Hickman for the original, and I left his sauce as originally published except...I doubled it!  It's the crowning glory of this bowl recipe.

Ingredients:

2 c. boiling water

1 c. uncooked bulgur

1 t. salt, divided

2 15-oz cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1.5 T. canola oil

2 cups finely chopped carrots (I use the bagged, pre-shredded carrots.)

½ c. sliced shallots or white parts of scallions

2 bunches lacinato kale, de-stemmed and chopped (I am sure other kale varieties would work fine, too.)

½ t. freshly ground black pepper

1 avocado, peeled and pitted

3 T. extra virgin olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

2 T. tahini

2 cloves garlic, peeled

½ t. ground turmeric

½ c. flat leaf parsley, chopped (or more, to taste)

Method:

Mix the boiling water, bulgur, and ¼ t. salt in a medium bowl, and allow to stand until the bulgur is chewy, about 15-20 minutes.  When chewy consistency is reached, drain off any excess water.

In a large, deep-sided skillet with a lid, add the chickpeas and lightly dry them over medium-high heat, about 3-4 minutes.  Add the canola oil, carrots, and shallots (or scallions), and sauté about 5 minutes.  Add the kale, cover, and cook until the kale is slightly wilted and carrots are tender, about 3 minutes.  Uncover and remove from heat.  Stir in ½ t. salt and the black pepper.

Process the avocado, olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, turmeric, 2 T. water, and remaining ¼ t. salt in a blender or food processor until smooth.  Additional water can be added 1 T. at a time if needed to bring the avocado sauce to the desired consistency.

Stir the parsley into the kale mixture.  Divide the bulgur between 4 wide, shallow bowls.  Top with the veggie mixture and drizzle with the avocado dressing.  Serves 4.

Beet Risotto with Greens

This exquisite dish is from Deborah Madison's cookbook Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.  Her description of the "jewel-toned" dish intrigued me, and I'm kind of a sucker for beets anyway, so I had to try it.  Scott, on the other hand, is a hard sell on beets, but even he liked this unusual and lovely dish.  The color is brilliant!

Ingredients:

5.5 - 6.5 c. vegetable stock or bouillon

3 T. butter or a mixture of butter and olive oil (I always use vegan margarine in place of butter.)

1/2 c. finely diced onion

1.5 c. Arborio rice (It's important to use this type of rice, which gives risotto its creamy texture.)

1/2 c. dry white wine

2 T. chopped parsley

2 T. chopped basil or 1 T. dried basil

2 - 3 medium beets, peeled and grated, about 2 cups

2 - 3 c. greens (beet greens, chard, kale, spinach, or collards - stems removed, finely chopped)

salt and freshly ground pepper

grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

Method:

Have the stock simmering on the stove.  Heat the butter in a wide, deep pot, add the onion, and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add the rice, stir to coat it well, and cook for 1 minute.  Add the wine and simmer until it's absorbed, then stir in half of the parsley and all of the basil, the grated beets, and the chard, kale, or collard greens (if using...if using beet greens or spinach, wait).  Add 2 c. stock, cover, and cook at a lively simmer until the stock is absorbed.  Begin adding the remaining stock in 1/2-cup increments, stirring constantly until each addition is absorbed before adding the next.  When there is 1 c. of stock left, add the beet greens or spinach, if using.  Taste for salt (I'm generous with this maligned seasoning.), season with pepper, then stir in the lemon zest and juice to taste.  Serve with the remaining parsley.

Warm Kale Salad

This recipe is courtesy of Food Network Magazine, and it is quite rich and tasty.  It serves about 4.

Ingredients:

1 T. extra-virgin olive oil

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

5 scallions, sliced (white and green parts separated)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 t. Cajun seasoning

2 15-oz. cans kidney or pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes

3 c. frozen or fresh kale (or other greens as you choose), chopped

Louisiana-style hot sauce

Method:

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the celery and scallion whites and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft (4 - 5 minutes).  Add the garlic and Cajun seasoning and cook, stirring, 30 seconds.  Add the beans, tomatoes, and 3/4 c. water.  Bring to a simmer and cook until the liquid is slightly reduced, 10 - 12 minutes.  Stir in the kale and cook until tender.  Add the scallion greens and a hot sauce, to taste.  Serve warm.

Warm Kale and Potato Salad with Mustard-Lemon Dressing

I tried a new recipe from Martha Stewart last night, and I felt it was worth sharing. Since The salad is a nice change of pace during the late winter when in-season produce is limited. The only real change I made was cutting down the mustard, so if you love mustard, amp it back up.  Here's the 411:

1.5 lbs. small potatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 T. plus 2 t. extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly-ground pepper
1/2 t. mustard, or to taste
1 T. finely grated lemon zest
2 T. lemon juice
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
1 lb. kale, trimmed, cut into large pieces, and rinsed well (I just used 1 bunch of kale...no idea what it weighed.)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Combine the potatoes, onion slices, 1 T. oil, and 3/4 t. salt on a rimmed baking sheet. Season with pepper, and toss to coat. Spread mixture in a single layer. Roast, stirring potatoes and scraping the bottom of the pan every 10 minutes, flipping halfway through, until potatoes are brown and crisp (35-45 minutes).

Combine mustard, zest, and juice in a bowl. Heat remaining 2 t. oil in a large straight-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until golden brown (about 2 minutes). Add kale and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 6 minutes. Add mustard-lemon mixture and toss to coat. Cook until heated through. Sprinkle with 1/4 t. salt, and season with pepper. Toss with potatoes.

I served it with a side of Great Northern beans, a warmed baguette, and a glass of red wine.

Martha says the recipe serves 6, but I'd say that's only as a side dish. As a main dish, it serves about 3-4. Here's the per-serving info she gives: 268 calories, 1 g. saturated fat, 6 g unsaturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 48 g carbs, 389 mg sodium, 8 g. protein, 7 g fiber.

Warm Kale and Butternut Squash Salad

I based this recipe on a Martha Stewart recipe. Mine is simpler.

I contributed this dish to my mom's Christmas Day dinner. It's perfect for a Christmas dinner, because kale is still in season in the winter, and butternut squash is a seasonally appropriate winter storage squash.

Martha had it right when she included beans in her version of the dish to make a nutritionally balanced meal. You could definitely toss in a can of beans of your choice for a compact and balanced lunch, or you could serve beans on the side with both dishes playing their part in a larger meal.

1 butternut squash
olive oil
salt
1 shallot, finely chopped (optional)
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
1 bunch kale, washed and de-stemmed, torn into bite-sized pieces

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Peel the butternut squash. Cut off the stem and blossom ends and discard. Using a spoon, remove the seeds and veins from the bulbous end of the squash. Cut the squash flesh into 1-inch pieces.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Put the squash on the paper, drizzle with a small amount of olive oil and salt to taste. Toss the squash to coat, then spread to a single layer. Bake 20 minutes, until the squash pieces are easily pierced with a fork. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat 1 T. olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the shallot and garlic in the oil until the shallot is soft and translucent, if using, or skip this step if omitting shallot and garlic. Add the washed, torn kale to the pan, and toss in the oil to coat. Continue moving the kale over the heat until it is wilted (but stop before it browns, dries, or gets crunchy). Remove from heat, and salt to taste.

Toss the squash with the kale, and serve warm.

Kale Calzones

Serve these with your favorite tomato-y pasta sauce (from a jar or homemade), and no side dishes are necessary with this entrée! I wouldn't describe this dish as "easy," but only because it's time-consuming. It is well worth the effort!

about 2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 onion, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 small zucchini, diced (optional - I had one freak zucchini left over from gardening season.)
1 large clove of garlic, peeled and minced (NOTE: A clove of garlic is one section of the head of garlic. Some people don't know.)
1 bunch kale, washed and destemmed then torn into bite-sized pieces
1 can Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
pizza dough for 2 pizzas (This can be your favorite homemade dough or store-bought refrigerated dough. Be sure to check ingredients if you need a vegan dough.)
your favorite tomato-y pasta sauce

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion, carrot, and zucchini (if using) to the oil, and sauté until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the garlic and some salt, and sauté 2 minutes more. Add the kale and stir to coat. Keep stirring until the kale has wilted down but not dried out. (You may have add the kale in batches, depending on how large your skillet is. If your skillet gets full of kale, let it wilt down some, and add more. Keep repeating until it's all in there.)

Once the kale is wilted down, add the beans and stir so that everything is mixed. Add salt and black pepper to taste. (Remember that too little salt makes a dish bland, so unless you're watching your salt, taste it and add more if it's bland.) Remove from heat.

Preheat the oven to the proper temperature for your pizza dough, just as if you were cooking pizza.

Divide your pizza dough into halves, then divide each piece into halves, then divide each piece into halves again. You should have 8 equal-sized pieces. Use a rolling pin to roll the first piece into a large circle. Put 1/8th of the kale and bean mix in the middle of the first circle, then fold the circle in half so that it looks like a half moon with the kale mix as the filling. Using the tines of a fork, press the edges of the top and half of your calzone together. Prick the top of the dough several times with the fork, and move it to a baking sheet or pizza pan. Repeat this process with the remaining 7 circles of dough.

Bake your calzones until they are golden brown. In the meantime, heat up your pasta sauce.

Serve the calzones warm, covered with the warm sauce.

Pasta e Fagioli (Italian pasta stew with beans)

This is a recipe I modified a little from Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant by The Moosewood Collective. It's a really cool cookbook with recipes from various ethnic regions (including the Southeast US!) and countries.  The original recipe that I modified is in the Italy section.

Ingredients:
1 lb. pasta (short, chunky variety, like penne)
3 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced into half-moons
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 bunch kale, washed, de-stemmed, and torn into bite-sized pieces
1 28-oz. can CRUSHED tomatoes (and with basil, if available), with liquid
1 can cannellini or Great Northern beans, with liquids
2 T. chopped fresh basil or 1 T. dried basil
oregano, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method:
Start cooking the pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large soup pot, and sauté the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic for a few minutes until the celery is tender. Add kale. Stir until the kale is wilted down but not drying out. Add tomatoes with liquids, beans with liquids, and herbs. You can add water to make it thinner if you like.  Simmer until the pasta is ready.

When the pasta is done cooking, drain and mix with the bean and tomato sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste. Turn out into a serving bowl, and serve hot.