Eat your Ks and Qs

Happy Independence Day 2012. Enjoy our freedom and celebrate with this salad featuring two nutritional powerhouse ingredients, kale and quinoa, k and q.

Kale and Quinoa Salad

I took advantage of this week’s Ranui Gardens CSA assortment to incorporate as many veggies as possible—but know that this grain salad is very flexible. Just start with about 2 cups of any cooked grain, chop your own mixture of crunchy and leafy vegetables and allium (like scapes or scallions or shallots) and dress with acidic vinaigrette. For extra crunch and protein, toss in toasted affordable sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds, or splurge with pine nuts.

For today’s salad I steamed tri-color quinoa, but that is up to you. I also wilted the chopped kale, an idea from girlfriend Teri. We agree that it turns the kale more emerald in color and helps it absorb the dressing.

 Quinoa and Kale Salad

1 cup quinoa

1/2 teaspoon plus 1 teaspoon Real Salt

1 ½ cups water

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup rice vinegar, or freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 clove garlic, minced

Large pinch cayenne pepper

Garlic scapes, as desired

Green shallots, as desired

1 bunch curly kale, washed

1 cup chopped pea shoots

2 to 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro or flat-leaf parsley

Radishes, (or jicama or water chestnuts) cut in ½-inch dice

Rinse the quinoa well with hot water to remove the bitter saponin coating. Strain in a wire strainer.

In a saucepan, bring the water and ½ teaspoon of the salt to a boil. Add the quinoa, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the water is absorbed. (As for rice, do not stir, but check every so often by tilting the pan to the side to see if there is any water left to absorb.) When the quinoa is tender and the water is gone, let stand, covered, and allow to cool.

Make a dressing with the olive oil, rice vinegar, garlic, remaining salt and cayenne. Set aside.

Toss the garlic scapes with olive oil and salt and pepper. Cook them on a grill and chop them, or chop them and sauté in a pan until tender. Chop the green shallots and sauté with a bit of oil as well. Put these in a large bowl.

Strip and discard the stems from the kale—them chop into ¼-inch by 1-inch strips. If you wish, microwave for about 30 seconds. Add the kale to the bowl, along with the pea shoots, cilantro and radishes. If your refrigerator offers other interesting vegetables, add them as well.

Dump the cooled quinoa on top of the veggies and pour the vinaigrette on top. Toss everything well. Season to taste with more salt and cayenne. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. If you are adding nuts or seeds, toss them into the salad just before sharing with your friends and family.

Makes 8 to 10 servings, of course depending on what you put in your salad.

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Curried Potatoes and Kale

Our friend from Teasdale Utah, down in the middle of the state just minutes from Torrey, arrived last week bearing kale from her neighbor’s garden. With the wonderful variety of potatoes we have been getting from Ranui Gardens I made a spicy curry dinner. This coconut sauce and vegetables are perfect over steamed brown basmati rice with red quinoa —3/4 cup rice:1/4 cup red quinoa: 2 cups water. Serve with chutney and yogurt or raita.

In this recipe, the prep steps for the tofu, potatoes and kale are given separately. Multi-tasking is efficient here: prepare the potatoes while the tofu is being pressed, and boil the potatoes while the tofu is crisping and boil the kale while the onion and garlic cooks.

well-scrubbed potatoes

Curried Potatoes and Kale

1 (12 ounce) block extra firm tofu

1 tablespoon plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

4 medium potatoes, any variety, well-scrubbed

1 bunch kale, stems removed and discarded

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 ½ teaspoons turmeric

Pinch cayenne

½ teaspoon (or more, to taste) dried red chile pepper flakes

1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk

Salt to taste

Drain the tofu from its water and cut in half lengthwise. Place on a tea towel in a baking dish and cover with a part of the towel. Top with a second baking dish and place something heavy inside; it should weigh 1 to 2 pounds. Monitor so that the weight stays centered over the tofu pieces and press for about 10 minutes. The tea towel will absorb much extra moisture, even though you started with extra firm tofu. Dice the pressed tofu into ½-inch to ¾-inch cubes.

Golden Tofu Cubes

Heat the first tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium flame. Add the tofu cubes and cook about 10 minutes, turning the tofu after a few minutes, until the cubes are golden on at least 2 sides. Remove from the pan and set aside on paper towels.

Bring a saucepan of water to boil with a good amount of salt. Cut the potatoes into 1-inch chunks, add them to the pot and simmer until the potatoes are just tender, about 20 minutes. Remove the potatoes from the pot and set aside.

Add the kale leaves to the salted water. Simmer them until the greens are tender to your tongue, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the water, saving about 2 cups of the cooking water. Let the kale cool on a cutting board and then chop—about 1 inch apart with your knife, in both directions to cut the leaves.

Heat the remaining oil in the skillet over medium flame. Add the onion and garlic and cook and stir until the garlic is translucent, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the turmeric and cayenne and the pepper flakes. Add the coconut milk, and the cooked potatoes and chopped kale, stirring everything around. Stir in the golden tofu cubes and enough of the reserved cooking water to make a wet sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally to let the flavors meld and heat the vegetables and tofu. Season with salt and more chile pepper flakes to taste.

Makes about 4 servings.

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Potato and Garbanzo Bean Curry

It’s day 12 of the rafting trip.  This trip through the Grand Canyon has been called “ a trip backwards through time” as the river cuts through progressively older strata.  The days are hot, hovering at 110 degrees F., and the water coming straight out of Glen Canyon Dam is cold, around 50 degrees F. We have all become part of the desert and our worldly cares have melted away. Ahhh. We are deep in the canyon and it’s not my night to cook.

(But I am posting this as a draft and will store it to be published on a future date from my desk in Park City before we even launch at Lee’s Ferry, so the desert rat in me has yet to come out, nor have I felt the thrill of a dangerous-class rated rapid.)

Back to the river. Our coolers still have ice because we pre-froze them in the walk-in freezer at Deer Valley. But we are using more and more canned food each meal along with the now-thawing goods we broke into on Day 8. This particular recipe is sometimes called Curry from a Can because it uses groceries that will be edible on Day 15, my team’s last night in the kitchen and the night before take-out at Diamond Creek, garbanzo beans, coconut milk, canned pineapple, water chestnuts, button mushrooms and aseptic packages of tofu. We’ll serve our curry over whole wheat couscous because couscous cooks with just hot water, and therefore doesn’t use as much propane.

Enjoy my non-river trip version, with fresh vegetables from the CSA box or your garden, over steamed basmati brown rice.

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons plus 2 tablespoons olive oil

12 to 16 ounces extra-firm tofu, drained

1 large onion, chopped

2 teaspoons finely chopped peeled fresh ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans

1 cup diced fresh tomatoes or 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes

2 potatoes, diced (1/2-inch)

1 sweet potato, peeled and diced (1/2-inch)

2 carrots, cut in ½-inch dice

1 (14 ounce) can lite coconut milk

1 zucchini, cut in ½-inch dice

1 bunch chard, kale or other green leafy vegetable, washed and stems removed.

1 (8 ounce) can pineapple chunks in juice, drained

2 cups toasted cashew pieces (salted OK)

Premix all the spices.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large (non-stick) skillet. Over high heat, cook and stir the tofu until it is golden on most sides. Remove from the pan.

Reduce heat to medium. Add the remaining olive oil and the onion, cook and stir until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in ginger and garlic; cook another minute. Stir in the spice mixture and cook and stir constantly for another minute. Add the garbanzo beans and tomatoes with their juices, along with both potatoes and the carrots. Stir in the coconut milk. Cook, covered, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

If the green leafy vegetable is kale, pre-cook the leaves in boiling, salted water until just about tender. Drain and chop coarsely. If the green leafy is chard, chop into 1-inch pieces. Add the greens and the zucchini, cover and cook until the potatoes are tender, another 10 minutes or so.

Add the reserved cooked tofu and pineapple and heat an additional 5 minutes. Just before serving sprinkle the cashews over the top.

Serve with Patak’s Major Grey Chutney and plain yogurt.

Makes about 8 servings.

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Portuguese Kale and Potato Soup

Here’s a soup for a crowd.  Traditionally made with real meat chorizo, variations of this recipe are easy to find. I found this interpretation in Twelve Months of Monastery Soups by Brother Victor D’Avila Latourrette. Brother Victor calls for the soup to cook two hours, but you know me, the pressure cooker is the way to go—dinner will be on the table in less than an hour, provided you have planned and soaked the beans beforehand. Lacinato kale was on sale last week so that is what I bought. Rumor has it that Lacinato or dinosaur kale is the most nutritious of kales.

Portuguese Kale and Potato Soup

1 cup white beans, either the larger Northern or the smaller Navy bean

2 tablespoons plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 onions, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

9 cups water

1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste

2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut in ½-inch cubes

1 pound Lacinato kale, stems removed and discarded

12 to 16 ounces chorizo style vegetarian “sausage”, cut in 1/2-inch pieces

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 ½ to 2 teaspoons sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Put the beans in a bowl, cover with plenty of water, and let soak overnight.

Heat the first 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pressure cooker; cook and stir the onions over medium flame, until translucent, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook a few minutes more. Pour in the water and stir in the tomato paste. Rinse the soaked beans and add them to the pot along with the potatoes. Chop the kale leaves and add them. Lock the lid in place, and over high heat, bring to high pressure. Lower the heat just enough to maintain high pressure and cook for 9 minutes. Allow the pressure to come down naturally for 10 minutes; then quick release as directed by your pressure cooker.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet. Cook and stir the “sausage” until the pieces are lightly brown on the sides. Add the browned “sausage”, the vinegar and salt and pepper. Taste, adding more salt as needed.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

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Green Barley and Kale

Teri with kale and rhubarb harvest

This dish is going around Park City these days. Teri heard about it from Patricia, and since Teri has Deborah Madison’s cookbook, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, she made the recipe with her garden kale, which is lacinato kale.

Red Russian Kale, stripping leaves from stems

Teri sent me a photo this week of kale in her arms, making its way from the garden to the kitchen, for green barley and kale round two. In my copy of the book, I wrote a note next to the recipe on 6/30/98, ”wow! wild!” It’s about the vivid green color, and probably also because I love the chewy-soft texture of barley. I remember making it for St. Patrick’s Day one time—a perfect wearin’ of the green. Today’s version includes mushrooms and the gremolata flavors of garlic, lemon zest and parsley. Substitute 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice for the cheese if you want the dish to be vegan.

1 cup pearl barley, rinsed

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 large bunch kale, any variety, stems removed

2 tablespoons butter

6 ounces sliced mushrooms

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups veggie stock

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Bring 1 quart of water to a boil. Add the barley and salt; reduce the heat and cook, uncovered, until the barley is tender, about 30 minutes. Drain. Meanwhile, cook the kale in boiling water until it is tender, 6 to 10 minutes. Drain, saving 1/4 cup of the cooking water. In a food processor, puree the drained kale with the water until smooth.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Melt the butter in a saucepan. On medium-high heat, cook and stir the mushrooms until they take on a light golden color. Make a roux by stirring in the flour, and cooking a few more minutes. With a wire whisk, stir in the veggie stock and cook, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens. Stir in the garlic, lemon zest and parsley. Mix in the barley and kale and the cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Put in a lightly buttered baking dish. Bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until the top is just browned.

Makes 4 to 6 servings, though Robbie and I have made it dinner for 2 served with a large salad.

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Incredible Shrinking Greens and Spaghetti with Beet Greens

Do you feel as if you’re overwhelmed with greens? Besides salad greens, you have spinach, kale, chard, beet greens, radish greens, collards, mizuna, mustard greens, arugula—you name it. What to do? Shrink them. Wilt your greens down to manageable, edible amounts. A pound of greens, occupying half of the veggie bin in the fridge, cooks into just about 2 cups of tangy cooked sweetness.

Spaghetti with Beet Greens

You want to trim the center rib and stem off most greens. With chard and beet greens, reserve these ribs, dice into pieces and sauté with onion and/or garlic. Last night I made Spaghetti with Beet Greens and the beet ribs tinted the spaghetti pink. I still have a stash of Pesto 2008 in the freezer so I added 3 large dollops of pesto for seasoning. If you don’t have any pesto, add a couple of minced garlic cloves with the onion and beet stems.

1 large bunch beet greens

8 ounces whole wheat spaghetti

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 yellow or red onion, sliced

About 1/4 cup basil pesto

1 tablespoon sherry wine vinegar or other vinegar or lemon juice

Sea salt and red chile flakes

Wash the beet greens. Trim the leaves from the ribs. Cut the ribs into 1/4-inch pieces. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti until it is tender to the bite (al dente).

Onions and Beet Stems

Over medium high flame, heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and beet stems and cook and stir until the beet stems soften a bit. Add the garlic, if using. Chop the beet greens into 1-inch ribbons and add to the skillet. Reduce the heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the greens wilt and shrink. Stir in the pesto, and gently toss in the cooked spaghetti, stirring to mix well. Sprinkle with the vinegar. Season to taste with salt. Serve red chili flakes at the table for those who like some heat.

Makes 2 or 3 servings.

Beet Green Ribbons before shrinkage

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