Archive for Kale

Garlicky Kale and Tahini Dressing

{ November 3, 2010 @ 9:27 am } · { CSA, Kale, Vegan Mofo, Vegan with a Vengeance }
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Beautiful bunches of kale

I probably don’t need to say it again, but farm shares are the best thing ever. Nearly all of the veggie dishes I have on here so far have vegetables from the farm share. We have been getting some awesome bunches of kale (and swiss chard), and while I would like to take all the kale and make kale chips, sometimes it is good to switch it up.  Don’t get me wrong, kale chips are still one of the best things on/from earth, but every now and then sauteed kale is the way to go. It lets the kale retain it’s “earthy” flavor, as the boyfriend would say. So returning once more to Vegan with a Vengeance (one of the best investments ever, I would say), I made the garlicky kale and tahini dressing as a side one day. Honestly, I don’t remember what the main dish was because these really stole the show. I didn’t follow the recipe exactly, I wanted the kale itself to be less garlicky since there would be garlic in the dressing as well. I used 2 cloves of garlic, 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon of salt to saute the garlic and kale, adding some water to the pot to give the kale something to cook in (for about5-8 minutes). Also, I left the stems right in the kale. I know some people like to remove them, but they are edible and a little extra fiber never hurt anyone.

You will love this!

Onto the dressing. This stuff is so great. It makes a good amount (but I ended up using the rest later, as you shall one day read about I’m sure). Combined with kale, it has to be one of the best side dishes ever, it would really steal the show from whatever else you’d serve with it. It is fairly garlickly though, so if you do not like TOO much garlic I would recommend adding less, particularly if you are going to be cooking the kale in garlic as well. With the leftover dressing I had it later on a salad (delicious!), served over broiled tofu and roasted red peppers (super delicious!) and also as a dressing for Morningstar BBQ Riblets. It can’t imagine anyone not loving this stuff.

the perfect couple

Kale and Tempeh – an awesome lunch

{ October 3, 2010 @ 12:11 am } · { CSA, Kale, Peanut Butter, Tempeh }
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Kale chips - why did I wait so long to make you??

In trying to figure out what to make for lunch the other day, the boyfriend and I opened the refrigerator and stared longingly inside. It was overflowing with farm share veggies (see: tons and tons of cabbage, beets, peppers and swiss chard), so we knew we had to find some way to use at least some of them before we ran the risk of them spoiling before we got to them. So from the most gorgeous bunch of kale we decided that we were going to make kale chips, a modified version from Kittee’s blog:

  • 1 bunch of kale, cleaned and de-stemmed if you wish, cut into bite size pieces
  • 3 tablespoons peanut butter
  • 4-5 tablespoons of warm water
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons Bragg’s liquid aminoes
  • pinch of chile powder
  • 1 tablespoon of hot sauce (we like thinks spicy)
  • 3 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast

You will first want to pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees, and then measure out your peanut butter, and then add the warm water to it until it has a creamy, dressing-like texture. Then add your Bragg’s, chile powder, hot sauce, and 3 tablespoons of nutritional yeast. Once this is thoroughly mixed, toss your kale in and ensure that all the pieces get coated in the tasty goodness. Then, place the kale on the cookie sheet and sprinkle with the remaining nutritional yeast. Bake for fifteen minutes or until the kale is crispy.

You will be amazed at how delicious this is. I guarantee it. Who ever thought of making kale chips first, kudos to them because they are one of my favorite things right now. Kittee’s dressing makes them even more awesome too, and I would consider making this dressing to put on other things as well. While peanut butter and hot sauce might initially sound strange together, I promise it is a match made in heaven.

So, after we decided on the kale chips, we decided we needed more protein (other than from the peanut butter and the kale), and settled on frying up a package of tempeh.

Spicy, sesame goodness

We pan-fried a package of tempeh (cut into 1/4 inch strips) with sesame seeds, Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue sauce and hot sauce. Simple, yet amazingly delicious!