Tag Archives: kale

Kale, Sumac, and Crispy Rice Salad – 6/67

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img_1086img_1084This marks the first dinner cooked and consumed in our new apartment! (Technically it’s not the first meal because we found a pot and made oatmeal this morning, but this is certainly more exciting.)

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I always think eating take-out for a week will be a fun treat, and then it happens and my body says WHOLE GRAINS and my stress level say I NEED TO CHOP SOMETHING INTO PERFECTLY SMALL BITS. But then my new apartment says…knives? cutting board?! pan and pot?!? You think you’re going to find all that in our unpacked rubble?

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But here we are, four nights in, and we made it happen! This was a fairly easy recipe to get started on, or so we thought. Turns out making crispy rice in a cast iron skillet with no working exhaust fan is a surefire way to set off your fire alarm. Neighbors, I promise, I can cook! I will usually leave our floor smelling tasty and delightful! This was just an unfortunate beginning!

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Daniel and I absolutely devoured this salad. It may have to do with being the first homemade thing in a week, but I doubt it. It’s really a refreshing and delightful combo of flavors. The citrus + sumac is the perfect coating for the kale, the crispy rice complements the dates ideally, and I had to stop us from wolfing down the whole thing so I could bring leftovers for lunch the next day. Even though we didn’t make the rice crispy enough (dang fire alarm scared us from generating any kind of smoke for the rest of the evening), it was one of my most delightful salad experiences in recent memory. Thanks, Karen, for a beautiful meal to remember as the first cooked in our new home.

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one year ago: I still owe us a New Years post from this year, but here is lucky Black Eyed Pea Stew from years past 
two years ago: miso ginger kale salad (kale salad theme! January!) 
three years ago: nothing of note, but I just finished this book and I highly recommend it
four years ago: Bengali hardboiled egg curry

Kale, Sumac, and Crispy Rice Salad

½ cup brown rice
One bunch kale
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 lime, zested and juiced
1 tablespoon sumac
1 teaspoon runny honey (love this wording)
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus drizzle
6-7ish dried dates, diced
3 scallions, chopped finely

Bring some salty water to a boil and add your rice. Cook, uncovered, for just over half an hour, until rice is cooked and most of the water has evaporated. Taste to make sure it’s done, then drain extra water. I would give it a good rinse next time to get rid of any starch.

Meanwhile, separate kale leaves from their stems. Discard stems and shred kale. Place in a big bowl with lemon zest and juice, a bit of salt, and a drizzle of olive oil. Massage for a minute or so, until kale has wilted and greened a bit. Set aside. (Karen said she usually whacks her kale with a rolling pin to help tenderize it. I’ve never tried this method before, but couldn’t find my rolling pin, so it will have to wait til next time)

Heat a large cast iron skillet. Once it’s hot, dry-fry the rice (aka no oil!) for a minute or two to get rid of any moisture. Remove from the pan, and return pan to the heat. Add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil to skillet and add half of rice. Fry until lightly browned and crispy crispy (or until you set off your fire alarm and get apprehensive about new neighbors). Remove from pan onto paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Repeat with second tablespoon of coconut oil and second half of rice.

To make dressing, combine lime juice and zest, sumac, honey, olive oil, a bit of salt, and a grind or two of pepper in a jar with a lid. Give a good shake.

Into bowl of kale, add crispy rice, dates, scallions, and dressing. Toss to mix and dive in!

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5 Easy Weeknight Vegetarian Dinners + zippy crunchy cheesy BEST KALE SALAD

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…for when you’re a single lady (just for the week while your fiancé is at a coding convention (I’m marrying a lovely nerd) or a longer stretch, no shame either way). Easy dinners with extras for lunch.

The original point of this site was for me to document what I make, to save recipes to return to, and hopefully inspire a couple other folks out there in the void to cook an extra vegetarian meal each week. To that end, let’s deem this an appropriate post, totally on theme, and just give an understanding wave to a) the fact none of these are original recipes and b) the photo quality. I mean, we’re talking about easy, quick dinners. If that’s your goal, you probably don’t have time to set up lighting equipment, sufficiently move aside the cooking implements on your one usable surface (iloveyounewyorkcity but damn am I ready for a larger kitchen), and style things.

An update about kale salad: I’ve said some mean things about it on this blog before. But I’ve totally become a convert. For a variety of reasons: it’s so much more filling than lettuce, keeps so much longer in the fridge, you can keep the assembled salad already dressed in the fridge for lunch the next day, and it’s just as good raw or cooked. This dressing is from the smitten kitchen cookbook (her first). For me, the non-negotiable ingredients are dried cherries, goat cheese, and toasted sunflower seeds. And then I add whatever else is hanging around.

So here we are — a week of single lady eating in the swanky sweet potato kitchen:

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Simply Recipe’s Red Lentil Dal: One of my favorite recipes, on a constant rotation around here. It’s healthy, uses things I have lying around, is super inexpensive, and makes a ton. Highly recommend you keep red lentils around for this purpose. I never boil and peel the tomatoes, just add them earlier than suggested. Served here with brown rice and these Brussels sprouts that were good enough to make again. One batch = lunch all week.

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No recipe on this one — just a bastardized fattoush-ish salad that’s basically my “last meal” meal. Broken za’atar pita chips and stuffed grape leaves from Sahadi’s (heaven on earth), plus chopped lettuce, tomato, cucumber, parsley, and a very quick tahini dressing (big spoonful tahini, some fresh lemon juice, a splash of water, a little minced garlic if I’m feeling fancy, plus salt and pepper). Some feta if I find it hiding in the fridge. I could eat this everyday.

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Spaghetti Squash Sesame Noodles: I really want to like spaghetti squash. This was a decent attempt at achieving this quest. Some can’t-go-wrong flavors — sesame oil, sriracha, soy sauce, rice vinegar. Alas, it still tastes like those things over squash. Meh. Also I was hungry 15 minutes later (yay popcorn!) but maybe that’s just me…

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Spanish-Influenced One Pot Quinoa: I loved this dinner. I basically love any excuse to buy marinated artichokes because I eat half of them before dinner, but this would’ve been good even without that splurge. Super easy, and I like the leftovers both cold and reheated. Plus this is a very adaptable recipe that would be good with whatever veggies you have lying around.

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Ah yes, the smitten kitchen salad I raved about before. Here’s my version. It makes frequent appearances around here.

omg four years ago: rhubarb and chickpea stew with herb-lemon yogurt sauce
three years ago: tatsoi and tofu stir-fry with soba noodles
two years ago: rice noodle salad with carrot-ginger dressing 
one year ago: eggplant salad and goat cheese sandwiches (mmm I could go for this right now)

zippy crunchy cheesy kale salad (aka BEST KALE SALAD)

dressing and ingredients suggestions from the smitten kitchen cookbook

Dressing
3 tablespoons olive oil
1.5 tablespoons white wine vinegar or light balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon mustard (I’ve used whole grain and spicy smooth)
1.5 teaspoons honey
s&p

Salad Ingredients
1 bunch kale (lacinato/dinosaur if possible)
1/2 a small log of goat cheese
small handful dried sour cherries, cut in half
about 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, toasted
another crunchy vegetable — finely chopped radishes, red bell pepper, or celery would all work well here
toasted garlic panko (totally unnecessary but makes a plain old salad feel positively daring)

To make dressing, simply mix all ingredients with a fork in a small bowl until combined.

Wash and dry kale leaves. Remove and discard ribs. Create stacks of leaves, roll them up, and cut into thin strips. Put in a big bowl with a drizzle of olive oil and some s&p. Massage for at least one full minute, until leaves shrink and turn a darker green.

Let greens sit while you prep the rest of the salad ingredients. Add them to the bowl (minus panko), add most of the dressing, and mix with tongs to combine.  You may want to add goat cheese later so it doesn’t totally disintegrate into salad, forcing you to add extra. Sprinkle individual portions with toasted panko.

Leftover dressing made spaghetti squash surprisingly delicious. Especially with a 6-minute egg atop.

Miso Ginger Kale Salad

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Ode to Kale Salad

We eat you because we’re supposed to:
Your health benefits are vast, your calories few.
Your leaves, magical,
In their massaged wiltedness.
I tend to hate you raw,
But
(honestly)
do appreciate how well you hold up to a hearty, unapologetic dressing.

Every restaurant claims a version of you, but
I’ve never been that impressed.
Also, I’d rather pay $13 for a couple sushi rolls,
No offense.

The best way I know how to vouch for you, particular kale salad version,
With your salty miso base, spicy ginger accent, crisp sweet apples, and nutty peanutty finish,
Is this:
I looked forward to lunch leftovers today.
Like, counted down the minutes until I could inhale you again,
Kept checking if it was close enough to lunchtime yet,
And wouldn’t even share with Daniel.

Oh kale salad,
It is cliche to talk about you in January, and yet
Here I am.

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…and with that, perhaps I will stick to cooking and leave poetry to other folks. I wrote this “poem” while consuming said leftovers with abandon. Just glanced into my bowl and saw the last few leaves and cucumber slices and got sort of sad. Bye, salad. Until we meet again.

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kale salad, previously: kale caesar salad and mustardy kale, potato, and green bean salad
one year ago: nothing of note, but this tofu and rice bowl is what I’m making for dinner and the marinade is amazing and I’m getting pretty pumped
two years ago: butternut tahini mash

Miso Ginger Kale Salad

dressing adapted from pumpkinandpeanutbutter

Dressing
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
At least 1 teaspoon honey
2 sparse tablespoons miso (I used white)
1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 big squirt sriracha
Splash of warm water
Black pepper (but no salt! it’s salty enough from miso/soy!)
¼ cup olive oil

Salad
3-4 cups kale, torn into bite-sized pieces
1 cup thinly sliced cucumbers
1 cup thinly sliced red apple triangles
Big handful chopped peanuts

Mix together all dressing ingredients, except olive oil, in a small bowl. Mix with a fork until well combined. Slowly add olive oil, mixing with a fork, until well combined. Take a taste and add more honey, soy, sriracha, water as you see fit. 

Put kale leaves in a big bowl and pour in dressing (most or all, depending on how much kale). Massage with your fingers until kale shrinks and turns slightly greener, about a minute or two. Add cucumber and apple slices, mix together, and top with peanuts. 

Note: If making in advance, and in fact the salad is delicious after 24 hours in the fridge, combine kale leaves and dressing and refrigerate. Add apple, cucumber, and peanuts the next day, when ready to serve.

Black-Eyed Pea New Year’s Stew

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The day before New Year’s Eve, my co-worker told me she had so much prep cooking to do that night. Not someone I had pegged to be a big cook, I asked what all she needed to do. She told me that every year she has a tradition of making black-eyed peas, greens, and noodles (from her Southern and Chinese heritage) for the new year. I love this idea of canonized end of the year traditions, but the furthest I ever get is rereading last year’s list of goals and usually rewriting many of the same ones. (“Restring guitar”, “get better at yoga”, and “think about grad school” have all graced each list from the past three years…) Inspired by her lead, I decided to play around with these simple ingredients.

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I’d heard of the black-eyed pea tradition before; supposedly it is lucky to eat them on New Year’s Day because the spotted peas look like coins (and who wouldn’t want a little more of that in the coming year). According to this article, looks like the Jews started this tradition over 1500 years ago, eating the peas on Rosh Hashanah. (Don’t know if I buy that, though.) It may have come to America in the early 1700s with the Sephardic Jews or (seemingly more likely) as part of the slave route; regardless, it has evolved into a classic Southern soul food tradition.

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I’ve also heard of noodles being lucky — I’ve repeatedly been tempted by the “longevity noodle” dish at Biang! that looks like a whole platter of noodles but is in fact just one very long one that comes with a pair of scissors. Long noodles represent a long life, as long as you slurp them up in one mouthful and don’t chop them off partway. Makes sense to start a new year with an ode to long life.

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And the greens I’m a little confused about. I think they also represent wealth (greens=the color of money?), but for me, they will represent a pledge to eat healthfully in the coming year. Combine these three together, and I give you… quick and simple black-eyed pea stew! Perfect for New Year’s, or really any time you need a quick meal. The peas are traditionally cooked with some sort of pig product; I added smoked paprika and liquid smoke to replicate some of that flavor. (Although Daniel did put bacon on top of his bowl and was pretty happy about it.) To be honest, we both enjoyed this more with rice, but if you want the lucky triple whammy, spaghetti away! Nothing like a symbolic meal to start this uncertain year off on the right foot.

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one year ago: …I was in Guatemala and didn’t update the blog, BUT let me take this moment to let you know I JUST updated my Recipes page! check it out! 
two years ago: Bengali egg curry 

Black-Eyed Pea New Year’s Stew

a Swanky original

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped small
1 bell pepper (preferably red but other colors work fine), chopped same size as onion
1 rib of celery, chopped same size as onion
1 jalapeño, some seeds removed, minced
2 big cloves garlic, minced
1 heaping teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 small tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 cup veggie broth
1 can black-eyed peas (don’t toss the liquid!)
½ teaspoon liquid smoke (optional, but adds nice smokiness)
2-4 cups kale, ribs moved and torn into bite sized pieces
Fresh parsley
s&p

Heat olive oil in a medium large pot over medium heat. Add onion, pepper, celery, and jalapeño and sauté for 6-8 minutes, or until veggies have softened and onion has become translucent. Add garlic, smoked paprika, thyme, and a bit of salt and pepper and cook for another 2-3 minutes, until garlic is fragrant and veggies are evenly coated in spice mixture.

Next, add in the chopped tomatoes and their juices, broth, black-eyed peas and the liquid in the can, and the liquid smoke, if using. Add a bunch of salt here too. Simmer for about 20 minutes, until peas soften and most of the liquid evaporates.

Right before serving, still with pot on medium, add in your kale and stir until it wilts, about 3-5 minutes. Serve with rice or spaghetti and a sprinkle of fresh parsley.

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Roasted Chickpea and Kale Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Tahini Sauce

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This post sort of reminds me of those Italian cookies, “brutti ma buoni,” which translates to “ugly but good”. Not like I’ve ever tasted them, as they’re made entirely of ground nuts, but I’ve always liked saying the name to myself when my photography sloppily gets sacrificed and yet I still want to share a recipe. At the end of the day, you’re eating food, not gazing at it, right? And if those foodie Italians can do it, perche non io? (Also, these potatoes themselves are not brutti, it’s just my impatience with a camera makes them appear such. We’re not discussing split pea soup or anything today.)

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True story: We ate these sweet potatoes standing up at our countertop in roughly 2 minutes. We had tickets for a show starting at 7:30; the sweet potatoes came out of the oven at probably 7:20. Luckily, the theater is literally two blocks from our house. We threw all the toppings on, poured on excessive amounts of tahini sauce, took some harried pictures which mostly turned out blurry, and quite literally stuffed these in our faces. We arrived at 7:29, a bit breathless and with tickets extended to prove yes we did indeed belong here too. Despite the totally full house, they hadn’t given our seats away yet. Whew.

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Some words to the wise: a) put your sweet potatoes in the oven at least an hour before you want to eat, and b) when buying tickets online months in advance, it’s always a good idea to double check what time it actually starts sometime during said day. Also c) don’t expect to take beautiful photos when you have approximately 9 minutes to assemble food, document food, consume said food, and sprint two blocks.

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So although I suggest you sit down and enjoy these lovely, healthy taters&toppings as a proper meal, they can be consumed quite quickly, if that’s what is necessary. I make (and adore) each element of this recipe separately; it was only a matter of time before they all got combined into the perfect mouthful. Er, series of mouthfuls, if you have the time. #dontbelikeme. #bruttimabuoni:sweetpotatoedition

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one year ago: simple pasta with smoked scamorza and tomatoes << one of my most-read posts!

Roasted Chickpea and Kale Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Tahini Sauce

a swanky original
Serves 3

3 sweet potatoes
1 can chickpeas, drained, rinsed well, and dried off
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
some drizzles olive oil
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 big clove garlic, minced
2 cups kale, rinsed and in bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons tahini
juice from half a lemon
parsley leaves, roughly chopped
salt

Additional optional toppings: za’atar, hot sauce, Greek yogurt, pomegranate seeds

Sweet Potatoes: Preheat oven to 400F. Poke sweet potatoes all over with a fork. Place directly on oven rack. Bake until easily pierced with a knife, about 45 minutes to an hour, depending on their size. Let cool slightly.

Chickpeas: On a rimmed baking tray, toss chickpeas with cumin, smoked paprika, a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt. Add to oven when there’s about 20 minutes left on the sweet potatoes. Chickpeas will be brown and satisfyingly crunchy when done.

Kale: Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a big sauté pan. Add red pepper flakes and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add kale, a pinch of salt, and white wine vinegar. Cook for about 6 minutes, or until kale has turned bright green and wilted a bit. Remove from heat.

Tahini Sauce: Combine tahini, 2 tablespoons water, lemon juice, and a big pinch of salt. Mix until smooth.

To serve, cut sweet potatoes in half. Mash the flesh a bit. Spoon on kale, chickpeas, and tahini sauce. Top with parsley and any additional toppings as desired.

 

As “brutti” as it gets: #UglyFoodPics

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Kale Caesar Salad

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I’m going to admit some things:

  1. Basically 7% of my sock drawer contains actual pairs of socks that were sold as a unit. It is a jumble of colors and styles that are “good enough” to be thrown together. Socks are usually in shoes anyway, and if the shoes come off, you have to assume you’re in good enough company to not have others giving too much a shit about the matchingness of your socks. Also, it’s sandal season.
  2. I went on a mile-long run (1.2 miles actually) like 3 days ago and my legs still hurt. Not totally proud of that one…
  3. I don’t really like kale.

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Okay, it’s not that I don’t like ANY kale. It’s pretty delicious sauteed halfway to another planet with lots of balsamic vinegar and oil (a la my college roommate). Also pretty good in a white bean soup with lots of parmesan (coming soon!). It’s just that I’ve never gotten my mind around enjoying raw kale. (Oh, I did blog about it once before here, but shh, this one is better…)

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…UNTIL TODAY!!

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…you knew that was coming.

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THIS salad NEEDS kale! The dressing is thick, the accoutrements small but mighty and oh-so-garlicky. They are desperately in need of a substantial green that won’t back down! Here, kale and my mysterious CSA “red garner” were the only of the batch up to the Greek-yogurt-laden-Caesar-dressing-challenge. This salad is so simple and so tasty. I wished we made a double batch. Recipe came from Erin Gleeson’s gorgeous Forest Feast cookbook (gifted to me by my beautiful cousin! shoutout!). I substituted her pan-fried polenta squares (which sound delicious and I can’t wait to try someday…) for my 2-day-old Bakeri focaccia fried to oblivion with olive oil and tons of garlic. Needless to say, it was just the salty and crunchy bite the salad needed.

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new! happy anniversary, me!
one year ago: Rhubarb, Chickpea, and Spinach stew with Cilantro-Lemon Yogurt sauce

Kale Caesar Salad

adapted from the Forest Feast cookbook

½ bunch kale, chifonnaded (or another substantial green) (see here for chiffonade how-to pictures)
small handful pine nuts
¼ c shredded parmesan
2-day old focaccia, cut into small squares
1-3 T olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
about ½ t fresh thyme, chopped
salt to taste
about ½ batch dressing (recipe below)

Dressing:
⅓-½ c olive oil
2 T Greek yogurt
juice of half a lemon
1 big clove garlic, quartered
1 t dijon mustard
s&p

For dressing: Blend all ingredients together until smooth. I used an Immersion blender and it took less than a minute.

Toast pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium-high heat, stirring fairly constantly to ensure they don’t burn. Set aside.

Warm up 1-2 T olive oil in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute until pungent, about 30 seconds. Add focaccia squares and another drizzle of olive oil. Add thyme and a big pinch of salt. Toss constantly until squares are crunchy and browned on all sides, adding additional olive oil they seem dry. Lower heat if croutons begin to burn. Take off heat when done and set aside.

Mix kale, pine nuts, and parmesan cheese with dressing. I started with about ½ the batch of dressing and added a bit more. Toss with tongs until evenly coated. Top with croutons and enjoy garlicky kale caesar nirvana (without the obnoxious yet ubiquitous $18 pricetag).

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Sweet Sesame Cauliflower, Snow Pea, and Kale Salad

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Oh, Brooklyn. You tempt me with your rooftop gardens and skyline views, live music happy hours, and street fairs. You lure me in with your brownstones, cafes, cocktails, and bike paths. You sweeten my day with homemade everythings on every corner. And you leave me shocked at the J. Crew on Wythe (holy, what now?!), the price tag on a cold-brew, and the traffic on the Manhattan Bridge.

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But I never expected you to treat me like this: to throw me into a court house, make me stay there for two week while paying me $40 a day, claiming you are more important than any of my bosses or coworkers, and claiming it is my “civic duty”.

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Brooklyn, I’m just not down with Grand Jury Duty.

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But because I love your bodegas and ethnic grocery stores and general CSA enthusiasm that made this salad possible, I’ll forgive you for today. Cauliflower, you have not wronged me yet. Today, you beat Brooklyn. Choose cauliflower, not fulfilling civic duties.

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Sweet Sesame Cauliflower, Snow Pea, and Kale Salad

adapted from Plenty by Ottolenghi

1 cauliflower, cut into florets
1 cup or so snow peas
1 small bunch of kale, ribs removed and torn into bite-sized pieces
½ T olive oil
1.5 cups cilantro leaves, roughly chopped; reserve a couple whole leaves for garnish
2 T sesame seeds

Sauce:
4 T tahini
2.5 T water
1 garlic clove, crushed
½ t soy sauce
½ T honey
¾ T apple cider vinegar
1.5 T mirin (sweet rice cooking wine)
pinch of salt

Bring a salted pot of water to a boil. Briefly blanch the cauliflower until cooked but still firm, about 2-3 minutes. Scoop into a colander and run under cool water. Return the water to a boil. Add snow peas, and cook for just 1 minute. Add to cauliflower.

Heat olive oil in a small pan over medium-high heat. Add the kale and a splash of water and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes.

To make the sauce, combine all ingredients together with a fork.

To toast sesame seeds, put in a small dry pan and cook over high heat, stirring frequently, until slightly brown and nutty-smelling. Keep a close eye on them; they like to turn too dark while you briefly answer a text message.

Combine cauliflower, snow peas, kale, and the chopped cilantro on a big plate. Drench with the sauce. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and whole cilantro leaves. Eat cool or warm.

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Mustardy Potato, Kale, and Green Bean Salad

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I went to a Tori Amos concert. With a group of friends, including 2 straight men. One of whom is my boyfriend, who has already seen Tori four other times. Perhaps surprisingly, I was introduced to Tori in the first place by my high school boyfriend. My dad took me to my first, second, and third concerts (Natalie Merchant, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Sarah MacLachlan). All artists I discovered through his CD collection.

So I guess the men in my life like folksy female singers. Whatever, no shame. They have good taste.

Although straight men were in the minority at this concert. The crowd mostly consisted of fabulous gays, tattooed tough ladies, and the comfily-clad liberal arts school set. (Guess which one I fall into…)

Anyways, Tori, at 50 years old, is an incredible performer. We should all be more like her. Maybe she got that way by eating potato salad. With kale. And green beans!

Yeah, that seems likely.

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Mustardy Potato, Kale, and Green Bean Salad
Adapted from buttercupandbourbon and smittenkitchen

Delicious when served with beet reuben sandwiches for dinner. 

2 cups small red potatoes
1 large handful (about 1.5 cups) of green beans, ends snapped off
1 small bunch kale, torn into bite sized pieces
olive oil
1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 t smoked paprika
1 T lemon juice
s&p
handful of fresh parsley or dill, chopped

For the dressing, mix together:
1/4 cup of olive oil
Nearly 2 T of whole grain mustard
2 t dijon mustard
2 T white wine vinegar
a lot of fresh ground pepper and some salt

To cook potatoes: Put (rinsed) potatoes in a medium pot and add enough cool water to submerge potatoes. Add sprinkle of salt. Bring to a boil and cook for about 15 minutes, uncovered, until fork-tender. Drain and set aside. When cool, cut into bite-sized chunks.

To make green beans: In same pot you made potatoes in, bring 2 inches of salted water to a boil. Add green beans, return to a boil, and cook for just 1 minute, until more pliable but still crunchy. Drain immediately and set aside. When cool, cut into 1/2 inch segments.

Heat 1 T olive oil in a large pan. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook over medium-high heat until you can smell the garlic, 1-2 minutes. Add green beans, potatoes, and smoked paprika. Stir constantly until the vegetables are coated in paprika. Cook about 5 minutes, or until potatoes are slightly crispy. Add kale, 1/4 cup water, lemon juice, s&p, and another small drizzle of olive oil. Cook until kale wilts, stirring frequently, making sure all ingredients intermingle.

Pour into a bowl and let cool. Right before serving, mix in dressing. Top with herbs.

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“Everything Summer” Garden Kale Salad + A Summer Meal

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My Grandpa Ronny, a self-made first-generation American and a proud storyteller, grew up in NYC. When I moved to Brooklyn three years ago, I felt compelled to track down some of the places he often mentions in his stories.

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sister drinking date

First up was McSorley’s Ale House, one of the oldest bars in the city, where the floor is covered with straw and there are only two drinks you can order: dark beer or light beer. Supposedly, Ronny once did a headstand on a table in the back room while drinking an entire beer. Who knows if the story is true, but when I went with my sister we scanned some of the photos on the wall, seeing if his story had made it into the bar’s lore. McSorley’s is wonderfully atmospheric, and I’ve been a handful of times. Good choice for a storied bar, Grandpa.

The other place always mentioned is the Rockaways, the beach retreat where he’d spend summers in a bungalow and became a lifeguard when he was older. Today the 95th street stretch (and beyond!) of the Rockaways has turned into a newly recreated hipster “staycation” destination — the boardwalk has been transformed by a famous fish taco stand, bike rental booths, smoothie stalls, Bolivian street food, and the always popular game, corn hole.

And man is it fun! Today was my first trip there, taking the A all through Brooklyn and eventually coming out onto a lovely expanse of ocean and beach, so different from the New York I’ve grown accustomed to. Gone are the cheap bungalows and immigrant-owned amenities, but still tangibly present is the natural beauty and freedom so easily lost on our forgotten concrete blocks. Pretty sweet for a Thursday. Sorry I didn’t go sooner!

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Anyway, in honor of finally visiting my Grandpa’s childhood summer getaway, here is the  delicious, garden-fresh summery meal we enjoyed last night. Special thanks to the roommate’s community garden membership for the herbs and tomatoes. 🙂

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“Everything Summer” Garden Kale Salad + A Summer Meal
barely adapted from from A Sprouted Kitchen

Salad:

  • 1 small bunch kale, ribs removed and torn into small bite-sized pieces
  • 1-3 T fresh mint
  • juice of half a lemon
  • 2 T olive oil, divided
  • 1 small head lettuce, washed, dried, and torn into bite-sized pieces
  • roughly 2 cups freshest possible tomatoes; I used a combination of just-picked cherry tomatoes sliced in half and slices of HUGE tomato (also just-picked)
  • 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, cut in half
  • half a crispy apple, cut into matchsticks (although cherries or nectarine slices would be great too!)
  • 1/8-1/4 c red onion, diced tiny
  • 1/4 cup feta, crumbled

For dressing, mix together:

  • 2 T olive oil
  • 2 t dijon mustard
  • 1.5 T apple cider vinegar
  • pinch of red pepper flakes
  • s&p to taste

Put freshly washed kale in a bowl. Add mint, roughly torn, and 1 T olive oil, lemon juice, and s&p. Using your fingers, massage kale for a couple minutes, until greens lose their rigidness and turn a richer shade of green.

Add bite-sized lettuce leaves. Pour in salad dressing and mix thoroughly. Then add all the ingredients, give it a good whirly mix, and serve!

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The whole meal. all delicious individually though perhaps not greater than the sum of its parts.

We ate this salad alongside:

  • In Sock Monkey Slipper’s Herbed Zucchini-Feta Boats. My thoughts: Add cumin and roasted red peppers to the feta-herb mixture in the food processor for a bit of added sweetness. Don’t be shy with the fresh herbs. Use panko instead of regular breadcrumbs for extra crispiness! Needed at least 40 minutes to bake in my oven. Just as delicious with yellow summer squash as with zucchini.

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  • Smoky Mushroom Toasts: Sauté 1/4 c tiny diced onion in 1 T melted butter. Add 10 oz white mushrooms, cut in half and then very thinly sliced. Sprinkle with pepper, fresh thyme, and smoky hickory salt. Mushrooms will let out juices. Take off heat when juices evaporate and mushrooms are browned, about 10 minutes. Serve atop toasted and buttered bread. I used day-old bakery whole wheat oatmeal bread and it was deeelicious.

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  • Pine nut couscous (from a box!)
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ahh, summer…