Kale-a-palooza!

Why, Hi there!   Yes, I am still alive.   And eating kale.

My first tip..kale smoothies? No, just say no.   Just like a milkshake?  no, just like that green slime I used to play with as a child.   That is EXACTLY what my attempt at a kale smoothie looked like.   If you have to add ten different fruits to disguise the taste of the kale, then guess what?  Not healthy.

*ugh*

Ok, deep breath.  Now, delicious things to do with kale:

Yeah, you all know about kale chips.   Oil, salt, kale, maybe some herbs/spices (I used zaatar).   I would have added a little parm, but I'm out.  And bugs got into the nutritional yeast, or I would have used that too, for some umami. Onto cookie sheet an into a low oven.

I made some quinoa bites, inspired by the pizza quinoa bites floating around the internet.  These were pretty simple and good.   Cooked up quinoa (used red, because that is what is in the pantry).  chopped up some mushrooms, cooked those down, tossed those into the quinoa, added a squeeze of tomato paste.   Rough chop of some kale, toss that in.
An egg as a binder, and a smidge of feta.

Plop into muffin tins and into the oven. (350)

I wish I'd sauteed the kale just a little, but it did come out well...  It would also be grand with swiss cheese and a little bit of ham or bacon.

You could also put whole leaves of kale in the bottom of the muffin tin, then plomp the quinoa mixture on top.  The kale leaves act as a kind of "cup".  (I used baby kale, so you would cut out cup-size pieces of kale if you wanted to go this route)

Lastly, creamed kale.   Kale, pureed and steamed on the stove, with a dollop of ricotta and some salt, and then baked in the oven.  You could, if you wanted to be fancy, put some gluten-free cracker or breadcrumbs on top to add a little crunch.

Pics to come later....

Life runs amok.

Amok, amok, amok.   Sorry its been so long since I've updated, its been a busy summer.    I got a promotion at work, which means I've been spending less time cooking.  But I have come up with some great, simple summer salads (no pics, unfortunately) to try and use up the abundance known as the CSA flood of PRODUCE.

mmmmmm yummylicious.

Anyway.

So we got watermelon in our CSA shares.   mmmm watermelon.    So I've been making a quick salad with watermelon, cukes, a dash of feta cheese, and a splash of pomegranate vinegar.

(which leads to a sidebar, there used to be all kinds of funky vinegars on the market, and now? nothing.  Did the funky vinegar company go bankrupt or something?)

We also had green beans.    And potatoes...I bet you know where I'm going with this....well, almost.   Salade nicoise, but with smoked salmon instead of tuna.  (still not a huge tuna fan).

The other night,  for dinner, I wasn't terribly hungry, so just sliced up cucumber, added a smear of sour cream (another sidebar, someone is FINALLY making a small container of organic sour cream!) and some smoked salmon  (I went to Costco, been eating a fair amount of smoked salmon)

Now, any ideas for beets or carrots?   (I had made a carrot top soup earlier in the summer, but alas, never posted the recipe).

Napa salad, quick and easy...

So one of the things I got in my CSA was napa cabbage.   Pulled off a few leaves, chopped them up.  Added some green garlic, sliced up a turnip, added some sweet pepper, toasted cashews, sesame oil and vinegar...


Sorry no pic, the camera is AWOL.

Its CSA Time, again!

So, I have a wonderful CSA share from Holcomb Farm.   Picked up my first bag yesterday.   All kinds of tasty veggies...   napa cabbage, bok choi, lettuce, oregano, sorrel, hakurei turnips....

Last night I just sauteed a little bok choi in some butter with a boiled potato and an egg, and called it dinner...

Today I'm planning on making a salad with the napa cabbage.  And maybe a slaw with the hakurei turnips and some carrots... (I think I posted the slaw last year)...

Why I don't go to receptions....

Because it is SO easy for things to become contaminated...   take the last church thing I went to...  I was (fortunately) early, and helping set up, and I saw the crackers set up first, THEN the cheese and the fruit and the veggies, all with the unwashed hands from the crackers.

Its not enough to just have things that are visually gluten-free, care HAS to be taken in prep, and when everything else has gluten.....the chances are that most folks are not going to realise....

In the past, I have brought my own thing, that I can eat, rather than grilling people on ingredients...  but sometimes I can't...  I have been known to get a little squiffy on wine on an empty stomach.

There is an event for the archbishop, where I am singing (with the choir!  with the choir!)  and I offered to bring something to the reception, but was turned down...  I will probably end up bringing a little bento box that I can eat, so I can have a snack....  

What brought this on?  End of year parties/events.  An invite to a reception with hors d'oeuvres.   And unfortunately, as recipes become more complex, the possibility of gluten migrating in becoes more likely.

So, what can you do if you are hosting a reception and want to make it allergy-friendly?   Ask people to label their dish if it is safe, and keep the "safe" dishes together, with serving spoons.   Wash your hands.   Put out the fruit/veggies first.  Handle the crackers (or nuts) last.    Use a seperate serving spoon for everything.  

Tofu pudding, take 2, and how I'm eating....

So, I did some more with the tofu pudding idea.   Frozen mango, a little bit of homemade butterscotch (sugar caramelized with a little teeny bit of butter) and vanilla.   Not bad.   The mango is strong enough to give the tofu a whammy so it doesn't taste so tofu-like.

I've found that I do better with a smaller breakfast, with a lot of protein.   I suspect I am going to become one of those "dinner for breakfast" people.  When I was naturally slimmer, that seemed to be what worked for me...   and then the carbs for dinner.  If I eat protein for dinner, I'm usually awake and don't sleep, but if I have oatmeal before bed, I sleep well...   yes, I am strange.   So lunch will have to be the "interesting" meal.  

I'm a little bummed at Whole Paycheck.  Udis (aka the only gluten-free bread that tastes at all decent) came out with a great high-fiber loaf.  I found it there once, and then apparently they discontinued it.   grrrrrrrrrr.  Oh they would be happy to special-order it for me...  I WANT to just be able to go to the store, get the bread I need for the week...  but God Forbid.  

I know, I know... tofu pudding...work in progress...

Bad, bad, bad gluten-free blogger....

So I've been working on getting healthier.   And I was having pudding cravings.   I had tofu in the fridge, frozen organic strawberries in the freezer.  Plopped them in the blender with lots (LOTS) of almond and vanilla flavoring, a dollop of sugar, a dollop of maple syrup, some gluten-free oats, and some almond meal.

Really, not bad.   Still a little tofu-ey, but had the right texture, and was enough to beat the cravings...

I know I'm going to be giving up cheese for Lent, and possibly most dairy, except for some milk for my morning coffee...   so i'm trying to come up with some healthy dairy alternatives that aren't processed gunge.  It doesn't help me to give up something and then just replace it with a more processed alternative....

I don't do well with highly processed foods.  Even the milk really makes a difference for me.   I drink raw milk during the summer to fall, and every year, when I switch back to organic milk from the supermarket, I get health issues.   This year I had some issues, and decided to try a grass-fed organic milk, supposedly from NY (although how it is organic grass-fed in winter?  you got me).  And it seems to have helped.   I'm feeling better with it.  And I don't drink that much milk...

anyway.  I'm going to play around with the tofu pudding idea for the next few weeks...I suspect it needs stronger flavors, but I'm not a big fan of chocolate pudding...  maybe raspberry, or a mango-butterscotch?  hmmmm