Skip to main content

Kale crazy.

I've heard so much about the health and vitamin properties of kale in the last few months, I finally caved in and bought some. Having brought it home, I immediately started trawling the internet for ideas on how to use it. The two below, funnily enough, I made up, but they were both delicious. The first was a weeknight dinner, the second was to pack and take to the Paul Simon concert tonight along with a huge pot of fruit salad (because I'm a total pig). *grin*

Gnocchi with kale and red bell pepper

1. Mince two cloves of garlic and fry in a splash of hot olive oil (I used a wok, as the later stages are easier in a high bottomed pan)
2. Tear the stems from two or three healthy handsful of kale and tear the leaves into roughly bitesized pieces, add to the garlic in oil and stir thoroughly, cook for about three minutes to allow the leaves to wilt
3. Cut a red bell pepper into small chunks and toss in with the kale
4. Add about a cup of vegetable stock, simmer everything together until it's almost reduced completely
5. Cook the gnocchi in a separate pan with boiling water (it's done when they float), then drain and add to kale and pepper mixture, toss to coat in the veggie stock sauce
6. Stuff your face


Kale, sweetcorn and new potato salad

1. Wash then cut a heaping double handful of new potatoes into quarters or more, depending on the size of the spuds, toss into boiling water until tender, drain and set aside
2. Boil two ears of corn until tender, drain, cover with cold water and set aside
3. Thinly slice a red onion and sautee in olive oil
4. Tear the stems from two handsful of kale and tear the leaves into pieces, add to the oil and stir, cook for about three minutes to allow the leaves to wilt
5. Slice the kernels from the ears of now cooled corn, add with the new potatoes to the kale and stir thoroughly, heat through stirring occasionally
6. When removed from the heat, add several grinds of pepper, a couple of tablespoons of mayo/vegannaise and a few squirts of mustard (basically season/sauce to taste)
7. Eat warm if you fancy it, or stick it in the fridge for later use


I'm going to be dedicating the next blog to the amazing surprise package that arrived at our door yesterday afternoon, so be ready for a slew of baking posts!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Lazy weekend.

Bliss. Sun, moglets, sun, loads of good food, sun, and Himself. Good combo, let me tell you. We let the moggies out sans leads for the first time on Thursday (sporting their new collars and tags, and freshly dosed with flea drops), just for about an hour to see how they handled it. Both of them tore headlong into the flowerbeds in search of new smells and the occasional bug to eat. On Friday I left the back doors of the conservatory flung open to let the seriously amazing weather in and the felines out. This turned into me sitting in the conservatory for longer than I'd care to admit, book discarded to one side because watching them chase bees, butterflies and each other was more amusing. Saturday morning dawned clear and sunny, so I hied myself down to the conservatory (as I woke up around half six and thought Himself might rather sleep a LITTLE longer...) for a bowl of muesli, a cup of peppermint tea, some reading and yet more book neglecting as I watched the lunatics conti...

The real deal.

So, I thought I'd been having cravings for the last couple of weeks because I've been eating loads of tuna and pasta, seemed like that was all I wanted to eat. Tuna sandwiches with a cup of tomato soup to dip them in, and egg noodle pasta for some reason. That is, until Monday night. Monday night, Himself called me on his way home from work as usual and asked if we needed anything (again, as usual). I said no, that I'd already been to the store but I wasn't really hungry anyway, and that I'd see him when he got home. I settled in with the cats on the couch and started flicking channels, getting the girlie TV out of the way so that Himself wouldn't have to suffer through it when he got home... Half an hour later, it struck. All of a sudden, out of the blue, I was starving. It wasn't the usual "go rifle through the kitchen until I happen upon something that looks edible" hunger. It was specific, overpowering, CRAVING hunger. What did I want, ...

Updates all around.

So, we've had our UK baby shower. Saturday just gone we had a houseful of people, same setup as our normal Thanksgiving arrangements, just different food. Rather than mash and mac'n'cheese, I did finger foods and pink desserts. If you need a seriously decadent and delicious lemon bar recipe, let me know, I found one on Pinterest a few weeks ago for Strawberry Lemonade Bars that I used for the party, and they are truly droolworthy. We were gifted a truly random assortment of bits. Some people used the list we registered for, some people went with gifts that meant something to them personally (like a replica of a childhood bunny from one particular friend), and some went with "pamper the mother-to-be" options. Then, of course, there was Darth Bunny. That's right, Darth Bunny. See below. It was a good day. Himself's best mate from childhood came up from Essex with his new wife to stay the weekend, there was at least one representative from every offic...