Delicious kale and Garbanzos

Hey there friends! Congratulations on making it to the weekend! The weather is warm and muggy, very overcast and foggy with showers. Perfect!

Needless to say I am currently living in my slippers.

We are all preparing for my Father-in-laws birthday tomorrow. He will be participating in the Terry Fox run, so he'll need some good recovery birthday food. Ben and I made a cake for him, and I have some dark chocolate ice cream that I'm about to churn. Oooh, it's gonna be good! Don't worry, I'll tell you all about it later.

The other night I made one of our favorite side dishes to go with the chicken Ben was poaching it white wine. Usually we use spinach in this dish, but I had kale on hand that needed to be used. I think I actually prefer it because it holds up better than the spinach does. Chard or collards would probably work well too.

Here's what you need to make this dish.
Kale and Garbanzos
1 can garbanzo beans
1 bunch kale
1 yellow onion
3 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp lemon juice
s&p
olive oil for pan

Start out by getting everything all chopped up. Dice your onion, mince your garlic, rinse your beans. Wash your kale, strip out the center stem, and chop into 1" strips (or torn chunks if you're lazy like me).

Heat a large skillet on medium (or medium high if you're willing to keep a close eye on it), and add your olive oil. Just enough to coat the pan. Toss in the onions and cook until they are softened and just beginning to caramelize.

Add in the garlic and saute for about one minute, then add the beans and cumin. Cook together for another couple of minutes. Add the kale and lemon juice. It looks like a lot of kale to start with, but it will really shrink down. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Once everything is hot, about 5 minutes,  you're all done! This is a very flavorful dish. You could use any herb or spice that sounds good, it doesn't have to be cumin. Vary the type of greens, and the type of beans to keep it interesting each time you make it. This is definitely one of our kitchen standbys!

Served with the chicken and some fresh sourdough bread it was so filling and tasty! I realize that it looks like something explicit dribbled all over the top of my kale and beans, but it's just the sauce from the chicken (Sorry, was that too gross?).

...Awkward silence...

To change the subject completely...I actually remembered to take some pictures of my sugar cookie pumpkins last night at work!

Here they are!

I though they turned out pretty well!

Hurray for Fall and the upcoming holidays! I know, just a little bit early for that sort of thing, but Canadian Thanksgiving is really just right around the corner!

Do you feel like I'm taunting you with pictures of things without giving you the recipe? Kind of like this cat is taunting this dog?

Well, if I post pics of something without a recipe, and you'd really like to have that recipe, just let me know! I'll be happy to post it for you! There are just so many things out there to make, I have a hard time choosing what to share!

What is your favorite way to eat kale?

Sauteed kale

So after much searching, and drooling over pictures that had nothing to do with kale, I decided to try something simple with my leafy greens. I looked up how to prepare kale, and there were lots of different options.

I started by rinsing the kale for a long while, making sure to go over every leaf to get off the dirt and grit. Nobody wants that!

Then I de-stemmed the leaves by cutting a "V" shape along the rib, removing the stems.

I chopped it all into about 1"x2" pieces, then tossed it into a pan with about 1 1/2 cups water. I put a lid on, and let it come to a boil. I had read that kale can be rather tough, and steaming isn't always enough. I kept a close eye on it, as I didn't want to over cook it. It took about 7 minutes.

I dumped it all into a strainer and let it drip. Meanwhile, I chopped up 3 small cloves of garlic and tossed them into a large saute pan with some olive oil. I stirred this around on medium low for a couple of minutes until the garlic started to brown. I sprinkled in some crushed red pepper flakes, to taste, and then add the drained kale back in.

I suteed this just until everything was well coated and hot. At the last minute I put on some sesame sprinkle instead of salt. Kale really shrinks down! I couldn't believe how little was left in the pan, once it was cooked, compared to what I had started with!

My mother in law had made a fish entree (something baked with cheese and mushrooms. It was good!), and my father in law had made some polenta (not pictured). We filled up our plates, and enjoyed every bite!

That's correct, you heard me right, I enjoyed my kale! There wasn't even the slightest bit of bitterness to it! I didn't over cook it, so it had a bit of tooth, but it wasn't tough at all! I think I just started a love affair with kale! I hope that little farm stand has a good supply, cuz I'll be down there all the time!

Fresh and Local

This morning my breakfast granola & yogurt was enhanced by a heavenly slice of fresh strawberry galette! Now that's the way to start my day off right!

Then, to make the morning even better, a package arrived for me. A while back I ordered some metal and some glass straws. With all my smoothie consumption I figured reusable straws were the way to go. I haven't actually tried them yet, but I am SO excited!

After our wonderful morning B and I went out for some errands. On the way home I noticed that the blueberry farm had it's stand up again, so we stopped.

They rebuilt their stand from last year, and it's looking cute!

I think I almost peed my pants when I saw the bags of fat juicy berries waiting for me.

I LOVE blueberries, and these are so fresh!

When we got home I stuck them in the fridge for later.

Later in the day I decided to go out for a walk with Izzie. I thought I had seen some items at another roadside stand when we were out, so we walked there.

All of the thistles along the road are blooming now, and despite what others say, I think they are really pretty!

So purple!

I think the bees agree with me!

This house usually sells mostly flowers, but they sporadically sell other bits of produce. Izzie and I walked the mile and a half in the heat, and were happy to see the stand around the corner.

I was right, they had some kale out today! I have really been wanting to try kale. I know it's a very healthy leafy green, and I know that the only time I've tried it it was beyond bitter and totally nasty. This being so fresh and local, I decided to give kale another try.

Only $2! Score!

All of these little stands are serve yourself. This little money box was too cute!

The kale might have fared a little better in the heat if I had brought a bag, but instead I carried them all the way home in my sweaty little hand, and a couple leaves got a little bruised. I set them in a glass of water when we got home, and it seemed ok.

Of course I sat right down to find out what I would be making for dinner using my newly acquired kale! It's so pretty and green, it's gotta be good, right?! Here's hoping!