Memoirs of a Kale Addict

Mentioned time and time again, kale is a powerhouse green with much versatility. In the warmer months, I have become quite partial to ripping up the leaves and massaging them with lemon juice, salt, and olive oil to prepare them for an avocado-laced salad. A friend of mine told me some time ago that she loves shredding the leaves into fettuccine-like strands, allowing the nutrient dense greens to serve as a foundation for her homemade meatballs and “gravy”.

Squaghetti

I am so excited to share this recipe. Although extremely simple, it is booming with flavor and nutrients and provides the diner with a light yet filling and complete meal.

January is a time when a lot of people try and reboot their eating habits and get back on track after overindulging in the preceding months. Spaghetti squash is lighter and crunchier than its brethren winter squashes due to its increased water content, and has the magical ability, once roasted, to be scraped apart into spaghetti-like strands. Most people love pasta, but who enjoys that weighed down lethargy that usually follows a pasta filled meal. Spaghetti squash fills you in a lighter, energy inducing way and is ideal for someone who is aiming for a lower carb meal or has gluten sensitivity.

Curry Lane and French Fry Dreams

Sweet Curry Roasted Delicata Squash Fries with Curry Mustard Dip

The festive celebrating has continued into January as many of my friends celebrate their birthdays this month…which also means the convivial eating and drinking continues as well. With that in mind, I tried to recreate a light and refreshing salad that I had while on vacation. The salad was called the Simply Grilled and it was from the restaurant Veritas in Vieques. The salad is a variation on a Cobb, but the fresh lightly seasoned fish replaces the greasy fat-laden bacon. To accompany my large salad, I made fries from Delicata Squash. These fries were inspired by a lovely lunch I recently had with a good friend at a vegan restaurant called Peacefood Café on the UWS. We ordered their signature chickpeas fries and were enamored by their deliciousness. The fries were made of blended chickpeas and were bursting with Indian spice. For my variation, I kept it simple and sliced 2 squashes with the skin intact, and seeds removed, into fry-like shapes and coated them with 2 tbsp sweet curry powder, 2 tbsp olive oil, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. The fries were roasted at 425 degrees for 40 minutes. While the fries roasted, I simply mixed extra strong Dijon mustard with 2 tsp sweet curry powder and chopped cilantro and chives for a tangy curry laced dip. These fries were delicious and hard to put down! Luckily they contained beneficial potassium, which is an essential mineral that aids with normalizing blood pressure. Yellow squash also contains lutein and zeaxanthin, which are vital for maintaining eye health and reducing damage from free radicals.

"The Simply Grilled" Salad (Serves 2)

12 oz Fresh Wild Red Snapper fillets

I box organic romaine hearts chopped

1 roasted red bell pepper chopped

2 sticks celery thinly sliced

¼ red onion thinly sliced

½ avocado diced
1/2 cup chickpeas rinsed

10 cherry tomatoes sliced in half

¼ cup Stilton or Gorgonzola crumbled

Salt and Pepper

Parsley and chives for garnish at your discretion

Anchovy Dressing

6 anchovy fillets

2 tbsp strong Dijon Mustard

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Ground black pepper

For the dressing:
Blend anchovies, mustard, and vinegar together in a blender. Slowly stream in olive oil with the motor on and season with pepper.

Wash and thoroughly dry the fish and season lightly with salt and pepper

Heat a pan with canola spray and pan sear each fillet for around 5 minutes a side or until the center is opaque and skin is crisp

Meanwhile, toss together all the salad components and about 2 tbsp of dressing

Serve fish on top of salad, garnish with herbs, and enjoy this light, healthful, and filling salad

Snapper Cobb

I know it is practically sacrilegious to serve cheese with fish in some elite circles, but this combo deliciously breaks the rules. 

Happy Birthday to all you January babies…. I have definitely enjoyed continuing the celebrations!

Boo! So Creepy

It has been a long time dream/obsession of mine to make pumpkin soup and serve it inside a pumpkin. Trying to create my vision the night before Halloween during a pumpkin shortage, caused me to put my dream on hold. Luckily, I was able to think on my feet and found this gorgeous Carnival Squash. I simply sawed the top off, scooped out the innards (reserving the seeds), placed a tbsp of Earth Balance spread, cinnamon, salt, pepper, and a tbsp of pure maple syrup into the cavity and a little on the top half and roasted at 350-degrees for around 30 minutes. Once the meat was soft, I allowed the squash to cool slightly and gently mashed the soften core until it was a smooth consistency (It might be easier to take everything out, mash it, and refill the squash.). To make use of the seeds, I washed them and made a mixture of olive oil, cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. I tossed the seeds with the mixture and toasted them for 10 minutes in a 350-degree oven. I topped my squash mash with the spiced seeds and dove into this scrumptiously sweet and delicious fall side. Accompanied by a little Sunday “gravy”,  light mixed greens, and my Sunday was complete!

Squash is on my mind! On another occasion, I made butternut squash and black bean chili with swiss chard, chipolte peppers topped off with parm, avocado, red onions, and lime

Happy Halloween everyone! Can you guess who Henry is? This was the best shot I could manage. Its not easy getting a 4 month old pup into a frog prince costume…let me tell you his breath is not all that (Prince) Charming!

The Greatest Thing Since Sliced.....

I knew that our recent day trip to Fire Island would be the ideal opportunity to re-create the ultimate hiker sandwich that I had been bragging about for years. The first incarnation of this sandwich was ten years ago after I had seen it made on a cooking show. Ten years later, I stepped it up a few notches and, instead of using all prepared and packaged goods, I made the pesto from scratch and grilled a few veggies to create a multitude of colorful layers and flavors. What was packed inside this Grandaisy rustic whole wheat loaf you ask? Pesto (basil, olive oil, walnuts, sans cheese), provolone, organic all natural Applegate Farms smoked turkey breast, roasted red bell peppers, arugula, grilled zucchini, squash, banana peppers, and jalapeño.

Once you have all your ingredients ready to go, this compact sandwich is very simple. To start, cut a hole on top of the loaf in order to be able to scoop out all the innards and to layer all the components of the sandwich. By creating an access through the top of the loaf instead of simply slicing the bread in two, you are creating an environment for all the elements to stay compacted and meld together - perfect for transporting on a long journey.  I made the pesto without cheese since I was using a salty moist provolone, yet I sill wanted the garlicky, basil layer to my sandwich. I put the pesto down first as the foundation for the sandwich to create a boundary from bread to fillers and also so with each bite you got garlicky pesto. Next, I layered provolone, which got a little melted with the travel, but added a great salty gooeyness to the sandwich. After that, smoked turkey, arugula, the roasted and grilled veggies and a final layer of cheese was added to seal together the layers. When constructing this sandwich, it is essential to get into all the corners of the bread so that each bite is inundated with flavor.

Once we arrived at the beach, the sandwich was “ripe” and ready for the taking. We brought along a handy serrated knife and, with the sand in our toes and the waves lapping in the background, we enjoyed layer upon layer of this multidimensional sandwich. The sandwich was made the night before and, with the proper layering technique and bread type, it should not get soggy. The components of this sandwich are totally up for interpretation. Next time, I am going to add artichoke hearts, eggplant and, jalepeno jack cheese. Whatever you decide to stuff in your hiker, it is the perfect treat for a day of hiking or lounging on the beach.