Two Excellent Kale Suggestions

A few years ago I had never even eaten it, but kale has become one of the items that Katie and I really look forward to in the summer. These two recipes are some of our favorite ways to use kale.

Caldo Verde

Ingredients

* 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
* 1 onion, minced
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 6 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
* 2 quarts fresh veggie stock
* 6 ounces linguica sausage, thinly sliced (any sausage will work)
* 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
* ground black pepper to taste
* 1 pound kale, rinsed and julienned

Directions

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook onion and garlic in 3 tablespoons olive oil for 3 minutes. Stir in potatoes and cook, stirring constantly, 3 minutes more. Pour in stock, bring to a boil, and let boil gently for 20 minutes, until potatoes are soft.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium-low heat, cook sausage until it has released most of its fat, 10 minutes. Drain.
3. Mash potatoes or puree the potato mixture with an immersion blender or food processor. Stir the sausage, salt and pepper into the soup and return to medium heat. Cover and simmer 5 minutes.
4. Just before serving, stir kale into soup and simmer, 5 minutes, until kale is tender and jade green. Stir in the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and serve at once.


Baked Kale Chips

Ingredients

* 1 bunch kale
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 teaspoon seasoned salt

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a non insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt.
3. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.


Don't forget that the Breezy Willow site has hundreds of recipe ideas using items from our shares, too. Check the BW link on the right hand side of this page.

corn chowder with roasted poblanos

Upon seeing that we had been granted the boon of fresh corn a few weeks back, my good friend Natalie suggested this recipe for corn chowder from the Mayo Clinic. I then made it with a few modifications, and it was good. Damn good.

• 2 poblano or Anaheim chilies, halved lengthwise and seeded (I picked up 2 poblanos for this)
• 2 or 3 Yukon gold or red-skinned potatoes, about 1 pound total weight, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks (I used 1 pound of mixed potatoes from my share)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup diced celery
• 1/2 red bell pepper (capsicum), seeded and diced (as Laura loathes bell peppers, I substituted a banana pepper instead)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (cut from about 4 ears corn) or frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 2 cups vegetable stock or broth
• 1 cup 1 percent low-fat milk
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (fresh coriander)
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Preheat a gas grill or broiler (grill). Position the cooking rack 4 to 6 inches from the heat source.

Arrange the chilies skin-side down on the grill rack, or skin-side up on a broiler pan lined with aluminum foil. Grill or broil until the skins begin to blacken, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let steam until the skins loosen, about 10 minutes. Peel the chilies, discarding the blackened skin, and chop coarsely. Set aside.

Put the potatoes in a saucepan, add water to cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, uncovered, until the potatoes are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and transfer to a small bowl. With a potato masher, partially mash the potatoes and set aside.

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and bell pepper and saute until the vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and cook for 3 to 4 minutes longer. Stir in the roasted chilies and the partially mashed potatoes. Add the corn, vegetable stock, milk, pepper and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Simmer uncovered until the soup thickens, 25 to 30 minutes.

Ladle into warmed bowls and sprinkle with the cilantro and oregano. Serve immediately.

This was simply spectacular - hearty and flavorful. The substitution of the banana pepper for the bell variety certainly amped up the spice level, but it wasn't overwhelming. I will definitely keep this in my rotation of dishes to do when corn is plentiful.

Vegetable Pot Pie

This recipe was adapted from a recipe we found on AllRecipes.com. The original recipe can be seen here. We simply changed it to fit our tastes and the veggies we had available at the time. We also used a frozen pie crust instead of making one from scratch.

Ingredients

* olive oil
* onion, chopped
* garlic, minced
* potatoes, peeled and diced
* green beans, trimmed and snapped into 1/2 inch pieces
* peas, shelled
* corn (frozen)
* 3 cups vegetable broth
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 2 tablespoons cornstarch
* 2 tablespoons soy sauce
* 2 frozen pie crusts (one for the top)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet or saucepan. Cook onions, garlic and potatoes in oil for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently until onions are soft and potatoes are golden brown. Add green beans, peas, corn and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to a simmer. Cook until vegetables are barely tender. Season with salt and pepper.
3. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch, soy sauce, and 1/4 cup water until cornstarch is completely dissolved. Stir into vegetables, and cook until sauce thickens, almost like a gravy.
4. Pour the filling into the pastry lined dish. Arrange second crust over the filling, and seal the edges.
5. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the crust is brown.


This actually made quite a bit of filling. We made one pot-pie for dinner and froze the rest to use later.