Kale

We have a library patron who is a phenomenal gardener. During the growing season he brings bags of produce to the library staff two or three times a week. We’ve been getting lots of different kinds of lettuce from him. Yesterday he brought kale as well as lettuce. Kale is usually a fall vegetable, but if you get it in the ground early enough in the spring you can have two crops a year. I’m sorry to say that I was the only staff member who took any kale. No one else knew what to do with it. Here’s a great soup that I make for my vegetarian self and another version that I make for my carnivore husband.

Here’s one reason you should eat kale. One cup of kale offers these nutrients:
Vitamin A 5, 963 IU
Vitamin C 80 mg.
Calcium 90 mg.
Iron 1.1 mg.
Cholesterol 0%
Fiber 7 grams
Calories 33

Here’s the recipe. It’s Portuguese. The Portuguese seem to like kale a lot. Smart people.

Portuguese Kale and Potato Soup Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients:
1 lb dried cannellini beans or red kidney beans, washed and sorted
12 cups water
Tsp. Plantaforce or vegetable bouillon cube
2 cups torn kale or collard greens leaves, tightly packed
4 large boiling potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
Salt, about a teaspoon, but adjust to taste
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or more to taste

Soak beans in 12 cups water in large pot or Dutch oven overnight. Bring beans and water to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until beans are barely tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent beans from sticking to bottom of pot.With slotted spoon, remove half the beans, mash them well with back of fork and put them back into the pot. Sauté garlic in olive oil. Add garlic, kale, potatoes, Plantaforce, salt to taste and red pepper flakes. Return to simmer and cook until potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes. Soup is best when allowed to stand several hours. Reheat before serving.

That’s my version. If my husband wants meat in the soup here's what I do. After I’ve added all the ingredients, I divide the soup into two pots. In one of the pots I add 1 pound chorizo or kielbasa sausages cut into ½ inch thick slices. Continue cooking until the potatoes are done. The meat version can be garnished with quartered hard cooked eggs.

Either version can be garnished with grated cheese. I once saw Sarah Moulton on the Food Network make a layered casserole of kale, potatoes, kielbasa and Munster cheese. I’ll hunt for that recipe.

The Squash Have Blossomed!

My summer squash plants are blooming. These are the seeds I planted back in late March in my big Earth Boxes on the deck. I used big glass jars to keep them covered during all of our cold spells. The plants look happy and have lots of blossoms. I can hardly wait for that good summer squash to start coming in. I went a bit crazy with squash this year after reading Amy Goldman's beautiful book The Compleat Squash. I shared my seeds with my son-in-law. When we divided up the seeds I found I had bought 25 varieties of summer and winter squash.

Here's some squash recipes:

Zucchini Tomato Casserole

Ingredients:
3 medium zucchini, unpeeled, sliced in 1/4-inch slices
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
2 tomatoes, sliced
salt and pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
basil and oregano, about 1/4 teaspoon each
6 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a 2-quart casserole. Arrange zucchini slices in casserole. Top with onion slices, green and red pepper slices, tomato slices, then sprinkle with herbs. Top with cheese. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes. Serves 6.

Yellow Squash Patties
This is sort of like squash hush puppies. What could be better?

Ingredients:

2 cups grated yellow squash (it would also work with pattypans or zucchini)
1/4 cup self - rising flour
1/3 cup self - rising cornmeal
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 egg, beaten
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Dash Tabasco

PREPARATION:

Mix all ingredients together. Spoon out into hot greased frying pan (I use olive oil). Brown both sides. Drain on paper towel.


The Vidalia onions are making their annual appearance in our stores. I no longer grow onions in my garden. They take up a lot of space, and there are so many good onions in the market that it isn't worth the work. Any sweet onion would work in this recipe. If you can get either White Lily or Martha White self-rising flour do so. There are no better flours for biscuits and muffins. How can you not love a recipe that has Vidalia onions, pecans and Cheddar cheese? It's making me hungry just to type out the recipe.

Vidalia Onion Muffins

INGREDIENTS:

1 large egg, slightly beaten
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup milk
1 cup self-rising flour (Use White Lily or Martha White if you can get it)
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped Vidalia onion
3/4 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped pecans


In a large mixing bowl whisk together the egg, oil and milk; add self-rising flour, rolled oats, and the sugar. Stir batter just until mixture is blended. Gently old in the onion, shredded cheese, and pecans; spoon the mixture into 36 small buttered and floured 1/8-cup muffin cups (gem, or miniature muffin tins). Bake the muffins in the middle of a preheated 400° oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Turn the muffins out onto racks and serve them warm or at room temperature.
Makes 36 miniature muffins.

Peanuts, Peanuts

I love peanut noodles. Here's a pretty easy recipe.
Spicy Peanut Noodles with Cabbage
1/2 small cabbage, shredded
8 oz whole wheat spaghetti or linguini (or rice noodles or soba)
1/3 C. peanut butter
1/4 C. rice vinegar
2 T. soy sauce
1/2 t. cayenne1 clove garlic, minced
5 shakes (or more) of hot pepper sauce
1/2 C. scallions, finely chopped

Cut the spines from the cabbage. Roll the leaves together and cut into fine ribbons.Add the cabbage to a pot of boiling water. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water until completely cooled. Lightly salt and pepper.Make the noodles.In a bowl, stir together the peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, hot sauce and cayenne. Adjust to taste and preferred thickness. Stir in the scallions.Drain the noodles and move to a serving bowl. Stir in the sauce. Add the vegetables and mix in. Alternatively, serve the vegetables separately and stir together on the plate.

My first introduction to peanut sauce was the recipe for Gado-Gado in the original Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen. It's a bit more complicated than the above recipe, but it's a spectacular dish. The old cookbook is out of print, but take a look at The New Moosewood Cookbook. Some new recipes have been added, and some of the old Moosewood classics have been slimmed down a bit.

Beans and Rice, Rice and Beans. Yum!

I love beans and rice. There are about a million different ways of combining rice and beans. This one is easy because you stick it in the oven. You could change this recipe for different kinds of rice. Brown rice is healthy and tasty but takes a long time to cook. Corn has never been one of my favorite vegetables, but in the past few years I've learned to love it when it's added to other vegetables. I especially like corn that's roasted on the grill, then added to a recipe.

Bean and Rice Casserole
Ingredients:
2 cup uncooked brown rice (rinsed well)
1 med. onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 can (15 1/4 - 19 oz) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed or equivalent dried, cooked
1 can (15-16 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed or equivalent dried, cooked
1 can (15-19 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed or equivalent dried, cooked
1 can (14 1/2 - 16 oz) canned, stewed tomatoes, drained or 2 cups chopped fresh ones when available.
1 cup chopped mild chilies
10 oz. frozen green peas, thawed by placing under running water
1 cup frozen corn, thawed by placing under running water or fresh off the cob. Good fresh corn is beginning to appear in our markets.
Dash of Tabasco ( "If you don't add Tabasco how will they know it's not dessert?" is my motto)
Salt and pepper to taste ( you won't need much if you're using canned vegetables. )

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. In a 5-quart Dutch oven over medium high heat, sauteé onion in olive oil until tender, stirring occasionally. Add rice, cook while stirring until parched and opaque. Add beans, tomatoes, chilies and 3 1/2 cups of water to rice and onion in Dutch oven and bring mixture to boil. Cover tightly place in oven, baking until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed (around 1 hour for brown rice) Add peas and corn, adjust seasonings, and return to oven about 15 more minutes.


366 Delicious Ways to Cook Rice, Beans, and Grains by Andrea Chesman is an excellent collection of reciprs that combine beans and grains.