If this salad doesnt make you love or at least learn to tolerate kale there is no hope for you.

Kale and I arent best friends but we visit on special occasions. Those special occasions being thick filling soups in the middle of winter. We get along pretty well as long as kale doesnt draw too much attention to itself which unfortunately it usually does. I totally understand why most people never invite it to their parties, kale is a bitter creature on a good day and an evening killer on bad ones.

This salad changed all that. The only reason I made it was kale came in the latest CSA box and there was steak in it so even if the kale was a failure there was still the yummy steak for dinner. I figured it was a win win type situation. But even as I wilted the big juicy organic kale leaves I was still hesitant about how much I was going to like this dinner. I was rushing to make it and take it in tupperware to my second job of the day, if I didnt like it I would be stuck at a coffee ship with nothing but scones to munch on.

Fortunately all the worry was for naught. Steak, vinegar, and salty olives turned the kale into a very delicious unassuming salad green. I wouldnt have even known it was a bitter green if I hadnt of chopped it up myself. This salad might not look like much but its great and filling and not at all like any other kale dish Ive ever dutifully forced myself to work my way through. The only way it would have been better is if I had decent sherry vinegar. Time to visit my friend at the fancy vinegar store on my next day off.

Steak, Kale and Olive Salad

1 pound steak, whatever cut floats your boat
1 bunch kale, thinly chopped
1 handful black olives, the saltier the better

equal portions olive oil and sherry vinegar


Season steak with salt and pepper then sear in in a nice sized pan to the level of doneness you prefer. Remove from pan to let cool a bit before slicing into bite sized pieces.

Put kale in pan with steak drippings and cook just until wilted. Remove pan from heat and toss in olives and sliced steak.

Whisk together oil and vinegar then pour over salad and toss.

Recipe from Mark Bittman in the New York Times.

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 Even with the appearance of warmer weather there is just something about a big pot of well seasoned root vegetables and beans that is still really satisfying.  Then again Im the type of person that has been known to suffer over a boiling pot of soup and cook a loaf of bread when its 100 degrees so I might be biased.  I think we can all agree that a tasty one pot meal is pretty amazing regardless of the weather.

The fella and I have been making this all winter and had it again yesterday and it still retains its yumminess no matter how many times we cook it.  The only problem has been trying to find gluten free chicken sausages here in town.  Amys Organic are the only ones Ive been able to find and sadly they are precooked without a casing which results in a slightly less appealing texture since the sausage refused to crumble into the beans nicely.  But if you can handle any ole chicken sausage you are in luck because raw crumbly sausage ups the delicious scale of this meal.

Ive also found that I prefer giant white lima beans in this recipe instead of the cannellini beans from the orginal recipe.  The lima beans hold their texture much better during the baking process.  This was another one of those surprising discoveries, finding out that lima beans done right are out of this world.  More proof that just because you hated it when you were a kid doesnt mean youll hate it later in life now that you know how to cook.

First beets, then kale, now lima beans.  Soon Ill find a way to make kohlrabi edible.  Now that will be the day.

Cannellini and Chickpea Pottage

1 tablespoon oil

4 chicken sausage links, casings removed (the only gluten free variety Ive found in town is Amys brand)

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 cup chicken stock

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon agave nectar

4 cups giant lima beans

2 cups chickpeas

3 tablespoons fresh thyme, divided use (or 1 1/ 2 tablespoons dried thyme)

salt and pepper, to taste

1 bay leaf

1/ 4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Heat a  Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add about a table of oil and the sausage, breaking it up with a spoon as it browns. Once meat is browned, add the onion and carrots and sauté for 5 minutes or until both the carrots and onions look like they are beginning to soften. Add the garlic, and sauté for 2 minutes.

Stir in chicken broth, scraping the pan to loosen browned bits stuck to pot.  Add the tomato paste, agave nectar, lima beans, chickpeas, one tablespoon of thyme, a pinch of salt and pepper, bay leaf and crushed red pepper. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Sprinkle shredded Parmesan cheese evenly over the pottage and transfer dish to oven (uncovered) for 20 minutes or until the top becomes brown and bubbly.

Remove from oven, sprinkling any remaining thyme and Parmesan cheese over the top.

Original recipe from Food52 Blog.

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Being a non traditionalist instead of planning a romantic Valentines Day dinner the fella and I had six of our favorite people over for dinner this past weekend.  And to trick us all into forgetting it is still the deepest darkest days of winter I cooked all Moroccan dishes.  The colorful highly spiced dishes and all the amazing wine made it feel like summer for a few wonderful hours around my table. 

And if youve been following my posts at Forkful of News you will already know that my obsession with Moroccan cooking has been going on for a little while.  If nothing else go read my post about argan oil which besides being an amazingly cool oil also plays a huge role in the recipe for the starter course of my meal.  Plus there are hilarious pictures of tree climbing goats so it is just about a requirement that you go find out about argan oil.  Its worth a few minutes of your time I promise, the goats will make your day.

I decided to start dinner out with this simple orange and olive salad.  The thing I love most about Moroccan dishes is so often all it requires is gathering, measuring, cutting the ingredients, adding heat, waiting for amazing food to happen.  It requires very little maintenance.  This salad doesnt even need heat, it just needs tossing and then you instantly have awesome.

The citrus was made somehow more amazing with the hint of cumin and paprika and the nutty argan oil made it even better.  You could just use a high quality olive oil if youre not in the mood to track down and invest in yet another oil with pretty much the same result.  And a crisp not too grassy Bogle Sauvignon Blanc courtesy of my foodie friends Tim and Jess was an excellent compliment to the salad. 

I was super decadent and served this beautiful salad alone in tiny plates so that there was no other food on the table to steal its glory.  It was that pretty that I was willing to do extra dishes for it.  Also I felt fancy serving dinner in semi-proper courses.  And of course I got to stun all my friends by serving them something with such an exotic ingredient and tell them the story of it.  A very excellent start to a successful dinner.

Also included in this meal:

Sundried Tomato Tapenade

Salty Roasted Tomatoes

Crockpot Beef Tagine

Red Quinoa with Roasted Vegetables

Rice Crepes and Amlou

 

Orange, Olive and Argan Oil Salad

4 oranges, peeled and cut in into bite sized pieces
16 black or kalamata olives
1/ 2 red onion, finely chopped

1 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons argan oil
1 tablespoon olive oil (you can do all olive oil if investing in argan oil is not in your budget)
salt, to taste
1/ 2 teaspoon cumin
1/ teaspoon paprika
pinch chili powder

2 tablespoons parsley

Put chopped oranges in a serving bowl along with the olives and chopped onion.  Toss well.

Make the dressing by whisking together all the remaining ingredients except for the parsley. 

If making ahead of time store the dressing separately and pour over salad at the very last minute.  If serving right away pour dressing over salad and toss well then sprinkle with the parsley and serve.

Makes enough to serve a party of 8 a starter size portion.

From Claudia Rodens Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey, and Lebanon.

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Today Dan and I are celebrating one of the greatest blessings that has ever entered into our lives. You probably wont have too much trouble guessing what that is... of course... our sweet as sugar Remi Bear! Oh how I love love love that doodle!

Celebrating Remingtons 6th Birthday is very special, but also a little shocking. I have found myself spending moments recently just soaking in what an incredible dog he has become and how blessed Dan and myself are to call him our own. But also this birthday with him makes me realize that half of his life is gone and at best we probably only have six more years left to enjoy him. That is a hard pill to swallow and honestly hurts my heart... but lets not think about that.

Instead, lets celebrate what a wonderful life Remington has lived so far and also the wonderful life he has left to live. He has not only changed Dan and I lives and given us so much joy, but every week during his therapy dog visits he brings joy to those who meet him. He has being a big brother to look forward to, as well as teaching this new baby what dogs are all about. I just cant wait to see what legacy he leaves because he is just that special :)

I wish more than anything that Remington could understand how proud we are of him and the amount of love we hold in our hearts for him. And even though things may change a little along the way as the years go by, what will never change is how much he means to us.

Happy Birthday Big Boy! 

We love you to the moon and back a million times over!

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The fella and I were both extremely wary of this meal as we were cooking it.  Fish plus pasta seemed curious and had a likelihood to not be as tasty together as the two delicious bits are separate.  In this case the genius of the recipe won out over our doubts.  Not only is it a very yummy recipe it is also very easy.  The meaty texture of the broiled fish contrasted nicely with the pasta which then covered with the salty bits of caper and olive made a nicely balanced meal.  This recipe is going into our rotation of quick filling things to make when I dont feel like cooking.

Swordfish and Olive Pasta

6 ounces of swordfish
2/3 cup black olives, finely chopped
salt and pepper
6 ounces curly pasta (gluten free rice rice pasta works well)
2 large shallots, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon herbs de Provence
4 tablespoons capers
1/ 2 starchy water reserved from boiling pasta
fresh parsley

Line broiler rack with aluminum wrap, rub on a little oil, set fish on top and broil 4 minutes on one side.  Turn the fish, top with olives and broil 2 or 3 minutes longer.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and drop in the pasta.  While it cooked, saute shallot and garlic in the olive oil over low heat until they are soft, dont let them brown.  Add the herb de Provence and capers.  Slice the swordfish in thin strips and spoon the olives into the shallot mixture.

When the pasta is al dente, drain it, reserving 1/ 2 cup of the cooking water and mix the pasta in with the swordfish,adding pasta water a little bit at a time as needed to moisten the pasta in order to make a few tablespoons of sauce to cover the pasta.

Salt and pepper the dish.  Toss one last time and top with parsley to serve.

From Judith Jones The Tenth Muse.

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