Mediterranean Kale

Serves 6
12 cups chopped kale
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil, or as needed
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon soy sauce
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste

Place a steamer insert into a saucepan, and fill with water to just below the bottom of the steamer. Cover, and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Add the kale, recover, and steam until just tender, 7 to 10 minutes depending on thickness.

Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, soy sauce, salt, and black pepper in a large bowl. Toss steamed kale into dressing until well coated.
Source: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/mediterranean-kale/detail.aspx

Nutritional Facts: Kale

Kale is a great source of Vitamin A, C, and K. Take a look at the exceptional nutritional richness in just one cup of Kale:

• 36 calories


• 5 grams of fiber


• 15% of the daily requirement of calcium and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)


• 40% of magnesium


• 180% of vitamin A


• 200% of vitamin C


• 1,020% of vitamin K.


• It's also a great source of minerals such as copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus

Eating a diet rich in the powerful antioxidant vitamin K can reduce the overall risk of developing or dying from cancer, according to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Vitamin K is necessary for a wide variety of bodily functions, including normal blood clotting, antioxidant activity, and bone health. But too much vitamin K can pose problems for some people. Anyone taking anticoagulants such as warfarin should avoid kale because the high level of vitamin K may interfere with the drugs. Consult your doctor before adding kale to your diet.
Sources: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/the-truth-about-kale

Chocolate Avocado Pudding

Ingredients:
1 avocado
1/4 cup carob powder (or cocoa or chocolate powder)
1/2 cup dates







Directions:

You will need a knife, high speed blender or hand blender
Simply blend all ingredients until the mixture is smooth and creamy and no lumps.
Taste test before using. Add more avocado if you’d like it richer and/or creamier; add more dates for extra sweetness or add more carob for a stronger chocolate flavor.
Serve on its own or with ice-cream for the ultimate treat.

Helpful Hints

1. You are going to need some water (or soy, almond or cow’s milk) to blend the ingredients. I tried to blend it without water and the pudding didn't get very far, and it just made my blender cranky. So when making this recipe just add a bit of water to get the blender working, and add more as needed.

2. The best part about this pudding? It's so quick that you could make it in the morning and take it with you to work or school!

3. Lasts in the fridge for a few days!

Curried Okra with Chickpeas and Tomatoes

1 1/4 lb small fresh okra, left untrimmed, or 2 (10-oz) packages frozen whole okra (not thawed)
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 teaspoons finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 (14- to 15-oz) can whole tomatoes in juice, tomatoes chopped, reserving juice
1 (19-oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (2 cups)
2/3 cup water
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

If using fresh okra, trim, leaving tops intact, being careful not to cut into pods. Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté onion and garlic with ginger and curry powder, stirring, 2 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juice, chickpeas, and water and boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes. Stir in okra, salt, and pepper and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until okra is tender, about 10 minutes.

Eggplant, Red Pepper, and Fontina Panini with Spanish Salad

Olive oil (for brushing)
1 14- to 16-ounce eggplant, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
2 large red bell peppers, cut lengthwise into 1 1/2- to 2-inch-wide strips
8 1/2-inch-thick slices olive bread or country white bread
8 ounces Fontina cheese, thinly sliced
8 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
4 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 5-ounce package baby spinach

Brush panini press, panini pan, or grill rack with oil; heat press, pan, or barbecue (medium-high heat). Brush eggplant rounds and pepper strips with oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Working in batches, grill eggplant until tender, turning occasionally, about 6 minutes. Working in batches, grill bell peppers until tender, turning occasionally and flattening with back of spatula for even cooking, about 6 minutes. Place 8 eggplant rounds and 8 bell pepper strips on rimmed baking sheet. Place remaining eggplant and peppers on work surface and slice thinly; reserve for salad.

Place 4 bread slices on work surface. Divide half of Fontina cheese among bread slices; top each with 2 eggplant rounds, 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, 1 tablespoon basil, and 1 teaspoon oregano. Top each with 2 bell pepper strips. Arrange remaining Fontina cheese atop peppers, then top with remaining bread slices, pressing to compact. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover with plastic and let stand at room temperature.

Heat panini press, panini pan, or barbecue (medium-high heat). Brush press or pan with oil (if using barbecue, lightly brush bread slices with oil). Place sandwiches in press or pan or on grill; cover and cook until bread is golden and cheese is melted, about 5 minutes per side.

Meanwhile, whisk 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil and vinegar in large bowl; season to taste with salt and pepper. Add spinach, thinly sliced eggplant, and thinly sliced peppers; toss to coat. Season salad to taste with salt and pepper.
Cut sandwiches in half. Serve with spinach salad.

Fruit Cobbler Easy Batter

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 cups of sliced fresh peaches or nectarines, or whole blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries or a combination of fruits (or a 12-ounce package of frozen berries)
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Directions:

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position, and heat oven to 350 degrees. Put butter in an 8-inch square or 9-inch round pan; set in oven to melt. When butter has melted, remove pan from oven. Whisk flour, 3/4 cup of sugar, baking powder and salt in small bowl. Add milk; whisk to form a smooth batter. Pour batter into pan, then scatter fruit over batter. Sprinkle with remaining 1 Tb. of sugar. Bake until batter browns and fruit bubbles, 50 to 60 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with a dollop of whipped cream or a small scoop of vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Fennel, Beet, and Orange Salad with Olives

3 medium beets, trimmed
1 tsp grated orange peel
1/4 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
1/9 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 fennel bulb, trimmed (fronds reserved), halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise
3 large navel oranges
1/3 cups halved pitted Kalamata olives


Preheat oven to 400°F. Wrap beets in foil. Place on baking sheet. Roast beets until tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Cool. Peel beets; cut into rounds. Mix orange peel, mustard and fennel seeds in bowl. Whisk in vinegar. Gradually whisk in oil. Season with salt and pepper. (Beets and dressing can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately; chill. Bring dressing to room temperature before using.) Place fennel slices in bowl. Toss with enough dressing to coat. Cut peel and white pith from oranges. Cut oranges into rounds. Alternate beets and oranges along edge of platters, overlapping. Spoon fennel slices into center; sprinkle with olives. Drizzle remaining dressing over beets and oranges. Chop fronds; sprinkle over salad.

Fingerling Potato Salad With Sherry Mustard Vinaigrette

Vinaigrette
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Sherry wine vinegar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Potatoes
2 cups coarse sea salt
2 pounds fingerling potatoes (such as Ruby Crescent or Russian Banana)
2 1/4-inch-thick slices smoked bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick strips
2 small shallots, thinly sliced
2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled, chopped
2 green onions, thinly sliced

For vinaigrette:
Combine mustard and vinegar in small bowl. Whisk in oil, then herbs. Season with sea salt and pepper.

For potatoes:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Spread sea salt in even layer on rimmed baking sheet; arrange potatoes over salt, spacing slightly apart. Cover sheet with foil and bake until potatoes are tender, about 1 hour. Remove from oven, uncover, and cool to lukewarm. Meanwhile, cook bacon in medium skillet over medium heat until brown and crisp. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Peel potatoes; cut in half lengthwise. Place warm potatoes in medium bowl. Add bacon, shallots, eggs, onions, and vinaigrette. Toss well and serve.

Grilled Eggplant Parmesan

1 1/3 cups shredded four-cheese mix or pizza cheese
2 tablespoons Italian-style dry breadcrumbs
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil
1 medium eggplant (about 1 pound), cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
8 ounces plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/4 cup garlic-flavored olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Stir cheese mix, breadcrumbs, and 1/3 cup basil in medium bowl to blend.
Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Sprinkle eggplant and tomatoes with salt and pepper. Brush 1 side of eggplant slices with some oil. Grill, oiled side down, until bottom side is tender and grill marks appear, about 3 minutes. Brush second side of eggplant slices with more oil; turn over and top grilled side with tomatoes, then cheese mixture. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Drizzle with remaining oil. Cover and grill until tomatoes are tender and cheese melts, about 7 minutes. Transfer eggplant slices to plates. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons basil and serve.

Leek Soup

1 leek
1 sweet apple
2-3 potatoes
3 celery stalk
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
cooking oil
pepper
salted crackers (optional)
cilantro (optional)

Part 1 (15 min)
Chop the top of the leek off . Slice the leek and celery. Peel and slice the potatoes and apple. Measure out the milk and the chicken broth and make sure you have all the ingredients.

Part 2 (45 min)
Add about 2 teaspoons of oil in a pot. Turn the stove to high heat. Add the sliced leek and cook for about 3 min. Add the chicken broth and the rest of the vegetables. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and mix. Cover and let it simmer on low to medium heat for 20 min until the potatoes are soft. Turn off the heat, open the cover, and let the soup cool down to room temperature (takes about 15 min).

Part 3 (15 min)
With a soup ladle, transfer the contents of the soup into a blender. Cover and blend for 20 seconds. You may have to do this multiple times depending on the size of your blender. If that's the case, just transfer the blended mix into a different bowl and keep adding the soup content to blend. Add the blended soup back into the pot. Add the milk. Warm up the soup by turning the stove on medium heat and stir the soup for about 5 min.

Serve with pepper, salted crackers, and diced up cilantro (optional).

Moroccan, Tangerine and Olive Salad

Serves 4
4 large tangerines
1/2 cup halved pitted Kalamata olives or other brine-cured black olives
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 head of butter lettuce, torn into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley

Using small sharp knife, cut peel and white pith from tangerines. Working over medium bowl, cut between membranes to release segments. Add olives to bowl. Whisk oil and next 4 ingredients in another medium bowl to blend. Add to tangerine mixture; toss to coat. Season tangerine mixture with salt and pepper. Divide lettuce among 4 plates. Top lettuce with tangerine mixture. Sprinkle salads with parsley.

Mushroom and Sunchoke Saute

Makes 10-12 servings
2 pounds assorted mushrooms
1/2 pound sunchokes
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 cup thinly sliced shallots
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano leaves or 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 cup dry sherry
Salt and pepper

Trim off any soil caked onto mushrooms. Trim and discard discolored stem ends and tough stems of shiitakes. Quickly immerse the mushrooms in water, swishing them around to release soil and insects, then lift from water and drain. Cut large mushrooms into about 1-inch pieces; leave the small mushrooms whole. Peel and coarsely chop sunchokes. In a 5- to 6-quart pan over high heat, combine oil, butter, mushrooms, sunchokes, shallots, and garlic. Stir often until mushroom juices evaporate and the vegetables are browned, about 15 minutes. Add rosemary, oregano, and sherry; stir until sherry evaporates, about 2 minutes. Spoon vegetables into a serving dish. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Peach, Banana, and Blueberry Smoothie

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe peaches or nectarines, pitted and chopped
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 banana, preferably frozen
• 1 cup low fat or non-fat vanilla yogurt

Directions:

Place ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Thin with some calcium-fortified orange juice if desired

Poblano Pepper Chilequiles

Makes 4 Servings
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 slices bacon, chopped
6 corn tortillas, cut into triangles
1 small yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1 poblano pepper, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 (12-ounce) can stewed tomatoes, drained and cut up; or 2 very ripe fresh tomatoes, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 cup grated Monterey jack or mild longhorn cheese
sour cream, for garnis

Preheat a heavy skillet, preferably cast-iron, on medium-high for 1 minute. Add the olive oil and bacon. Cook just until the bacon is limp. Remove it from the oil with a slotted spoon. Add the tortilla triangles and cook for 1 to 2 minutes per side. Remove the tortillas and drain all but 1 tablespoon of the grease from the pan. Add the onion and poblano pepper to the pan and cook for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more. Over the vegetables in the pan, layer the corn tortillas, then the bacon bits, the tomatoes, then the 4 eggs broken individually, like fried eggs. Season with the salt. Reduce heat and cook, covered, for 2 to 3 more minutes. Cover with the cheese and let stand until the cheese has melted. Serve with a dollop of sour cream, taking care to give each person an egg.
All the Trimmings

Arrange the avocado, grapefruit, and pomegranate seeds on a platter in a
pinwheel design. This not only looks good, but it allows people to take what they want. We love the drama of bringing the chilequiles to the table in the black skillet. Serve the refried beans in a nice bowl. We usually open a can of refried beans and microwave them in the serving bowl. To spruce them up, add 1/4 cup of salsa. We love Pace mild Pan dulce, or Mexican bread pastries, which are usually beautifully colored, unworldly pinks, blues, and yellows, can be
purchased at any Mexican grocery store. Warm and serve them on a big platter. We like to cut them in half so that people can taste the pink ones and the blue ones!