Category — Recipes

We had heard about the goodness of kale chips for at least a year or two, maybe longer, but for some reason, we hadn’t got around to making them at home. I had tasted them in a Preserving Traditions workshop on the wonders of kale, read Corinna Borden’s piece on Annarbor.com, heard friends exclaim over what they like to call Oven Fried Kale, and listened to a dietitian discuss their benefits in a talk on healthy eating. I’ve recently seen commercial bagged kale chips for sale at the Co-op and other stores. Finally, a couple weeks ago in the big push of getting things out of the garden and into the house, we gave home-made kale chips a try.

And we are so glad we did!

Kale chips aren’t really chips, if chips make you think of potato chips being super crunchy and kind of greasy. Kale chips are not a lot like kale either, however, if kale makes you think hardy and fibrous. Kale chips are light and delicious with a really satisfying crunchy-crisp noise when eaten. They are quick and easy to prepare. And finally, kale chips are good for you.

The embarrassingly simple recipe follows, which can be jazzed up with a tiny effort. Buy or harvest a bunch of kale and try them out. Dare people to try them and enjoy the pleasant look of unexpected delight on their faces. Don’t be surprised if you want to make and eat more as soon as you are done!

Kale Chips

Ingredients:

1 bunch of kale
2 teaspoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Tear kale leaves off of the tough stems, and then tear into bite-sized pieces.
3. Wash kale and dry well. A salad spinner works great for this. Blotting with paper towels or a clean tea towel will work in a pinch.
4. Spread kale in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Don’t over-crowd. If you have a lot of kale, use 2 trays.
5. Drizzle with olive oil. Then use your hands to toss the kale leaves to coat evenly.
6. Sprinkle on salt and Parmesan.
7. Bake for 10- 15 minutes until the edges are slightly brown, and the kale is crispy. Check often in the last 3 or 4 minutes so that you don’t scorch the kale chips.

My advice is to eat them as soon as they are ready. I haven’t found that storing them is satisfactory, although some kale-lovers place them in plastic bags for eating later. We like them just out of the oven. Kale chips are a great snack or a tasty appetizer for a cool fall day.

My mom’s side of the family comes from Michigan’s Thumb region which is known for its growth and manufacture of pickles and relish. Many of my cousins worked at “The Pickle Factory” for their summer jobs, and most of my aunts had a personal variation on a pickle recipe or two.

This recipe is one that Jan and I received on a 3 x 5 card when we were married coming up on 3 decades ago. It was hand-typed but unsigned so I can’t give proper credit. I’m also including the variation I tried this year that uses less sugar but a bit more spice for a hotter, more tart pickle.

Refrigerator Sweet Pickles

4 cups vinegar
1/2 cup kosher salt
4 cups sugar
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. mustard seed
1 tsp. celery seed
5 onions, sliced
Cucumbers –about 9 medium, sliced

Put all ingredients, except onions & cucumber in a pot and bring to a boil. Let cool. Put sliced onions & cucumbers in glass jars and pour cooled mixture over them. Store in refrigerator.

20 Minute Jim’s Hot and Sour Pickles

4 cups apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup Kosher salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 Tbl turmeric
1 Tbl. celery seed
1 Tbl. mustard seed
1 Tbl. hot pepper flakes
3 large white onions, quartered and sliced
10 cucumbers, seven inches long

Follow the same process as above. Makes three quarts. Store in the refrigerator.

Refrigerator pickles are great for beginners because they are fast and easy. We get the pleasure of a pickle without all the fuss and steam of canning– although we are also big fans of canning our bounty. What’s your favorite pickle– spicy, sweet or sour?

Are you itching to get out in the garden and grow something? Are you plotting and dreaming as you watch the snow and ice melt– and then magically re-appear? If you are an experienced gardener, you know in your heart of hearts that it’ll be weeks before the ground is warm and dry enough to do anything with. If you are a garden newbie, just trust me– your digging days are still in the future!

What’s a cooped-up gardener to do? Sprout something tasty! Sprouting seeds, in this case, mung beans is easy, fun, and nutritious as well as speedy. Sprouting seeds is also a simple and amazing activity to do with children– a science lesson that ends with a meal. Little ones might be more interested in trying or eating something that they helped grow. Start some sprouts today and you’ll be eating them in a week!

Here are some tips for getting started. Our very easy and flexible recipe for Egg Foo Young follows.

The equipment requirements are very simple. You’ll need a wide-mouth quart-size canning jar. Another clean jar with straight sides would work as well. You’ll need a ring that fits the top, which is why a canning jar and ring works nicely. You’ll also need a piece of cheese cloth or other thin woven cloth fits inside the ring. A couple of years ago, I bought a nifty little round piece of screen that works well in place of the cheese cloth at the People’s Food Co-op. Finally, you’ll need a tablespoon of mung beans, which I buy in bulk from the People’s Food Co-op again, but is probably available in grocery stores and bulk food stores.

To get started, put the mung beans in the jar, cover with the cheese cloth and twist on the ring. Rinse the seeds thoroughly with cool water. Drain them well. And set them aside for 8 to 12 hours. Repeat the rinsing and draining process. That’s pretty much all you need to do. The indirect light of a kitchen window provides enough sunshine for the soon-growing seeds. Avoid placing the jar in direct sunlight as that will dry out the sprouts too quickly. Small sprouts will emerge usually within 24 hours. We usually let ours grow for 6 to 8 days in order to fill the jar and generate enough sprouts for a delicious meal of Egg Foo Young.

Egg Foo Young

Ingredients:
1 large onion, sliced
2 cups of fresh mung bean sprouts
1 tsp salt
1 cups of egg whites and 3 whole eggs, well-beaten ( or 6 eggs, well-beaten)

Method:

1. Saute the onion until soft and golden.

2. Wash and chop your sprouts into 2 or 3 inch lengths.

3. In a bowl, combine 1 cup egg whites with 3 whole eggs.
Add the cooked onions and the chopped bean sprouts to the bowl and stir well to combine. Add in any other variations from below that you desire.

4. Once all your ingredients are combined, get your non-stick pan nice and hot over a medium-high heat. Use a little cooking spray and a touch of oil in the pan to achieve patties that are light and not greasy.

5. Stir egg mixture just before cooking and, using a ladle, scoop out 1/3 cup and add to your hot pan. I use a rubber heat-tolerant spatula to “tame” the egg and keep the structure patty-like as it cooks.

6. Watch for the egg to cook and, if using raw shrimp, for the shrimp to turn slightly pink. Then it’s time to flip, for which I use the other kind of spatula, AKA the pancake turner.

7. The patties cook just a couple minutes more, until the egg is set and, if applicable, the shrimp are cooked. The plate up and enjoy!

Variations:
• ½- 1 cup of vegetables like chopped or shredded carrots, peas, celery, spinach, peppers or other favorites, like water chestnuts or bamboo shoots
• ½ pound of raw peeled shrimp, which will cook in the same time it takes to make your patties
• 1/2 pound of left-over, pre-cooked ground beef, pork, chicken.
• small chunks of tofu

Sauce
We don’t care for the gravy sometimes served with Egg Foo Yung at many Chinese restaurants in the US. Instead we mix equal amounts of soy sauce, mirin, and rice wine vinegar to make a thin sauce that’s also good for dipping dumplings. Soy sauce alone also works for us.

We sometimes get out of the habit of sprouting seeds. Getting back on track with sprouting beans is very easy however, and I’m going to start some today! Sprouting seeds is an easy and fun way to eat something fresh and homegrown, even in winter.

We grew pie pumpkins this year. We started them from seeds indoors, with 3 seeds in each of the grow cubes that have been around for years. (Amazingly enough, 2010 will mark the year we used up all the stockpiled grow cubes!) The homegrown seedlings were a little behind the Farmers’ Market purchased ones, so when it came time for planting, they didn’t get the pick of the yard. We were running short on space at that point actually, so, at Jim’s suggestion, the pumpkins got the newly cleared spot over by the fence.

And by the fence turned out to be a great place to grow pumpkins. Our pumpkin vines got a lot of leaves, and the foliage liked to spread out… and then up.

Pumpkins Vines, June 30

I wasn’t completely positive that the pumpkin vines would love growing along the fence, but they did.

Pumpkin Vines, August 5

We were prepared to support the pumpkins themselves with slings if necessary, but the vines were mighty strong.

Pumpkins on the fence had two other positive points. One was that the pumpkins didn’t develop a flat spot like they sometimes do when sitting on the ground.

The other was that the squirrels didn’t seem to notice the pumpkins under the foliage on the fence and so were not tempted to nibble and sample them.

Other than pumpkin pies, which are coming soon, what does one do with pie pumpkins? Some years ago, we picked up a vintage recipe at Greenfield Village for Stuffed Pumpkin, which calls for hollowing out a pumpkin, filling it with meat and vegetables, and baking. Jim had also sent me this pumpkin oatmeal recipe to ponder. Jim is not really a “sweets” person, and he likes savory oatmeal made with broth. He wondered if a pumpkin filled with sausage and oatmeal would be good, so we decided to find out.

Note that, for this recipe, I used steel-cut oats, which are heartier and more grain-like than rolled oats. Steel-cut oats also take longer to cook. I would not recommend using rolled oats. If oats don’t appeal to you, substitute another grain such as rice or couscous that will add body to the stuffing and not get too mushy.

Stuffed Pumpkin with Sausage

Ingredients:
One medium sized pie pumpkin, about 3 lbs
1/2 pound bulk sausage, mild or spicy, your choice
1 medium onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/4 pine nuts
1/2 cup of steel-cut oats
1 cup of broth
Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Thoroughly wash the pumpkin and dry it off. Use a sharp knife to cut a circular “top”—cut on an angle so the top will not fall in. Scoop out all the seeds and pulp with a spoon. I like to use our stainless steel medium scoop or an ice cream scoop. Put the seeds and pulp in a bowl of water and set aside for making roasted pumpkin seeds. Aim for a smooth cavity without the stringy stuff inside the pumpkin.

2. With a fork, prick the inside of the pumpkin and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

3. Brown sausage and drain. Set aside.

4. Sauté onions and garlic in a little butter or olive oil until tender. Add mushrooms and cook about 5 minutes. Turn off heat. Add browned sausage, pine nuts, steel-cut oats, and broth. Stir to combine.

5. Stuff pumpkin with sausage mixture and replace the top.

6. Place in a baking dish with 1/2 inch of water in the bottom. Bake uncovered in a 350F degree oven for 30 minutes, then loosely cover with foil and bake 40 minutes or until tender.

7. Cut pumpkin into wedges to serve.

While you are at it, take the time to prepare roasted pumpkin seeds. A tip from my daughter-in-law to soak the seeds in salt water guarantees that they are salty enough.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Method:
1. Put the seeds and pulp from a pumpkin into a big bowl of water. Rub the seeds between your hands to clean them. Pick off the orange and stringy bits.

2. Add a teaspoon of salt to 2 cups of water. Soak your pumpkin seeds in water for at least 30 minutes.

3. Then put the seeds in a strainer to drain them. Blot them with paper towels.

4. Dump the seeds on a baking sheet lined with foil and add a little oil to the pile. Stir to coat them.

5. Add 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder, and 1/2 of salt, if desired. Mix with seeds and then spread out in a single layer on the sheet.

6. Roast the seeds in a 275F degree oven for 10 – 20 minutes. Check them every 3 or 4 minutes and stir them. Pay close attention because seeds can easily burn!

7. Cool completely and store in jars, if they don’t get eaten up immediately.

We haven’t even had a real pumpkin pie yet, but one will be on the menu very soon. Pumpkins will definitely be part of next year’s garden too. We’ll save the spot by the fence especially for them.

As many kitchen gardeners know, sage is an easily grown perennial herb. Even our Michigan climate, a sage plant will almost always survive the winter and thrive again in the spring. Sage plants can get quite large, growing 1-2 feet tall and 2-3 feet wide. In the mid-summer, the plant has lovely spikes of blooms ranging from pink to a deep purple-blue. Sage is happiest with adequate sun and warmth– and without over-watering. Frequent harvest and pruning are also good for sage plants. The plants produce many leaves, which are good for uses other than just flavoring the stuffing for the Thanksgiving turkey.

Recently, I came upon a recipe for Sage Pesto, and I was immediately intrigued. We make and eat a lot of basil pesto but a pesto made from sage was news to me.

I found this use for sage during our occasional vegetarian experimentation revival so the particular recipe from Skinny Bitch in the Kitch: Kick-Ass Recipes for Hungry Girls Who Want to Stop Cooking Crap (and Start Looking Hot!)“ by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin was actually vegan. (If a reader can get past their hard-sell veganism and their slangy prose, that reader might discover some fresh recipe ideas.) Their recipes called for soy cream cheese, which we don’t care for, and more olive oil than I thought was necessary. I made my own version, and I served it with frozen mini ravioli for a quick and easy supper. To me, sage pesto has a stronger taste than basil pesto, but it was altogether pleasing in small quantities. I served the sage pesto on the side so we could add as little or much as we desired to the ravioli.

Sage Pesto
(makes approx. 1 cup)

1/4 cup whole almonds
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for storing
1 cup fresh sage leaves
1/2 cups fresh Italian parsley leaves
4 ounces cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Pulse the ingredients in a food processor in the order given. Scrape down the sides as necessary and continue pulsing to achieve a uniform consistency.

Serve on hot pasta or use as a tasty spread.

If desired, place sage pesto in a container and top off with olive oil to store.

Now is the time to harvest sage, if you haven’t already done so. A few branches clipped, tied together, and hung in the kitchen dries easily in a week. The sage bough makes a suitable fall decoration and will be ready and waiting for Thanksgiving.