Sweet Sassy Molassy

Greens, glorious greens!

Beet Greens

Greens are amazing, arent they? They are beautiful, flavorful and so versatile! We've had a pretty damp and chilly spring and summer here in Seattle, so we have had the opportunity to experiment with an abundance of various types of greens in our cooking. Beet greens are especially nice, because they become tender and almost buttery in texture when you cook them. Whenever we buy beets with their greens still attached, I usually trim the greens right away (leaving about an inch on the beets), cut off off the tough stalks (and save them for making veggie stock), then wash and dry them and store them in a large ziploc in the fridge. They last for upwards of a week that way and you can use them the same way you'd use kale or chard.

Kale chips

We eat a lot of kale. Lacinato, aka "Dinosaur Kale" is our favorite for cooking, but lately we have been getting bunches of mixed kale at the farmer's market that includes several varieties that have curly leaves. These are perfect for kale chips, which are extremely easy to make and end up with a crispy, crunchy texture like potato chips!

To make kale chips: Tear off the leaves from the tough stalks and make them into whatever size pieces you like. Toss with just a little olive oil (1 tablespoon is plenty) and some salt, lay flat in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes (or until crispy) at 300 F. I used some parchment paper for ease of cleanup and got four large baking sheets-worth of kale chips from a single large bunch of about 10 stalks.

Chicken soup with greens

You can easily add many kinds of greens to soups or stews. This chicken soup was very simple, with just potatoes, carrots and onions, but the addition of some chopped beet greens at the end added some great color and flavor. You could also use swiss chard, kale, napa cabbage, bok choy, spinach or some "braising mix", which usually consists of a mix of greens that are slightly tough when raw but become tender when cooked in some liquid for a bit.

Lime and cilantro chickpea salad with spinach

I'm always on the lookout for interesting recipes that use beans or legumes, because we're tring to eat healthier, which includes less pasta/rice/bread and more beans and legumes. We always have cans of chickpeas in the pantry for adding to dishes or making some quick hummus, so I was happy when I ran across this recipe for a tangy chickpea salad with lime, cilantro and spinach. We've made it twice so far, once with mixed baby greens and once with spinach. Both times it was amazing and the leftovers were extra tasty as well.  I suggest serving it over some fresh spinach to catch some of the dressing!

Orange and beet salad

When summer gives you bolted greens, you can always make salads! It's been pretty cold here, so most of our mixed salad greens, bok choys and arugula bolted pretty early and we were left to compete with the slugs for baby greens. We got a few heads of flashy trout's back lettuce to mature, and I picked a mixture of baby greens and some tart sorrel leaves to mix in with the larger lettuce in a salad. We also had some beets from the farmer's market, an orange and some feta cheese, so into the salad they went as well! I made a light vinagrette with the orange juice after cutting the orange into supremes. I wasn't entirely sure if it would be too weird of a combination of ingredients, but the slight saltiness of the feta really complimented the sweetness of the beets and orange, so I consider it a success!

Sauteed cabbage with red onions

Last, but certainly not least, comes our old friend the cabbage. There are many ways to use cabbage (I personally love a good tangy slaw), but sometimes simple is best. I was home alone, tired from work, hadn't gone shopping and didn't feel like going to the store. I opened the fridge and found a couple of chicken breasts, half a head of napa cabbage and 2 small salad-sized red onions. Napa cabbage is already sweet and tender when raw, so a quick braise would just enhance it a bit. So, I seasoned and browned the chicken breasts, thinly sliced the cabbage and onions, did a quick sautee on those with some garlic, salt and pepper and then added 1/4 cup of veggie stock and braised everything together for about 15 minutes. The cabbage and onions become meltingly soft and sweet together and the meal seemed hearty and satisfying, with the added bonus that I had enough to take to work for lunch the next day.

If you have any great recipes or ideas for incorporating greens into your diet, I'd love to hear them! We stock up every week at the farmer's market and we're always trying to come up with creative ways to use them up!

 

Preserved lemons

A few months ago, I saw an article about how to preserve lemons and was instantly intrigued. It looked so easy! There are only 2 ingredients (salt and lemons), a simple process and some patience required.  Well, a few weeks later, there was a sale on lemons at the grocery store, so I got 8 extra to try preserving. The initial process is easy and takes about 15-20 minutes to cut and salt and stuff the lemons into a jar. The hard part is the waiting! It takes about 30 days for the lemons to become fully preserved.

So, I had this jar of lemons sitting on the counter for about a month, and I would turn it and give it a shake every couple of days or so and think "I can't wait til these are ready." But then I lost track of time and forgot how long it had been! Last week I checked my Flickr for the date I took the picture of the lemons just after putting them into the jar and it had been about 5 weeks already! So, we decided it was the perfect time to try making some Moroccan-inspired chicken with olives and preserved lemons.

Chicken breast, sliced onions, diced tomatoes, potato wedges, kalamata olives and preserved lemons.

I didn't really follow any recipe for this dish. Instead,  I cobbled together a meal with things that I felt would compliment each other nicely from what I had read about cooking with preserved lemons and the sort of  ingredients that are traditional in a chicken tagine.

I seasoned two boneless,  skinless chicken breasts and let them marinate for about 30 minutes.  In the meantime, I sliced an onion, cut 2 yukon gold potatoes into wedges and prepared the lemon. I used the rind of 1 whole preserved lemon, which I  rinsed under cold running water (to remove some of the salt) and sliced into strips.

I seared the chicken breasts on each side in a heavy skillet, then removed them before adding the onions so they could caramelize a bit. I added a can of diced tomatoes, then placed the chicken back into the middle of the pan and nestled the potato wedges around the chicken. I spooned a bit of the onions and tomatoes over the chicken and potatoes before throwing in a handful of kalamata olives and placing the slices of preserved lemon all over the top. Then I coverd the skillet and baked it at 400F for about 30 minutes, until the potato wedges were cooked through.

After removing the skillet from the oven, I first picked out all the pieces of preserved lemon. They had done their job of infusing the dish with a salty, citrusy essence, but they were still way too salty to eat. I also removed the chicken and potatoes and returned the skillet to the stovetop, where I reduced the sauce until it was thick. The onions had almost mleted into the sauce at this point and provided a sweetness to balance the salty bite of the lemons, while the olives absorbed some of the liquid from the sauce, which added an extra burst of flavor.

One pot wonder: sausage, beans, tomatoes and greens

Sausage links, great northern beans, cherry tomatoes and kale

It's hard to believe that only 5 ingredients can be turned into an amzing meal in only 20 minutes. We make a version of this dish at least once a week, because it's tasty, fast and healthy. Each serving has only about 300 calories and 6 g of fat. We have used both link sausages and bulk sausage, canned tomatoes and fresh tomatoes, cannellini beans, great northern beans and garbanzo beans, and a variety of greens: kale, swiss chard, napa cabbage and mustard greens.  You can pretty much mix and match what you have in your fridge and pantry. You can use any kind of greens, or you could use pasta instead of beans. Whatever you choose, you can be sure that even though the ingredients are simple, the flavors are complex.

This recipe makes 4 servings and has 270 calories per serving (23% fat, 34% protein, 43% carbs). You'll need a large skillet with a lid so you can braise the greens.

Ingredients

• 12 oz. or 4 links hot italian chicken sausage (I use Isernio's brand)
• 14.5 oz can of cannellini beans (aka white beans or white kidney beans), rinsed and drained (or 1.5-2 cups of cooked beans)
• 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes (or 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved or 2-3 medium tomatoes, diced)
• 4 cups chopped or shredded greens like kale, swiss chard, cabbage or mustard greens (make sure to remove any tough stems)
• 2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil (if you are not using a non-stick pan)

Instructions

1. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Chicken sausage has very little fat, so this just helps it to not stick to the pan. Feel free to leave out the oil if you use a nonstick pan.
2. Brown the sausage on all sides and remove from the pan.
3. Add the tomatoes, beans, and garlic and sautee for a few minutes.
4. Add the chopped greens and stir together with the tomatoes and beans. The greens will be super fluffy at this point, but they will wilt down and reduce in size quickly.
5. Add the sausage back to the pan, add salt and pepper to taste, and stir. If you used fresh tomatoes, you may need to add 1/4 cup of stock or water for braising. .
6. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 15 minutes or until the greens are tender.

  Sausage, cannellini beans, canned San Marzano tomatoes and napa cabbage

 

Couscous, three ways

I love tiny pasta. Orzo and couscous are my favorites; they are easy to make and extremely versatile. I recently bought some Israeli couscous (the kind that look like little pearls) in the bulk foods section at Central market, but I'd never made it before. Last weekend, I needed a quick side dish to go with our grilled porkchops and decided that a couscous salad would be perfect. A quick online search revealed that Israeli couscous can be cooked just like orzo and either absorb all the liquid or be cooked in liquid and then drained. I chose the absorb method, as it seems less wasteful.

First, I toasted about a cup of couscous and a handful of chopped onion  in a little olive oil, until the couscous was a little brown and the onions were a little soft. Then I added enough vegetable stock (the homemade stuff we made from veggie scraps) to just cover the couscous and added the same amount of stock as dry couscous, so another 1 cup of stock, and let it simmer until the broth was absorbed (about 10-15 minutes). 

When the couscous was done cooking, I spread it out on a foil-lined sheet pan to cool and chopped some veggies to add to the salad: cucumber, tomato and red pepper. When it was cooled, I threw the couscous and veggies into a bowl, added some salt and pepper, the juice from half a lemon and a splash of olive oil and stirred them all together, then let it chill in the fridge for a bit. This made a great, fresh-tasting side dish with dinner that night.

Two days later, I was home alone and didn't feel like cooking and hadn't set anything out from the freezer to make for dinner. But I had a lot of the couscous salad leftover, so I added a can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed) and some crumbled feta cheese and voila, instant dinner! The following, day I was still home alone, but willing to cook.  I sauteed a chicken sausage, sliced it up, and added it to the remaining couscous salad, which I had warmed up for this meal. It made a very quick, easy and tasty lunch.

The addition of chickpeas and cheese bulked up the salad, which made it stretch farther, and added some protein, extra flavor and texture.  Even though I didn't plan for more than a side dish, I was able to create three healthy and delicious meals from this simple salad. As a result, I saved both time and money! My laziness does occasionally pay off...

 

Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Baking BarGhirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Baking Bar

New floors, hallelujah!

Full set of pictures on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/schnitzle/sets/72157603753406155/

Before and after shots: