Monday, October 6, 2008

My new friend, kale.

I have not forgotten my vow to make three things from a previously untapped cookbook each week, and am aware that I have one more day. I would have made this last night, but I ended up putting away a lot of beer and a pineapple upside down cake shot, and I could barely stand up, let alone deal with the stove.

Before I get into my latest excursion into Tofu 1-2-3, I want to share my kale story. I have never tried kale until tonight. I know, right? I should have my vegan card taken away. Anyway, I picked some up at the Wedge so I could see what all the fuss is about, and cooked some up tonight. I don't have to tell you, I was scared. I'm afraid of vegetables of the Brassica genus, but I am trying to be a little bit more varied with my diet, and I learned to get over my beet hate (sorry broccoli, you still suck), so maybe I should give things a try and not be such a child about eating my friggin' vegetables.

The verdict? I loved it. I gently sautéed it in a little olive oil and vegetable broth with some chopped garlic and sea salt. After I plated it, I splash a little cabernet vinegar on it. Awesome. Add kale to my list of favorites.

Back to the book. Tonight I made Cannellini Beans and Roasted Potatoes in Cashew Cream Sauce. The potatoes actually took 35 minutes to achieve "golden brown on the outside," instead of the 25 in the book. Also the "cashew cream" is actually noochy sauce. But, it hit the spot on a night when my sick, tired body wanted something warm and starchy. Mmmm, carbs.



What I changed/would change: I added rosemary to the potatoes before roasting, which was also an option in the book. I think this would be good in a glass dish with some bread crumbs and another 10 in a 425° oven. I also think some mushrooms would rule in here, but I like mushrooms in everything. Maybe some red bell pepper, too.

4 comments:

Zoey said...

Hi Megan,

Thank you for posting about kale. The first time I tried kale I just ate it raw and I was not fond of it. In fact, I haven't had it since. After seeing your post I might get some more and try steaming it a bit. Your version looks delicious.

jessy said...

that's awesome that you tried kale and really liked it. my first experience with our friend kale wasn't a good one. but i decided to try again and again and eventually i realized i really loved it, too! i love sauteing it with a little peanut oil and then adding in just a bit of tamari & sesame seeds for an asian kinda thing. it's tasty! the potatoes you made look soooooo good! i'm a fan of mushrooms, too - and i think bell peppers in those potatoes would rock hard as well. they look pretty damn tasty as you've got them here, too! mmmmmmmmm! i'm definitley love'n the dish - and all that kale! yay!

oh - it took me about 5 years to super ♥ beets. i'm still working on raw carrots - not my fav. have you tried kind of "breading" up broccoli and then roasting it?! we used to dip ours in rice milk and then coat in a little mixture of whole wheat flour & nooch. mmmmmmmm! that always makes broccoli a bit more yummy for me. yay!

allularpunk said...

i've been trying to like kale for years, and finally found a few ways to cook it that is edible (for me). one is mashing it up with sweet potatoes (aka, what i just had for lunch). another is the braised kale (etc) from Vcon. and the last is kale and white beans from yellow rose recipes. i'm glad you like it now too! it's really good for you. or so they say.

Bethany said...

I love just about every veggie. I do hate endives and really bitter greens.

That said, it took me a long time to try kale because I always associated it with oranamental kale and that freaked me out. My favorite is dinasaur kale.