Kale and Quinoa with Creole Seasoning

Serves 4

1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
2 quarts water
1 bunch lacinato (dinosaur) kale, sliced
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 large shallot, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Creole seasoning 

Bring chicken broth to a boil in a saucepan; stir in quinoa. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer until quinoa is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan; cook kale in boiling water until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain. Heat olive oil in the same saucepan over medium heat; cook and stir shallot until softened, about 5 minutes. Add kale, cooking and stirring, until desired doneness. Mix quinoa into vegetable mixture and season with salt and Creole seasoning.

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Kale and Pink Grapefruit Salad

Serves 4

1 pink grapefruit
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 cups thinly sliced kale (center ribs and stems removed)
1 avocado, halved, pitted, sliced into 1/2-inch wedges

Using a sharp knife, cut peel and white pith from grapefruit; discard. Working over a small bowl, cut between membranes to release segments into bowl. Squeeze juice from membranes into another small bowl; add any accumulated juices from bowl with segments (there should be about 1/4 cup juice total). Whisk oil into juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Place kale in a large bowl and drizzle 3 Tbsp. dressing over. Toss to combine and let stand for 10 minutes while kale wilts slightly. Toss once more, then arrange grapefruit segments and avocado slices over kale. Drizzle with remaining dressing and serve.

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Classic Greek Horta Greens

Serves 5-6

2 lbs of Greens:
Suggestions of Greens to choose from:
Swiss Chard
Kale
Spinach
Dandelion – (Here in the United States, I’ve found that the white or green stemmed dandelions and especially the younger/shorter ones are less bitter than the red stems).
Feel free to combine different greens as well.
(Whenever possible buy organic greens to avoid ingesting the pesticides – if not available soak and rinse greens several times)
1 1/2 cups of water
Extra Virgin Olive oil
Salt to taste
2 lemons
(optional – 1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder)
Cut the Greens into bite size pieces. Wash several times in bowl with water to remove any soil. If using kale with thick stems tear the leaves off the stems and discard stems.
In a large pot, add water, bring to a boil and add greens. Cover. Boil until stems and leaves are soft depending upon which greens you use. Check after 10 minutes by tasting to see if greens are tender and continue up to 20 minutes. Add more water if needed. Strain water from greens and return to pot. Add juice of two lemons, one turn of olive oil, salt and mix. Let sit for a few minutes in warm pot with flame turned off. Serve on plate or in bowl.
This makes 5 to 6 servings. Make extra since it tastes delicious the next day.
Dandelion Leaves Tip: If you want to make dandelion greens only (a bitter green) – use younger leaves if possible. Whatever length you use, I have found that by cooking dandelion greens in a steamer you reduce bitterness and follow directions to season with lemon, olive oil and salt above while still hot. Dandelion also taste milder when combined with another milder green such as Swiss Chard.
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Massaged Kale Salad

Serves 6

1 bunch kale (black kale is especially good), stalks removed and discarded, leaves thinly sliced
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
Kosher salt
2 teaspoons honey
Freshly ground black pepper
1 mango, diced small (about 1 cup)
Small handful toasted pepitas ( pumpkin seeds), about 2 rounded tablespoons
In large serving bowl, add the kale, half of lemon juice, a drizzle of oil and a little kosher salt. Massage until the kale starts to soften and wilt, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside while you make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk remaining lemon juice with the honey and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Stream in the 1/4 cup of oil while whisking until a dressing forms, and you like how it tastes. Pour the dressing over the kale, and add the mango and pepitas. Toss and serve.
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Pan-Fried Kale

Serves 4
1 whole Large Bunch Of Kale, Or 2 Regular Bunches
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
5 cloves Garlic, Finely Minced
Salt And Pepper, to taste
½  Lemon, Optional
Thoroughly rinse the kale in cold water, soaking if necessary to remove grit. Tear the kale into chunks.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and quickly stir it around to avoid burning.
Throw in the kale and use tongs to move it around the skillet. Sprinkle in salt and pepper and continue cooking until slightly wilted but still crisp, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Remove the kale to a plate and serve!
Option: Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the top.
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Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Kale and Dill

Servings vary
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 leek, cleaned well and chopped (white and light green parts only)
4 or 5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
salt and pepper
1 medium head cauliflower, cut into small florets
about 4 cups of low fat, low sodium chicken broth
5 large kale or collard leaves, stems removed and sliced (or you can use spinach)
juice of half of a lemon
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill 
some basil leaves to taste
Warm the oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add onions and leek and saute for 4 or 5 minutes. Add the garlic and a bit of salt and continue cooking for a few more minutes. Add the cauliflower. Add the chicken broth.  Use as much as needed to reach just below the surface of the cauliflower. Don’t add too much, you can always add more later when blending the soup. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Cover pot, reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender. Add the greens, lemon juice and dill, then stir and simmer a few minutes longer. Remove from the heat, add the basil and maybe a little more dill and let the soup sit about 5 minutes, so that it can cool slightly. Using an upright blender, blend the soup in batches until smooth, adding more broth (or you can use some water this time), if  it’s too thick. Season with salt and pepper, reheat if needed, and serve.
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Summer Squash and Kale Saute

Serves 2
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound yellow squash, diced
1/2 cup onion diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups kale
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add squash, onion and garlic and sauté 5 to 7 minutes or until slightly tender. Add kale and remaining olive oil, stirring constantly, 2 minutes more or until kale is wilted. Add tomatoes, lemon juice, salt and pepper, stirring well 2 minutes more. Serve immediately.
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Kale Market salad

Serves 2-4
Lacinato kale is my variety of choice here.
Green Garlic Dressing:
2 stalks green garlic (or scallions), rinsed and chopped (~1/4 cup)
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, plus more to taste
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup / 80 ml extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons ripe avocado
1 teaspoon honey, or to taste
fresh pepper to taste
Salad:
1/2 bunch kale, destemmed, torn into pieces
1 cup / 5.5 oz cooked farro or wheat berries (semi-pearled or whole)
4-5 farmers’ market carrots, very thinly sliced
1 small bulb of fennel, transparently sliced
1 avocado, cut into small cubes
A big handful of almond slices, toasted
Make the dressing by using a hand blender or food processor to puree the green garlic, salt, lemon juice, olive oil, avocado, honey, and pepper until smooth. Taste, and adjust with more salt, or honey, or lemon juice.
Before you’re ready to serve, combine the kale with about half of the dressing in a large bowl use your hands to work the dressing into the kale, softening up the kale a bit in the process. Add the farro, carrots, and fennel, more dressing, and a couple pinches of salt, and toss again. Taste, and add the last of the dressing if needed. This is a salad I like quite heavily dressed. Add the avocados and almonds and give one last gentle toss.

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Rachel's Stewed Summer Veggies

Serves 3-4
~1 T. extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 large onion, diced
4 small potatoes, chopped into bite size chunks
1 yellow squash (or zucchini)
3 cups of tomatoes (I used a combo of whole cherry tomatoes & chopped larger tomatoes)
1 T. white wine vinegar
3 stalks of kale, torn off the rib and into pieces
1 cup of water or veggie broth
1 can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
Salt & pepper
Seasoning salt
Smoked paprika

Pour EVOO into a large tall-sided skillet or sauce pan and heat on medium heat. Add onions & a dash of salt and saute for about five minutes. Add potatoes, squash, tomatoes, water or broth, and vinegar. Reduce heat to med-low, cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in kale and gently mash the tomatoes so they release their juices. If it needs more liquid, you can add another cup of water or broth. Gently stir in the beans and season to taste with seasoning salt (like Lawry’s or Tony’s), smoked paprika (use just a pinch for a nice smokey flavor) and a little salt and pepper if it needs it.

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CSA Veggies, Skillet Style

Kale, shredded
Zucchini, bite-sized
Yellow squash, bite-sized
Broccolini  
Olive oil
Pinch of salt
Garlic
Throw in a hot skillet for a couple of minutes to soften everything up and enjoy with rice or other grain.
Adapted from Source

Green Monster Smoothie

2.5 cups spinach
2.5 cups kale
1 cup 100% carrot juice
1 inch ginger root
2 kiwis, small/medium sized
¼ cup blueberries
4 tablespoons ground flaxseed
½ cup water
Add the carrot juice, kiwi, blueberries, flaxseeds, and ginger root to a blender. Blend until everything is well incorporated. Then add the spinach and kale a handful at a time, blending after each handful. Add water and blend everything for a minute or so, making sure that the texture is smooth. Serve immediately or store in a sealed container (mason jars work great for this) and refrigerate for up to 12 hours.
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Polenta Pizzas with Kale, Chard, and Parsley Pesto

For the polenta pizza crust:
3 cups vegetable stock
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/4 cups polenta
For the kale and maitake mushroom topping:
1 large leek, sliced
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons mirin
2 maitake mushrooms
1 bunch kale, finely chopped
Sea salt and black pepper
1/4 cup pasta sauce
For the chard and parsley pesto topping:
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch Swiss chard, chopped
Sea salt and black pepper
1/4 cup Parsley Walnut Pesto (recipe follows)
For the parsley walnut pesto:
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 cup toasted walnuts
11/2 cups packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Sea salt
 
For the crust, over high heat, bring stock to boil. Reduce heat to medium and add salt, basil, oregano, parsley, pepper and olive oil. Whisking continuously, pour in polenta and continue whisking for 5 to 7 minutes until smooth and thick. Pour into two 11-inch tart pans and spread evenly over bottom of each pan. Cool slightly and then refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm. Preheat oven to 350°F and place pizza stone or baking sheet on middle rack. Remove polenta from refrigerator, sprinkle pizza stone or baking sheet with cornmeal, transfer polenta to stone or baking sheet and bake 40 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside. For kale pizza, place large skillet over medium heat and sauté leek in 11/2 tablespoons olive oil for 3 minutes. Add mirin and sauté 2 minutes longer. Crumble maitake mushrooms, add to pan and sauté 5 minutes or until soft. Fold in kale and sauté 3 minutes longer. Drizzle with remaining olive oil, season to taste with salt and black pepper and remove from heat. For chard pizza, sauté onion and garlic in oil until soft, following the directions for the kale topping. Add chard, sauté 1 minute, remove from heat, and season to taste with salt and pepper. For the parsley walnut pesto, with food processor running, drop in garlic and process until minced. Turn off processor, scrape down sides and add walnuts, parsley, olive oil and lemon juice. Process to mince all ingredients and combine. Season to taste with salt and thin with extra olive oil to achieve desired consistency. Refrigerate or freeze in airtight container until ready to use. Spread pasta sauce or parsley pesto evenly over crust, leaving a 1/2-inch edge. Top with kale or chard mixture and return to oven to bake 15 minutes. Remove from oven, cut with pizza wheel and serve.
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Healthy Detox Soup

2 medium leeks, cut in half, cleaned well, and cut into small pieces
4 cloves of garlic, crushed into a paste
1 serrano pepper, half of seeds removed, thinly sliced
4 carrots, scrubbed clean, skins on, cut into rough chunks
4 celery stalks, cut into rough chunks
3 small rutabagas, peeled and cut into medium dice
3 small zucchini, diced
8 cups water
3 roma tomatoes, with seeds and skin, diced
2 cups pinto beans, I used dried ones that I cooked before hand, used cooking liquids in soup
2 bunches of kale, thinly sliced
1 juice of 1/2 lemon
maldon salt, to taste
fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add the leeks, garlic, and serranos. Sweat over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add carrots, celery and the rutabagas. Cook for about 3 minutes.
Add the water, tomatoes and pinto beans, simmer over low heat for at least 30 minutes. The longer, the better the flavor is. 15 minutes before serving stir in the kale and zucchini. Cook for 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve. Eat.

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