No Grumble Blueberry Crumble

August 15, 2014 / Kake2Kale | Culinary Travel Adventures

There is a delightful part in my favourite childhood book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, when a naughty, gum chewing girl, Violet Beauregard gets her just desserts (pun intended). While at the factory, she deliberately pops an experimental piece of gum into her mouth after being warned against it. As she chews this piece of gum it takes her through a three-course meal ending with blueberry pie, then she turns into one humongous blueberry and has to be juiced to bring her back down to size. Not only was Roald Dahl a wildly imaginative storyteller, but his views on child rearing were tucked in there as well. After that, I am sure Miss Beauregard never put anything in her mouth that she wasn’t supposed to have.

The only blueberry issue I came across is really a non-blueberry one. I will explain. Once, when I was eating a store bought blueberry muffin, I discovered while reading the list of ingredients that no blueberries were in it at all. That was a big head-scratcher. Later, I realized there were more examples of this in the frozen food aisle when you pulled out a box of ubiquitous frozen blueberry waffles processed by one of the big industrialized food companies. There were no real blueberries. So what are these impostor blueberries made of? It turns out, some are simply artificial colouring chemicals, hydrogenated oils and liquid sugars, ewwww!!! All the more reason to read labels when grocery shopping.

With blueberries in season (at least in our part of the world), I’m taking advantage of eating REAL, fresh blueberries and making a variety of dishes. A blueberry crumble tops the list. I call my version the No Grumble Blueberry Crumble because it is super easy….after all, no one wants to be slaving in the kitchen when it is gorgeous outside. As a bonus, I’ve also included my Blueberry Waffle recipe at the bottom, so keep reading!

No Grumble Blueberry Crumble serves 8

Superfoods in the recipe are:
Blueberries – This little berry has a high amount of antioxidants. They contain anthocyanin, vitamin C, B complex, vitamin E, vitamin A, copper (a very effective immune builder and anti-bacterial), selenium, zinc, and iron
Oats – Oats is a good source of fibre, and oat bran helps to lower cholesterol.
Ginger – Anti-nausea, anti-inflammatory, expectorant, antiseptic.
Cinnamon – Diets rich in cinnamon can help counter the effects of a high-fat meal on your body. This spice may also balance blood sugar levels and can also help fight bacterial and fungal infections.

Filling:

4 cups blueberries
¼ cup gluten free flour
2 t. sugar
1 T. lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Combine all of the above and place into greased 9” x 9” baking dish.

Topping:

½ cup butter melted
½ gluten free flour
1 ½ cups gluten free oat flakes
½ cup honey
2 t. cinnamon
2 t. grated ginger
¼ t. salt

Combine the topping ingredients and spoon over the filling. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the topping is golden brown.

My bonus recipe – Blueberry Waffle recipe makes 6-4″ waffles

They really aren’t complicated. It takes me about 15 minutes from the time I start putting the ingredients together to eating the first waffle. And if you don’t have a waffle iron, just make pancakes. Here is a bonus recipe from my Fanny Farmer cookbook that has been engraved in my brain after probably making it hundreds of times over the years.

1 cup flour (can be Gluten Free)
1 t. baking powder
pinch of salt
1 cup milk (can be dairy free)
1 egg
*1 T oil or melted butter

Directions:

Whisk the dry ingredients together. Then in another bowl beat the egg with the milk, and then add to the dry ingredients. Stir the oil into the wet ingredients.
Combine until ingredients are just mixed, lumps are fine. Then cook waffles according to your waffle iron instructions.

*If making pancakes, then omit the oil. Spoon batter into preheated non-stick pan, or griddle and flip once when you see bubbles. Try not to flip more than once, otherwise they will not be fluffy.
Add whatever you like, of course blueberries, but consider sliced bananas, chopped nuts, and/or chocolate chips.

Eat healthy, live great! – {Kake}

Quinoa Kale Burger with Goji Berry Ketchup

July 25, 2014 / Kake2Kale | Culinary Travel Adventures

Going to Macdonald’s as a child was really not a huge draw, although my parents somehow always chose to take my brother and I to Macdonald’s whenever they had bad news to tell us. The burgers were unmemorable, but the shakes, oh boy!! Just the mention of Shamrock shakes today will put a stupid smile on my face. Burgers were considered food that only people who camped, hunted, listened to rock and roll, drove trucks and had mullet hairstyles ate. Not that we felt above those people, we were just into other things, like not eating with our hands, unless it was a barbecue pork bun at dim sum and then you had no choice. To this day even eating crab I only allow one hand to handle the crab while the other hand uses chopsticks.

One night I was looking through my cupboard trying to decide what to make for dinner and saw cans of beans. I keep buying them because I know they are good for me, but they just sit there. So I took a can down, opened the fridge and once I saw the leftover cooked kale inspiration hit me for these burgers.

Mulling over what condiment to go with the burger it occurred to me that goji berries blended with ketchup might work well. By the way here is a little tidbit about the provenance of the word “ketchup”. We were having ketchup on something and I was saying the word in my mind. I suddenly made the connection with the Cantonese words for ketchup. I looked it up in the dictionary, and indeed, its origins are Chinese, because “ke” means tomato and “chup” is sauce. The goji berry ketchup’s sweet and tart flavour is the perfect foil to the burger. You can add your own twist by adding chilli powder, or sriracha.

Superfoods in my burger and condiment recipes:

Cannellini beans: These are also called navy beans because they were a staple for the U.S. Navy in the early 1900’s. Packed full of protein, fiber and also vitamin B1, as well as lots of minerals.
Quinoa: Contains antixoidants, as well as all 9 essential amino acids making it a complete protein, perfect for vegetarians.
Kale: High amount of calcium and vitamin K. Kale is in the Brassica oleracea family which is known to have a protective effect against cancer, because they contain Indole-3-carbinal (IC3) , which promotes a healthy balance of good estrogen to toxic cancer causing form of estrogen, it also has an anti-tumour effect.
Onion: High amount of quercetin (which is an anti-histamine, helps your body combat allergies). Onions are also antibacterial, antiseptic, detox properties, lowers cholesterol, protects the heart.
Goji Berries: These are also known as Wolfberries. They contain the highest concentration of protein of any fruit, high amounts of carotenoids, vitamin C, and 21 trace minerals. It is anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial.

Quinoa Burgers makes 8 burgers

1/2 cup uncooked Quinoa
1 can or 398 ml Cannellini (navy)beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups kale (stem removed and chopped)
¼ cup onion (minced)
2 eggs
½ cup corn (fresh or frozen)
2 T. plus 2 t. olive oil
2 t. mustard
1 t. ground coriander
½ t. chilli powder
1 cupgluten free breadcrumbs (or regular breadcrumbs)

Directions:

Place the quinoa in 1 cup of water, cover and bring to a boil. Keep uncovered and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed and the quinoa grains have opened up.
While quinoa is cooking, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil over medium heat add the onion, cook for 5 minutes, then add the kale and continue cooking for another 5-7 minutes until kale is wilted.
Then in a large bowl combine the cooled quinoa, kale and then rest of the ingredients mix well. Form into 8 patties and using a tablespoon of oil at a time cook the patties in a frying pan.

Goji Ketchup makes 1/2 cup

1 T. goji berries
1 T. filtered water
1/3 cup ketchup (whichever one you have in your fridge)

Directions:

Rehydrate goji berries in filtered water for 15 minutes
Do not drain the berries, but add goji berries along with water to ketchup. (There will be nutrients from the goji berries in the water that it has been rehydrating in.) Puree with a hand blender until smooth. That is it!

Eat healthy, live great! – {Kake}

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

July 4, 2014 / Kake2Kale | Culinary Travel Adventures

I will be forever grateful to whoever was the first person to combine chocolate and peanut butter. The classic pairing that found its way into my mouth by way of Reeses Peanut Butter Cups when I was a child, still has a special place in my heart. When our family first immigrated to Canada I remember tasting peanut butter and almost gagged. I wasn’t used to the texture, and taste, because it wasn’t popular in Hong Kong at all. Over time Mom got me to eat it in PBJ sandwiches, but the combo of chocolate and peanut butter made it much more palatable.

Having a Peanut Butter (PB) cup always brings me back to my happy place; savouring one and listening to my Elton John’s Yellow Brick Road cassette tape and not caring that other kids were playing with their friends, while my friend was my piano. Our family moved a lot so making friends was always a challenge for me since I was usually the only non-white kid in the class. Are you playing a tiny violin now for me? No need, because now I have friends, and not just my piano, and I get to eat home-made-good-for-you PB cups, YAY for me!!

It seems that peanut butter has fallen out of favour, since so many people have developed allergies to it. So, for those of you who are allergic or are partial to almond butter, by all means, replace peanut butter with almond butter, or any other nut butter that you have on hand. How can I indulge in this treat but do away with the sugar and up the health quotient? Make it with superfoods of course, and in my recipe they are:

Coconut oil – Gives healthy fat burning benefits.
Dark Chocolate – Contains antioxidants and magnesium which can help with lowering blood pressure.
Maca – Increases energy, helps the body handle stress and contains antioxidants.
Peanuts – Contains protein, vitamin E and resveratrol (also in red wine).

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups makes 10 mini cups

2/3 c. dark chocolate chips
¼ c. peanut butter (or almond butter)
1 T. coconut oil
2/3 t. maca
*Maldon sea salt

Directions:

Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler.
While chocolate chips are melting, stir the rest of the ingredients together, except for the sea salt. Set the filling aside.
Coat silicone 10 mini muffin cups with a layer of melted chocolate, make sure the chocolate goes up the sides about 2/3 of the way. You should only be using half of the chocolate. Then put in the freezer for 10 minutes.
Then fill each cup with the filling. Freeze for 10 minutes.
Then with a small spoon, put a dollop of chocolate over the filling and smooth it out. Then sprinkle a little Maldon sea salt on top.
Put back in the freezer to set. These should be stored in there until they are ready to be eaten.

*If you don’t have Maldon sea salt, then put a pinch of regular sea salt in the filling, or you can leave it out altogether.
For more benefits of the superfoods in this recipe look them up in our superfoods list.

Eat healthy, live great! -{Kake}

Inspiration from a Farmers Market – Miso Mushroom Pâté & Oat Crackers

June 27, 2014 / Kake2Kale | Culinary Travel Adventures

Unless you’re growing your own vegetables, it’s hard to beat locally grown produce from your neighbourhood farmers market. Supporting markets are great all around – we’re helping local businesses, minimizing the carbon footprint and enjoying more nutrients from fresher foods. We both enjoy the atmosphere and the opportunity to meet the growers or food artisans. In particular, I love photographing the textures and colours of the food on display, plus the interesting proprietors. – {Kale}

There are various Vancouver Farmers Markets running throughout the week. Most are packed with shoppers and lookers on the weekends. To avoid the crowds, we decided to shop midweek at one of the lesser known markets – Main Street Station Farmers Market. Three blocks from my home is the most established farmer’s market in the city and I must confess that going to it no longer holds any pleasure as it has become very crowded and I feel like I am in a NYC subway station during rush hour. Not fun. So we found the Main St. Market refreshing in that we could really take our time with the vendors and check out their goods.

Markets in the Western world are vastly different than in Asia. When I lived in Hong Kong I had an experience in a market that was like something out of a horror movie. My friend and I were in a rush to get to a dinner and he knew of a shortcut. So I blindly followed him and he lead me through a market after hours, oh boy! This market was a permanent one so it was enclosed, it was super scary. The whole place was dark and dank with who knows what hiding underneath big tarps. As I was lead through the labyrinth there was a big basket in the corner with something poking out of it, aaaaargh! I looked in and it was a steer’s head with most of the skin peeled off, I apologize to any vegetarians who are reading this. There was another incident after this in Hong Kong that made me decide to give up eating red meat for a long while. – {Kake}

Our picks of superfoods from the market are:

Radishes -High in vitamin C, folic acid and anthocyanins, which is an antioxidant that may be good for heart health and may be a cancer-fighter.
Wheat Grass -Powerhouse of nutrients, full of vitamins, minerals, chlorophyll and enzymes. It is 20 times more nutrient dense than other vegetables.
Garlic Scapes -These are the flower stalks which sprouts from the garlic bulb. They have the same nutritional benefits of garlic. The scapes is a great way to get the benefits of the garlic without the strong flavour of the clove.
Sea Asparagus – Rich in iodine, supports healthy thyroid functioning. It is also high in minerals ie. iron, calcium, as well as vitamins A, C and amino acids, which are the building blocks for protein.

One of the vendors at the market was sampling a veggie pâté and it inspired me to make a riff on it. Wonderful earthy mushrooms in the next stall gave me the idea to make it the main ingredient. Adding miso gives a deeper salty flavour without adding salt. And what to spread this pâté on? Homemade crackers of course! It is not difficult. If you can make pie crust, you can make crackers.

Miso Mushroom Pâté makes 1.5 cups

1 T. butter
2 cups mushrooms (any) coarsely chopped
½ medium onion roughly diced
2 cloves garlic roughly diced
1 T. sherry
2 t. miso paste
1 cup cashews (soaked for 2 hours, then drained)
Black pepper (to taste)

Directions:

Melt the butter over medium heat, then add garlic and onions, sauté for about 5 minutes until onions are translucent. Then add mushrooms and cook for about 3 minutes, then add sherry, continue cooking for another 2 minutes.
Put the mushroom mixture and the rest of the ingredients into a good blender or a food processor and puree until smooth. Chill for a couple of hours and serve in a pretty bowl, or like I did in a bell pepper.

Oat Crackers makes 30-40 crackers depending on size

¾ cup *oat flour
½ cup all purpose gluten free flour
1 ½ t. baking powder
1 T. sugar
½ t. sea salt
3 T. butter (cold)
1 T. Camelina oil (or oil of your choice)
¼ c. ice water
¼ c. pumpkin seeds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place dry ingredients in a bowl and using a whisk, stir to combine, then add the butter and cut into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or two knives, until mixture resembles coarse pea size crumbs. Then using a fork, stir in camelina oil and 1 tablespoon of water at a time until mixture starts to come together enough to form a ball.
Place the dough onto a floured surface and knead a few times, then roll the dough out between wax paper until it is ¼ inch thick.
Using cookie cutters, cut out the crackers and then transfer onto baking sheet. Decorate with pumpkin seeds. Bake until crackers are just start to brown, about 5-10 minutes.
If desired, melt some butter to brush onto baked crackers while still warm.

Go to our list of favourite superfoods to see the nutritional benefits of the superfoods – mushrooms, cashews, onions, oats and pumpkin seeds – in these recipes.

*If you want to make this gluten free, use Pure Oats.

Eat healthy, live great! – {Kake}