Kale Pesto with Roasted Potatoes and Egg

September 19, 2014 / Kake2Kale | Culinary Travel Adventures / 1 Comment

We’ve been growing kale in our garden for a few years now. For those of you who have never planted anything for fear of killing it, then kale is for you. We usually just buy the seedlings in the spring, plant them and water them somewhat regularly and they supply us with their prodigious leaves from summer into late fall. Growing kale is definitely 20% effort for 80% results.

Kale used to be one of those mysterious things that adorned plates at restaurants. Mom and I had lunch many years ago when my sandwich platter came with a scoop of coleslaw that was nestled in a green frilly leaf. Mom saw this leaf and in an awed voice said, “I think that’s kale; it’s very nutritious.” It was like she had seen a unicorn! I took a little bite of this strange leaf with high expectations, but was completely disappointed by the tough chewy texture and bitterish taste. Mom finished off the rest of my discarded leaf. Little did I know then that she was further fortifying her anti-aging genes; my Mom has always looked young for her age. But at that time, I had as little use for kale as those plastic green cut-outs that come with your sushi.

How far we’ve come! Kale has now shot out of the shadows and straight into our gardens, our salads, chips, smoothies. It’s the Susan Boyle of the vegetable world, living a life of obscurity until a spotlight was shone on it and it burst forth in all of its green glory. It has definitely had more than its share of 15 minutes of fame, and still going strong, though other veggies are trying to vie for its prominence in our fridges and plates. Besides the conventional curly and heavy textured leafy kind, there is the non-curly and not as chewy kind called locinato, or dinosaur kale, as well as black kale, which really looks purplish.

My favourite way to eat kale is to make them into chips by dehydrating them, which makes them really crispy so they taste just like the kind you can spend oodles of money on in the grocery store. It’s worth the trouble. My neighbor has a dehydrator that she generously let me use, but she just moved and I might have to get one for myself. Here is my go to recipe for dehydrated kale chips. http://goneraw.com/recipe/cheesy-kale-chips

With the abundance of kale in my garden, I thought I’d make pesto with it. One night I had a craving for comfort food, and what’s more comforting than breakfast for dinner. So I roasted some sweet potatoes and potatoes, added the kale pesto and a fried egg, read my Vanity Fair magazine and settled in for the night…heaven.

Superfoods in this recipe:
Kale – High amount of calcium and vitamin K. 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.
Garlic – The major player in the allium family ( includes, leeks, onions, shallots, chives, green onion) contains sulphuric compounds that may help with lowering blood pressure, destroy cancer cells. Allicin, one of these compounds in garlic is not only anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal, but research has shown that as allicin helps your body to neutralize dangerous free radicals.
Pine nuts – This seed has the highest amount of protein found in any nut. They are the only source of pinoleic acid, an appetite suppressant. They contain a high concentration of oleic acid which is good for heart health. Pine nuts are also rich in iron and packed with antioxidants.
Olive oil – Extra virgin olive oil has a distinctive taste and is high numerous antioxidants which are anti-flammatory and may protect the heart.
Sweet potatoes – Contains vitamin C, B complex, calcium and beta carotene. This is a complex carbohydrate, which means the carbs get released slowly in our body, so we don’t experience a dip in our energy levels, so our blood sugar remains stable. B vitamins support our nervous system, which help us to feel calm and improves sleep.
Eggs –Nature’s near perfect food. Contains a wide range of vitamins, such as vitamins A, D, E, choline, B12, as well as protein, lutein and zea-xanthin. Try to purchase Omega 3 eggs, to make it even more of a superfood.
Breakfast for Dinner serves 2

Ingredients:

1 potato
1 sweet potato
½ T. olive oil
¼ t. salt
Kale pesto (recipe below)
2 eggs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 F.
Cut both potatoes into wedges then drizzle with olive oil and salt. Place on baking sheet and bake for about 40 minutes, turning once.
Just before the potatoes are done, fry the eggs and set aside.
Once potatoes are cooked, divide them between two plates, put about 1-2 Tablespoons of pesto onto each plate and top with fried egg and parmesan cheese if desired.

Kale Pesto makes about 1 cup

Ingredients:

2 cups kale (chopped)
1-2 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 olive oil
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Puree kale, garlic and pine nuts in a food processor, or blender.
Then stream olive oil into the mixture with machine on low.
Then add cheese and salt and pepper at the end.

To store leftover pesto, pour olive oil over the top to create a seal, so the pesto does not oxidize. It can be refrigerated for a week, or frozen for 3 months. But if freezing, do not put the cheese into the pesto, but add when serving.

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}

Our Ramen-tic Lunch

July 11, 2014 / Kake2Kale | Culinary Travel Adventures

I admit it, I have had my love affair with instant noodles, especially when I lived in Hong Kong. For a period of time it was my breakfast, lunch and dinner. But my favourite way was to add corn to it while it was cooking, and then break an egg into it at the last minute. Just before my first bite, I would put a couple of drops of Maggi sauce (it’s like soy sauce but isn’t) into the yolk and then swirl the yolk throughout the noodles. Mmmm….

{Kale} and I went to an outstanding ramen shop on the outskirts of Vancouver’s Chinatown, called Harvest Community Foods in the Chinatown-Strathcona area. It is on the same street and several doors down from the Jimi Hendrix Shrine. Because the food is made with locally sourced ingredients, they charge a little more than average, and the bowls are not the size of a baby wash tub, which I like, because we all need to be conscious of portion control. I have been there a couple of times and thought {Kale} would like it and she did. It is a humble place that is part noodle shop, part grocery store.

I was glad to see Hokuto in the kitchen, because he had made my husband and I good bowls of noodles before and so I knew {Kale} would be in for a treat for sure. He did not disappoint. {Kale} ordered the Ramen with pork shoulder, candied bacon, egg and radish and thoroughly enjoyed it. The highlight for both of us was their egg, they soft boil it and then marinate it in a secret sauce. The yolk is still slightly runny and it has this wonderful deep soy gingery flavor.

Not being a huge fan of udon, I asked to substitute the ramen for the Udon with Sake Kazu Chicken, with watercress and shitake, plus a side of the oh –so-yummy egg. The ramen was cooked perfectly, still slightly chewy and springy, the broth was savoury without being overly salty. While devouring our noodles {Kale} and I recalled the old Japanese movie called “Tanpopo” about a couple who were in search of the best ramen in Japan. It is definitely a must-see for those who are foodies, there is even a few scenes that may be scandalously close to being literally food porn, without crossing the line.

Here are the superfoods in our lunch:

Egg: Nature’s near perfect food. Contains a wide range of vitamins, such as vitamins A, D, E, choline, B12, as well as protein, lutein and zea-xanthin.
Radish: Good source of vitamins A, C and E. Great for digestion
Watercress: High amount of vitamin C and A. Has strong detoxing properties, good for detoxing heavy metals.
Shitake mushroom: Rich in vitamins, minerals and polyphenols they also activate the immune system, have strong anti-tumor properties and prepare white blood cells to be ready to fight off disease.

If you are a Jimi Hendrix fan then check out this link about his Vancouver shrine.

This is not a recipe per se, but an idea for a Quick Ramen salad.

Cook Ramen according to instructions on the package (use the flavor packet if you want the taste). You can toss in any superfood veggie you like in with the noodles while it is cooking ie. Chopped carrots, beets, squash. Then drain and chill for about an hour.
Once chilled you may add about 2 Tablespoons of *mayonnaise to the noodles and any sort of protein ie. cooked turkey, tuna, shrimp, chickpeas, etc. you get the idea. You could also add fresh herbs and more veggies that can be eaten raw ie. celery, bell peppers.

*May also use sesame oil and grapeseed oil and a splash of rice wine vinegar, and soy sauce, instead of mayo.

Eat healthy, live great! – {Kake}