SUPER KALE SALAD

Well it is great to be back home after a nice lengthy vacation. We vacationed in Whistler where the whole family enjoys spending the days on the magical Canadian slopes. You can imagine that a day of skiing can really get your appetite going. I love skiing, it's is a great work-out and being in nature just makes it even better. We also love how every year we just keep getting better. We conquered black runs and many of the very difficult blue runs, luckily without breaking any bones. I like to think of my ski vacation as my get fit vacation, unfortunately this year I indulged in maybe one too many BBQ Rib meals and just plain comfort eating because of the cold, temperatures on some days were as low as -25 degrees Celsius...So a nice warm clam chowder soup sounded just perfect...Well halfway into my vacation those Roxy pants were not fitting any looser...So I immediately made a correction and looked out for better, wiser and leaner food choices...One of my favourite cafes in Whistler is the Lift Company Coffee Shop...They not only make the best soy lattes...(had one two many of those as well)...
One of their specialties is their SUPER KALE SALAD.. to be honest I did not ask them what was in it, but from what I can remember, the ingredients listed below are very close to the mark.
I like this salad because it is extremely high in nutrients and super foods...all the goodness you need in one quick meal. This salad can be made and stored for a couple of days because the Kale is very sturdy and will not wilt like lettuce or other leafy vegetables.
It is very lean and can be a complete meal on its own. Its great for vegetarians and if your pants are fitting a bit too tight!!!

ENJOY

Ingredients :

1 bunch of kale
300g of cherry tomatoes or more if you like
1 cup of uncooked barley
1 can of chick peas
7 or 8 sundried tomatoes
1 small red onion
1 large scallion
5-6 olives
1 handful of pine nuts
1/2 can of black beans (optional)

Dressing Ingredients:

Juice from one lemon
Olive oil
Garlic salt
Pepper
Gourmet Garden Thai seasoning (lemon grass, ginger, coriander, chilli)

Chop up the kale finely (don't use the stalks as they are too chewy, but if you like the texture keep them.) and place in a large bowl...

Cut the olives, tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, scallion and add to the kale.
Empty a can of chick peas (wash and drain) then add them to the kale as well. Also add black beans if you like. Pine nuts are also a great addition make sure to toast them before you add them in.

Boil the barley for 20 minutes, depending on the brand it will say on the package. I boil it in lots of water and some salt.
When it is ready drain and add to the kale and other ingredients.

The dressing is easy just stir in all the ingredients until you have an even consistency...please add as much or as little olive oil as you like. I probably use 3 tablespoons maybe a bit more...it depends if you like it to taste tangy or less tangy.

TOSS TOSS MIX MIX and your salad is ready.

Stuffed Dates

I really like this recipe because it is quick and easy and makes for either a nice dessert or hors d'oeuvre's to nibble at the beginning, before you and your guest sit for dinner. It is also very nice to serve with red wine.  Since it is quite heavy and strong it is best eaten when cold but I served them in the Australian Spring/Summer.

Ingredients:

20 dates (or 3 per person)

1 pack of creamy gorgonzola cheese (if you find the gorgonzola and mascarpone cheese pre-mixed in the package that is also a good option for those who would like a milder gorgonzola cheese….if you have no luck finding this and you find blue cheese add that with a bit of Philadelphia cheese to soften the strength of the blue cheese.) 

Use dried dates, cut them in half and remove pits.

Once the dates are cut and the pits have been removed, fill each date with a small spoon of creamy Gorgonzola cheese.

Serve on a platter and they are ready.

( I recommend you serve these for your guest and spare yourselves the calories...LOL...but I mean it ; )

The combination of flavors explode in your mouth!!!! They are divine….

Cuban Black Beans

Cuban Black Beans Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups black beans, dried


9 cups water


1 1/2 cups onion, chopped


1 1/2 cups green bell pepper, chopped


3 cloves garlic


1 teaspoon salt


1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns


2 tablespoons olive oil for sautéing


1 teaspoon oregano


1 teaspoon cumin, ground


1 bay leaf


3 tablepoons vinegar


3/4 cup dry Spanish wine


2 teaspoons sugar


2 tablespoons olive oil (to drizzle over beans in final step)

Cover dry beans with water and let stand covered overnight. Drain and discard water.

Place the cleaned black beans in a large 6-quart saucepan. Add water and olive oil – this will prevent the beans from foaming. Bring the beans to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until the beans are tender, about 1 hour.

Whichever method you use, do not drain the water from the cooked beans.

Meanwhile, chop onion and green pepper. Mash the garlic with salt and peppercorns in a mortar and pestle.

Sauté the onions and green pepper in olive oil until the onions are translucent. Add mashed garlic and sauté another minute or so.

Add the cooked beans, oregano, cumin, bay leaf, vinegar, and wine. Cover and simmer over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf.

Add additional salt and pepper to taste.

Stir in the sugar; then drizzle a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over the beans. Immediately cover the pot, remove from heat, and let stand for 10 minutes.

Serve the by now fantastically prepared black beans over white rice.

You may garnish the beans with cilantro and chopped white onions. Not only do they look good presented this way, they taste even better than they look.

Thanksgiving Roasted Carrots

Ingredients:

4 bunches of organic Dutch carrots
Ground cinnamon
Cinnamon sugar
Garlic salt
Cumin
Extra virgin olive oil spray
Foil

First take your carrots and clip off the tips and stems...wash the carrots and place them on a foil covered oven sheet.  Spray extra virgin olive oil over the foil and carrots.  Sprinkle the ground cinnamon, cinnamon sugar, garlic salt, cumin and spray a bit more olive oil over the top of the carrots.  Place them in the oven at 200 degrees Celsius (400 degrees Fahrenheit) for about 25 minutes. They are ready when you see the carrots glazing over.

Challah Bread

A really good friend of ours who is Jewish decided to contribute to the celebrations by bringing a typical bread that is eaten on Shabbat. That is the best part of  thanksgiving is can be celebrated by any religion and by anyone. Through the years in the United States with the multitude of immigrants Thanksgiving diners include an array of non traditional American dishes. Everyone for the majority celebrates Thanksgiving as a national holiday, each family adds a tradition from their home land. Like Miami where you wouldn't have Thanksgiving with out the staple black beans and rice... or my mother's lasagne.

Challah bread taste delicious and I will be making some for Christmas. 

Kids loved it because it a sweet bread!!!

photo taken from http://thebakersguide.com/challah-bread

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups of raisins (plumped) 

1 ¾ cups of warm water

2 tablespoons of dry yeast

1/3 of a cup of sugar

1/3 of a cup of light honey

3 ½ tablespoons of salt

½ of a cup of oil

3 eggs

2 egg yolks

6-8 cups bread flour

Egg Wash Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of water

2 tablespoons of sugar

1 egg

1 yolk

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the yeast and water.  Let stand for 5 minutes to allow the yeast to swell and dissolve (you should notice a difference. Briskly stir in the sugar, honey and salt.  Add oil, eggs, yolks and about 5 cups of flour...stir into a shaggy mess and let stand 10-20 minutes to absorb the flour. 

Knead by hand or with a dough hook, then add the remaining flour as much as it requires to be soft and elastic, and no longer sticks (the bowl should be clean if doing with a dough hook.) 

If adding raisins let the dough rest for 10 minutes on a lightly floured board and then press the raisins in as evenly as possible, and knead the dough over to tuck them in.  Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a damp towel...let it rise in a draft free place until it double in size (45-90 minutes.)

Now punch it down and let it rise again until it doubles again (45-90 minutes.)

Divide the dough in two and braid each half into its own challah.  Spray the sheet pan (you can use two pans, one for each.  Brush the egg wash on, and let it rise until it puffs (20-30 minutes.)

photo taken from http://thebakersguide.com/challah-bread

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (400 degrees Fahrenheit) and bake the bread for 12 minutes. Then reduce heat to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) and place it back in he oven for another 25 minutes or until the bread is browned (if you want to keep it light put tin foil over the top for the last 20 minutes.)

Turkey Gravy

Ingredients:

1 cup of turkey drippings (the juice that drips from the cooked turkey)
1 can of gravy mix (store bought upon preference)
1 cup of chicken stock
1/2 a cup of butter


Heat the turkey drippings in a pot and when warm pour in the gravy mix. Once the mixture is thickening pour in the chicken stock and the butter.  Stir until the consistence is thickened but not creamy.

If you wish not to use the gravy mix- from the store..

Just add flour slowly to the drip pins, and a bit of Worcestershire Sauce or Red Wine...
The trick is to mix the flour in slowly until you reach the desired consistency..

No photo sorry of my own gravy I think I deleted it by accident.

Cornbread

Ingredients:


2/3 cup of butter or margarine (softened)
1 cup of sugar
3 eggs
1 2/3 cups of plain flour
1 cup of cornmeal or polenta
4 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt

In a bowl mix the softened butter and sugar...in another bowl combine the eggs and milk.  Then mix the flour, cornmeal or polenta, baking powder and salt in the food processor while adding the butter/sugar mixture and the egg mixture alternately until even.  Pour the mixture into a greased baking pan and bake at 200 degrees Celsius (400 degrees Fahrenheit) for about 20-25 minutes.  To check if it's ready, stick a toothpick in the center and if it comes out clean it's done.  I like to cut mine into cubes and serve warm.