Colcannon - Food of MY people

Aaron called me from his consulting job one afternoon and told me he had an idea for dinner. He saw what his colleague was eating it and wanted me to make the same. His colleague was eating colcannon, a traditional Irish dish. I'm part-Irish, and it has simple ingredients, so I figured why not? I'm so glad we tried this!

I started with this recipe from AllRecipes.com and made some changes

Colcannon - Variation #1
Ingredients:
2 1/2 pounds potatoes, NOT peeled, quartered/eighthed
4 slices of turkey bacon
1 bunch of kale, stemmed and chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 stick (8 Tbsp. - we don't have milk on hand usually, so I substitute butter)
1/4 c. butter, melted (yes, in addition to the stick)

Instructions:
After cleaning and cutting potatoes, put potatoes in large pot with water to cover. Boil until very tender, easy to mash.

Place bacon in skillet. Cook over medium heat until browned. Set bacon aside to dry on plate, leave drippings in skillet. Crumble bacon after it has cooled and dried. With the drippings, saute onion and kale until kale wilts. Putting a lid on the skillet will help vegetables cook more quickly.

Drain the potatoes, mash with the 1 stick of butter. Salt and pepper to taste. Fold in the bacon, kale, and onion. You can transfer to a serving bowl if you like. Make a large well in the center and pour the 1/4 c. of melted butter in well. Serve immediately.

Colcannon - Variation #2
Ingredients:
2 1/2 pounds potatoes, NOT peeled, quartered/eighthed
4 slices of turkey bacon
1/2 bunch of kale, stemmed and chopped
1/4 head of cabbage, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 stick (8 Tbsp. - we don't have milk on hand usually, so I substitute butter)
1/4 c. butter, melted (yes, in addition to the stick)

Instructions:
See above. Saute cabbage with kale and onions.

I made Variation #2 when we had both kale and cabbage to eat. That is, it would have gone bad and wasted had we not eaten it. I also decided to double the recipe when I had 2 greens, mostly because I wanted to get through the greens but also because I know the leftovers are awesome. *grin*

The kid review is mixed. The first time I made this, they really enjoyed it - especially the bacon. The second time, they were both overtired and had a hard time eating anything. Ellie still showed excitement at the bacon, and Caleb professed love for "cold cannon," but I can't say either of them ate a large amount the second time. Still I think you should try it. Most kids seem to like mashed potatoes, and these are only slightly dressed up.

Variation on a Quiche

In a previous post, I shared this yummy recipe for Crustless Swiss Chard Quiche. Now I'd like to suggest a variation on this recipe. Replace the chard with KALE!!

Caleb already loves kale, but I had not been able to get Ellie to touch the yummy yet perhaps not so pretty vegetable. Putting it in the quiche completely worked for both kids. I was bored with sauteing it with onions and garlic (yummy but getting old), so I decided to try it in the quiche recipe. Wow, was it good!

At my CSA pickup, someone had not been sure what to do with her chard. I wonder whether she has the same thoughts about kale. If you're looking for a new thing to try with kale, try that quiche recipe. I think you'll be pretty satisfied.

Caleb LOVES kale!

Summer eating is so delicious. Grilled meat and veggies, fresh veggies for salads, fresh in-season fruit (nom nom nom), bananas that won't last so I "have" to make bread (hee hee - not at all a local food, but we're not purists).

Caleb has discovered a great affection for kale. It feels like this new love may be a fleeting phase, but I can hope it will last at least through the season and that maybe just maybe he will stay open to trying this superbly healthy vegetable again next season.

This past Friday, we invited new friends over for dinner. We prepared our standard Friday night dinner of fish, green something, and rice. We offered challah as is our tradition (whole wheat Rosenfeld's - pure bliss). The wife is a vegetarian, so we had several vegetable sides - grilled zucchini and summer squash from the CSA, kale from farmers' market with carmelized onions and garlic, farmers' market corn (boiled in pot), beans from the garden (steamed). The husband mentioned that he never had found kale to be palatable. I suggested he could try ours, but I didn't mind if he didn't like it.

Guess what? Yeah, you guessed right. He totally liked it. Better yet, Caleb was super excited to eat kale. I think Caleb had seconds. So folks, if you have kale, try this way and see what you think:

1 bunch of kale (really the amount can be whatever you buy), remove stems
1 onion chopped (red or yellow; red is sweeter)
2 Tbsp. minced garlic (I buy this already minced in a large jar, and I'm sure fresh is yummier and would require less)
enough olive oil to saute onions, garlic and eventually the kale (maybe 1-2 Tbsp)
balsamic vinegar (maybe a Tbsp)

Saute onion in large pan/wok until it softens. Add minced garlic and continue cooking until onions nearly caramelize (brown). You'll stir a lot to prevent sticking and cook evenly. Add kale. Gently "toss" kale as it wilts/shrinks (maybe 3-4 minutes), mixing onions and garlic somewhat evenly. After the kale wilts, remove the pan from heat/turn off stove. Add a few splashes of the balsamic vinegar (I hear lemon juice also is nice) and stir. Serve warm.

To whomever reads this, this dish takes maybe 5 minutes plus the time it takes to chop an onion and separate the kale from its stems. And check out this link for some nutritional information about kale.

Bon appetit!

CSA!!

Yes my friends, CSA season has at last returned to our household! Today was the first pick up for our share of the Stillman's CSA. As I expected from the first box, we have loads of green leafy goodness. Here is a tally of what was included in our full share box. We share this box with our neighbors, so really I only keep half of what is on the list.

• 2 bunches of kale, 2 different varieties
• 1 quart(?) strawberries. What do you call the next box size up from a pint?
  
• 2 heads of lettuce, 2 different varieties - green and red
• 2 bunches of swiss chard, 2 varieties - "plain" and "rainbow"
• 2 bunches arugula
• 2 bunches of radishes
  
• beets, glorious beets. I *think* 2 bunches.

Tonight's dinner was lentil burgers with a side of carmelized onions and kale. The lentil burgers are a Weight Watchers recipe that we had to modify to make work. I'm not sure what the recipe author thought would bind the lentil mixture together, but the recipe had no egg or additional oil. Aaron saved the recipe by adding a few eggs. The kale recipe comes to me from RecipeZaar.

Yes, this is what I offered to my kids for dinner.

My kids actually ate the burgers!! Given that I thought they were a certain fail when I had to bring Aaron in to rescue the recipe, I am delighted they ate them. Caleb had a few bites of the kale, claimed to like it, but did not finish his small portion. Ellie wouldn't touch the kale. This didn't surprise me. Dark green leafy vegetables can be a really hard sell to kids, and this recipe doesn't make them LOOK appealing, even though they taste great. I have much higher hopes for the swiss chard (quiche is coming soon to a kitchen near me...*grin*).

Anyway, it is SO nice to return to our weekly CSA pickup. I love knowing that I have guaranteed good (quality, quantity, etc.) vegetables for the summer. I love knowing that I can bring back last year's favorite recipes and try out some new ones.

CSA Pickup

Our family joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) this year.   We split a full share at Stillman's Farm with our neighbors across the street.  From the end of June through the end of October, I pick up a large box of vegetables and fruits weekly and divide the bounty with my neighbor.  Earlier in the season, we received loads of dark green leafy vegetables, beets a-plenty, and glorious berries.  As the season has progressed, we continue to receive delicious diverse produce.

Perhaps more importantly, my family has learned so much in just one season.  Aaron and I have learned new recipes; Caleb and Ellie have learned where food really comes from.  I think we all appreciate just how much work really goes into providing nourishment for ourselves and each other.

Monday is our pick up day, so after the kids napped today, we made the trip to the pick up site.  Our share of the box today included:

• Dinosaur kale
• beans of some kind
• 2 cucumbers
• 2 eggplants
• 1 green pepper
• 3 onions
• 3 corn
• 3 tomatoes
• 6 apples
• 2 pears
• 1 peaches - neighbor got 2 this time
• basil
• lettuce to neighbor because we have plenty

It's a bit overwhelming at first, but we have a bit of a groove with how to get through the food in one week.  The fruit is a no-brainer.  It gets eaten anytime - breakfast, snacks, Caleb's preschool lunch, after dinner when we're trying to avoid junk food.  With 6 apples this time, I could make applesauce, but I think I'm going to wait until we go apple picking in another week or two.  What about all those veggies though?  How do I get my kids to eat them?

Tonight's dinner attempted to use up some of last week's CSA veggies.  Check out this recipe for Curried Chickpeas and Kale.  I honestly didn't know if my kids would touch it.  Both kids like Indian food, but neither kid has taken to cooked kale.  I made a side of mashed potatoes and made a mock-naan with garlic buttered whole wheat pita toasted in the oven.  I knew they would eat one of those sides.  No, potatoes and bread do not a healthy meal make, but I planned ahead and made sure the rest of the day is more balanced.  I offered up scrambled eggs, oatmeal, and zucchini bread at breakfast.  Lunch was leftover tomato soup (thank you Trader Joe's!) and leftover pasta casserole (thank you dear husband Aaron!).  Both kids had Trader Joe's fruit bars as a quick snack after nap before CSA pick up. 

But guess what?

Yes, the kids LOVED it.  We told Caleb it was like "dipping sauce" from the Indian restaurant, and he ate it up, asked for more, and told me that it was delicious and would I please send it to school with him tomorrow?  Ellie showed a preference for mashed potatoes, but she also ate up the curry dish when I mixed it with her potatoes.  The only mistake to the meal tonight was not making a double recipe.