Kevin's Watch

Oh yum.
That sounds really similar to the one I plan on making for Thanksgiving in the crockpot. I may just play around with it a little now. Diced mango with the plain yogurt sounds like an awesome addition.

right now Ive eaten so much of this soup Im turning orange. my tummy is swollen like my dogs when she stole a hole brick of cheddar.

wow it's a long time between posts

Mango Kale Salad

I made this last week. It is spectacular! I used a bit more lemon and honey and no pepitas. The great thing is this gets better and better as it sits in the fridge.

Ingredients
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

Directions
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.

lorin wrote:wow it's a long time between posts

Mango Kale Salad

I made this last week. It is spectacular! I used a bit more lemon and honey and no pepitas. The great thing is this gets better and better as it sits in the fridge.

Ingredients
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

Directions
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.

I'm going to try this one. I grow lots of Kale in my garden. For those that dont know, Kale is one of the easiest things to grow and is cold tolerant so put it in early. Its also one of the overlooked green that is one of the healthiest vegetables on the planet!! Yep one of the healthiest!

Kale’s health benefits are primarily linked to the high concentration and excellent source of antioxidant vitamins A, C, and K -- and sulphur-containing phytonutrients.

Carotenoids and flavonoids are the specific types of antioxidants associated with many of the anti-cancer health benefits. Kale is also rich in the eye-health promoting lutein and zeaxanthin compounds.

Beyond antioxidants, the fiber content of cruciferous kale binds bile acids and helps lower blood cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease, especially when kale is cooked instead of raw.

Ive been looking for some new recipies to use my kale for.

Kale is not only cold tolerant it even gets better after a bit of frost (a freezer will do as well). In northern Germany you get lots of kale. Usually cooked with meat and spicy sausage.

Last night through force of circumstances I was pushed into cobbling up a meal from what was available in the cuboard and it seemed to work. I've never seen this flavour combination used before so I thought I'd record it here for posterity and just in case anybody wanted to give something different a try.

Very simple:- A good quality ham hock terrine served with garlic mushrooms stuffed with cream cheese and breadcrumb topping. Dress the plate with english mustard and a small quantity of lettuce (a fancy variety if possible) dressed with a slightly but not over sweet chillie dressing. Sprinkle a few drops of white truffle oil over the finished plate of food. Serve the whole with buttered chunks of granary bread and a light bodied red wine such as a pinot noir or a beaujolais nouveau.

(Recipie for mushrooms:- Take some open cup mushrooms and remove the stalks and peel. Chop/grind half a clove of garlic into enough butter to half fill each 'cup' of mushroom and then mix with a herby cream cheese such as roulle. Fill the cup of each mushroom with the resulting mix and then top each mushroom with finely grated breadcrumbs.b Pre-heat a non-stick baking tray and bake the stuffed mushrooms in the center of a gas mark 6 oven for twenty five minutes or untill visibly done.)

This is a very stealthy recipe.

wholenewmom.com/recipes/silky-smooth-bean-fudge/

Silky Smooth Bean Fudge

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups cooked beans (the equivalent of 2 cans. Preferably, use de-gassed beans)
3/4 cup coconut oil (use coconut oil w/o coconut flavor or taste (i.e. expeller pressed) to avoid excessive coconut flavor)
3/4 cup carob or cocoa powder to taste
1/2 cup sweetener, to taste (granulated or liquid. The resulting product will be fine regardless. I used a combination of vegetable glycerine and granulated ACD safe sweetener.***)
6 scoops stevia extract (3/16 tsp), or another sweetener (about 1/2 – 3/4 cup) to taste.* One brand I recommend is NuNaturals.
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt

*Note, pure stevia extract comes with a scoop that measures 1/32 tsp. So 3/16 tsp = 6 scoops You can omit stevia and add extra of the other sweeteners as well. Add about 6-12 Tbsp sweetener as a substitute for the pure stevia.

**Love cocoa, but not the caffeine? Try Wonderslim cocoa powder.

***I use xylitol and erythritol. They are not great whole food options, but I can’t tolerate much stevia at this point so I have to use what I can.)

Method:

1. Put all ingredients in high-powered blender (like a Vitamix) or food processor and process until totally smooth. Adjust sweetener to taste at this point.

2. Spread the mixture in an 8×8 pan, pressing down firmly.

3. Place in refrigerator(if you do not eat it all ), for at least one hour or until firm. Slice into squares and serve.

4. Store in the refrigerator or in the freezer for longer storage or for a frozen fudgey treat. It will defrost nicely on the counter or in the refrigerator. Do not use the microwave (you’re backing off using that anyway, aren’t you?) or you will have fudge sauce. Well, then, maybe you want fudge sauce .

Notes & Tips:

Carob and Cocoa: Feel free to adjust the amount of carob or cocoa that you use to your taste. Use the full amount for a really rich taste, half for a nice mellow flavor, or cut it to 1/3 of the amount for a smooth, ultra-light fudge. If you really want to “go for the gusto”, double it. NOTE: Most recently, I revised this recipe and found that doubling the cocoa / carob tastes much closer to the real thing. You can see my update and an additional fudge variation by reading my Chocolate Almond Fudge post. Carob has an inherent sweetness so you will probably need more sweetener if you use cocoa. And if you choose to double the cocoa, don’t eat it too close to bedtime .

This is a really easy recipe, no oil and no wheat flour. Came out very good. Make sure you cook the clementines at least 2 hours first. I used almond flour, not ground almonds and it came out fine.

Ingredients
4 to 5 clementines (about 1 pound total weight)
6 eggs
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/3 cups ground almonds
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
Directions
Put the clementines in a pot with cold water to cover, bring to the boil, and cook for 2 hours. Drain and, when cool, cut each clementine in half and remove the seeds. Then finely chop the skins, pith, and fruit in the processor (or by hand, of course).

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Butter and line an 8-inch springform pan with parchment paper.

Beat the eggs. Add the sugar, almonds, and baking powder. Mix well, adding the chopped clementines. I don't like using the processor for this, and frankly, you can't balk at a little light stirring.

Pour the cake mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour, when a skewer will come out clean; you'll probably have to cover the cake with foil after about 40 minutes to stop the top from burning. Remove from the oven and leave to cool, in the pan on a rack. When the cake is cold, you can take it out of the pan. I think this is better a day after it's made, but I don't complain about eating it anytime.

I've also made this with an equal weight of oranges and lemons, in which case I increase the sugar to 1 1/4 cups and slightly Anglicize it, too, by adding a glaze made of confectioners' sugar mixed to a paste with lemon juice and a little water.

Read more at: www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nigella-law ... c=linkback

I've asked Julie to share her pear/leek soup recipe. we are having it Christmas Eve to open the meal.

Making veggie lasagna. I have a process that makes it spectacular.

I take sliced zucchini, some cherry tomatoes and onions and I cook them down until they caramelize THEN I add a little chipolte (sp?) in adobo and two wedges of laughing cow garlic cheese (I use diet). I spread it on raw whole wheat lasagna noodles. Then a layer of sautéed mushrooms, and then the usual part skim ricotta and mozzarella. And sauce. comes out amazing.

Usually if it ain't 'on the hoof' I ain't buyin it Lorin - but that sounds amazing!

nice guy peter wrote:Usually if it ain't 'on the hoof' I ain't buyin it Lorin - but that sounds amazing!

It's no substitute for full fat, sausage laden, cheesy lasagna but at about 300 a serving it is lovely.

I am trying to ease away from the meat. I love meat but the animals haunt me. I've even started my dog on a salmon diet. Her coat is much better.

Nothing is as haunting as looking into the dying eyes of a salmon while its gaping mouth is whispering a silent "Why, human, why?"

No need for excessive sympathy. All right-thinking salmon have made peace with their tasty place in the order of things. Whether eaten fresh-caught by a bear in a cool stream, processed and tinned for Helldog's dinner, smoked on my deck to feed ali, Wadds, and Rigel, or salt-cured in my fridge for a couple weeks to make the belly lox that causes Menolly to salivate, salmon are here for a reason...and they know it.

I hope you spotted the irony in my post. Not out to offend lorin, but "... the animals haunt me. I've even started my dog on a salmon diet." sounds like salmons are no animals with the same right to live (or be eaten) as cows, chicken and the like.

Vader wrote:I hope you spotted the irony in my post. Not out to offend lorin, but "... the animals haunt me. I've even started my dog on a salmon diet." sounds like salmons are no animals with the same right to live (or be eaten) as cows, chicken and the like.

Well, I guess I make some value judgements. I tried feeding my pooch celery but she just wasn't having it.

My issue is not eating meat or fish, it's the life they have while alive. I know there is humanely raised meat, but I cannot afford it. So I choose to eat fish that are wild caught. A lot of people role their eyes at my issues with eating flesh, but it just hurts me to see the way these creatures live and how they are slaughtered.

Thing is, and not to be difficult, the animal is dead whether it's you eating it, or somebody else.

Personally, I like vegetarians. It means more for me.

--A

Avatar wrote:Thing is, and not to be difficult, the animal is dead whether it's you eating it, or somebody else. --A

Not sure what you mean.

I know exactly where Lorin is coming from on this - I'm the same. I eat meat because I like it - hell, I love it! But I remain acutely aware of where it comes from and wish it didn't have to be that way. I totally agree that what we can do is try to ensure that what we do eat has as high a quality of life [and as humane a death] as possible, even given that we will continue to eat meat.

Just made cauliflower roasted on HIGH with olive oil, lemon and garlic.

outstanding!