Up until recently kale was not a favorite vegetable of mine. I’d walk by it in Whole Foods see its 1000-point ANDI score and cringe. 1000 points is high for just about anything, but for an ANDI score that means that kale (along with collard greens) is the healthiest item Whole Foods has to sell. Period. I didn’t like kale because it didn’t taste good. It was fibrous and hard to chew. And I didn’t really know how to cook it so I never wanted to prepare it; until, that is, I stumbled upon a few recipes that not only made kale edible, but also made it a feature vegetable in my home. So today’s post is dedicated to the only vegetable I now make at least once a week every week of the year. Kale. Continue reading “It’s a Kale Kale World”
Tag: Vegetables
Quick Quinoa and Vegetable Bowl (à la Café Gratitude)
In several locations in California (both Northern and Southern) there is a great vegan café called Café Gratitude. Its raw and cooked vegan and vegetarian items are thoughtfully prepared, and delicious. One item on the menu that Kathrin and I love is the vegetable grain bowl. This week we pay homage to that delicious dish with our own preparation – the Quick Quinoa and Vegetable bowl. This dish, while not quite a 15 minute “Dinner Winner”, deserves to be in that category for it’s simple preparation, easy adaptability, and delicious results. Continue reading “Quick Quinoa and Vegetable Bowl (à la Café Gratitude)”
Island Hopping in Greece
In the summer of 1994 my friend Susanne and I packed our bags and took the train to the Munich airport with a few weeks of summer holiday to spare. We were in search of a last-minute trip somewhere fabulous. And while we were thinking of Bali, Fiji or Tahiti, we were equally thrilled when the best tickets for sale allowed us to spend three weeks island hopping in Greece. Continue reading “Island Hopping in Greece”
A Love for Lentils
Growing up in Brooklyn in the 70s, the food I ate was standard for an Italian kid from Bay Ridge: almost always prepared by my grandmother, and generally assigned to a day (chicken soup on Monday, pizza on Friday, meatballs and macaroni on Sunday, and a rotation of five or six other dishes in between), it was the food we and all the other Italian American families around us ate. One particular dish my grandmother made that survived the transition into my daily repertoire is lentils and macaroni. And, it is from that dish that I began to understand and explore these fantastic legumes. Continue reading “A Love for Lentils”
Garbanzo, Garbanzo, Garbanzo
Chickpeas were not a staple in Northern Italy, where beans and legumes tended to be of the white variety. New traditions are made with every generation, however, and when I now think of chickpeas, I think of my son who had his first chickpeas when he was two. Great Jones, the New York City burger joint around the corner from where we lived, happened to serve the best green salads with chickpeas. Finn gobbled up this salad, loving every bite, and while he liked the flavor and consistency of the beans, I suspect his particular childhood memory was cemented when he proudly added a funny new word to his vocabulary: garbanzo, garbanzo, garbanzo… Continue reading “Garbanzo, Garbanzo, Garbanzo”
Come and Cook with Us 