Harvest Monday: December 14, 2015

I've been somewhat absent recently from the blog as my computer died, again.  It's been a troubling year technologically for me ... it's the second computer I've lost in about 5 months.  When will I remember to back up my files?!  Ah well, I have most important things backed up but I forget about all those photos I take each week.  Overall, I've probably lost half of 2015 gardening pics between the two computer crashes.  But at least most of them made it to a blog post.

As it turns out, I didn't bother to harvest anything last week anyway since all I have left is the kale.  So I waited until this weekend and here it is shown in the main photo ... not quite the last of it but not sure how much more it will grow.  The wonderful weather we are having has to turn colder at some point!  As much as I love the better-than-average conditions, I worry that it means winter is just delayed - meaning that when it does hit, it will stay later into the spring. That won't be good!!

Also not good right now is my car!

I hit a deer :(.  I'm totally fine as I was able to slow down a bit before impact but not so fine for the poor little deer that I hit.  Deer-vehicle collisions are unfortunately all too common in this area - especially at this time of the year; with the rutting period and hunting season, the deer are running all over the place and generally less cautious about their movements.  This is not the first time I've hit a deer, sadly to say.

But back to the kale.  I have lots of kale in the fridge from a previous harvest and now this new batch.  Luckily, I have treated myself this holiday season with a new blender to make up smoothies!  It hasn't arrived yet, but I hope to share some fun smoothie recipes in 2016 once I've figured it all out.

As always, I look forward to seeing what other folks are harvesting, or doing with their harvests, this time of year so I'll be popping over to Our Happy Acres for the weekly Harvest Monday submissions.

Kale and Walnut Pesto

I've said it before, but will repeat ... pesto can be made with anything!  Many combinations of greens and nuts work, and I've even made it with sun-dried tomatoes and pumpkin seeds.

So here's yet another delicious version that I've tried.  Many similar recipes called for the kale to be blanched first.  I chose not to as I generally lightly saute any pesto I'm using in a heated pan to warm it up before tossing it with pasta, potatoes or serving warm over eggs.  So I did not blanch it.  But I will say that when the heat first hit the kale pesto, I suddenly smelled cabbage!  It definitely needs a bit of heat to mellow out the bitterness, so if you prefer to blanch it, that's good.  But my method worked very well and seems easier.

And reading recipes calling for "1 bunch of kale" is useless to folks like me that grow kale in their backyard - what the heck is a bunch?  So I've measured mine here to help you out.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup whole walnuts
2-3 large cloves garlic (or less to taste - I love garlic)
4 cups (lightly packed) chopped Tuscan (Lacinato) Kale leaves
1/2 cup + of extra virgin olive oil
Parmesan cheese (or other aged cheese), if desired*

*As noted in previous recipes, I never add the cheese.  Often I freeze it and would never add cheese in that case.  But even if I'm cooking it, I tend to just add the cheese to whatever dish I'm using it in.

In a food processor, process the walnuts and garlic until smooth.  Add the kale and begin to pulse.  It will soon get a bit thick to process.  At this point, start drizzling in olive oil.  You'll need at least a 1/4 cup just to get the processor moving smoothly, then continue to add olive oil until it reaches the consistency you want - you don't want it thick nor thin, somewhere in the middle.

I heated the pesto in a pan and tossed it with some shrimp and macaroni (just because that's all I had in the cupboard).  Not so pretty but tasted delicious!

Rigatoni with Acorn Squash, Kale and Mushrooms

I put this together a few weeks ago when I still had fresh kale from the garden ... but I could just as easily have used some of the kale I have frozen for use through the winter.  It was one of those "anything-available" kind of dishes - I realized afterwards that I hadn't even bothered with an onion!

I really enjoyed the extra flavour from cooking the squash in almond milk, but it can also be cooked in chicken stock or just plain water.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups dry rigatoni, cooked
1 cup cubed acorn squash
2 cups almond milk
4 pieces bacon, chopped
6 oz shiitake, chopped or diced
8 oz cremini, chopped or diced
2 cups kale, chopped
2 Tbsp fresh thyme
Aged cheddar, cubed or grated parmesan (optional)

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Cook the pasta in salted, boiling water to al dente.  Drain and set aside. Heat the almond milk to a simmer, add the squash and cook until tender.

Heat a saute pan and add the chopped bacon.  Saute 3-4 minutes to render some of the fat then add the mushroooms and fresh thyme.  Cook on medium-high heat until mushrooms are browned.  Add in the kale and toss to combine all ingredients.  Remove from heat.  Season to taste with salt and pepper (lots of pepper!).

Add the pasta and mushroom/kale mixture into a casserole dish.  Remove squash from milk with a slotted spoon and add to the casserole dish.  If your pasta is well cooked, you might not want to add any more liquid.  But if you want a creamier dish, add some of the almond milk as well.  Toss in some cubed cheese if using (or just top with grated parmesan for a bit of extra flavour).

Toss to combine all ingredients.  Bake in preheated oven for about 20-30 minutes to heat through all ingredients and let the flavours come together.

Kale and Ricotta Phyllo Packets

 

This is a very similar recipe to spanakopita using kale instead of the traditional spinach.  I find a number of greens to be interchangeable depending on the recipe (kale, spinach, chard, arugula, beet greens) with variations in flavour and texture.

In this case, kale tends to be tougher than spinach so it should be chopped quite finely and sauteed long enough to soften it.

 Makes 16 triangles.

I used a combination of Tuscan Kale and Russian Red Kale from my garden.


Ingredients:
1 medium red onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
9 ounces kale, chopped
3 Tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 Tbsp chives, chopped
1 lemon
2-3 Tbsp ricotta
2 Tbsp feta
454 gram package of phyllo pastry





Saute the onion and garlic until softened.  Add the kale and cook on medium heat until tender (about 10 minutes).  Add water if needed to help wilt the kale but be sure the liquid evaporates before the next step.

Stir in the parsley and chives then remove from heat.  Allow to cool then juice the lemon into the mixture and stir in the ricotta and feta.  Season with salt and pepper.

For the wrapping technique, please refer to my spanakopita post.  To reduce the amount of butter used for brushing the pastry, I cut the butter half and half with more lemon juice.

Place on a parchment paper lined pan and bake in a 400 degree F preheated oven until pastry is flaky and browned (about 20 minutes).

Kale Chips

These are delicious, but not sure it was worth the electricity used to make them.  I imagine this would be more efficient in a dehydrator!  You might think you are making a lot, but they shrink up so much.

Method:

Wash and completely dry about 12-14 ounces of kale.  Toss in a bowl with 2 Tbsp olive oil, 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar and 1/2 tsp kosher salt.

Spread in a single layer on a parchment paper lined baking tray. Bake at 300 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes - check after the first 10 minutes as you might need to pull out any smaller pieces that might already be crisp.

Great on their own, or serve with a dip.

Kale with Strawberries, Halloumi and Raspberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

I love halloumi.  I mean seriously, a cheese that you can cook and it doesn't melt?!  My favourite way to eat it is Nigella Lawson style: fry until browned in some olive oil and red chili flakes.  Super easy and a pretty great late night snack for parties.

The halloumi is cooked the same way here (without the red chili flakes!).   Allow it to cool before adding to a bowl of kale and sliced fresh strawberries.

And the vinaigrette is quick to put together.  Especially if you have a jam jar with just a bit left in the bottom - just toss the rest of the ingredients in and shake.  I used my homemade raspberry balsamic jam.

Raspberry Vinaigrette
2 Tbsp raspberry jam
1 tsp grainy mustard
4 Tbsp olive oil
7 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt to taste

Put all ingredients together in a lidded mason jar and shake to combine.   Drizzle over salad.

Harvest Monday: July 7, 2014

Here is my harvest from the past week.  Check out Daphne's Dandelions to see harvests from other gardeners around the globe.

I've had plenty of greens this week so lots of salads and other delicious meals.

Arugula, Chard, Lettuce Greens and Spinach

Some of the chard was used for a tasty tart with chives and beet greens.

And more chard and some spinach were blanched, drained and frozen for later use.

The arugula was combined with garlic scapes for a delicious pesto recipe - see here.

And the small amount of kale I have was set aside for a salad.  I don't seem to be getting enough to blanch and freeze for the winter.  Maybe it just hasn't kicked in yet as I've reseeded several times already.

Cilanto and mint were made into another pesto ... I'll share that recipe soon.

And I finally have cucumbers ... combined with garlic scapes, mint and dill to make a tzatziki sauce with my homemade yogurt.  Perfect for the baby carrots I pulled while thinning the patch.

And last, and very much the least, the blueberry plant I started just last year has yielded a single ripe berry.  Only a dozen more berries on the plant so far ... but since the second bush did not even last the winter, I'm happy to see this much!

Baby Kale Salad with Grilled Portobello Mushrooms, Boursin and Raspberries

I'm having a very difficult time with my greens this year ... there is no sign of the spinach or arugula planted weeks ago and I keep accidentally pulling the kale out thinking it's a weed.  Arrrgghh!

So I just keep buying mixed greens at the store with pretty much those same greens: mostly baby kale with some spinach and arugula. I really love salads with grilled mushrooms or onions and roasted peppers on top.  They can easily become a full meal.  In this case, I had peppers in the fridge but I have other plans for those.

When I decided to grill the portobellos, I had considered making a raspberry vinaigrette but I decided to just use the berries right in the salad.  So use any favourite neutral salad dressing or use this vinaigrette recipe.

I don't normally clean mushrooms too much but in this case they seemed awfully dirty.  Just wipe them with a damp paper towel to clean.







I also removed the gills - this isn't absolutely necessary and I often don't bother.  Definitely remove the gills if you are using them for a mushroom risotto - otherwise you'll end up with muddy looking rice!

Either toss with some olive oil so the mushrooms are lightly coated or just use some olive oil in the pan and pour a bit extra into the cavity (and sprinkle with salt).  Grill until well browned and the texture has softened fully.

Allow the mushrooms to cool then slice.  Toss with mixed greens, fresh raspberries, pieces of boursin cheese (I used pepper boursin) and your favourite vinaigrette.  Add pepper if you like it!

 

Spicy Black Bean, Kale and Sweet Potato Breakfast Hash (served with Poached Egg)

This awesome one-pan breakfast dish is actually a failed version of something else.  I was trying to make baked or fried patties - not so much as a burger patty, but similar to a zucchini fritter.  I was inspired by one recipe that used black beans that had been pre-baked with spices; my plan was to use this drier ingredient to replace the usual bread crumbs as a binder.  But it turned out too dry to form a patty ... even with an egg added.

So what the heck, I just fried it up and served it with a poached egg.  Oh, so gooooood!  To keep it extra healthy, I drizzled on some full-fat yogurt instead of sour cream.  If you aren't used to a lot of vegetarian fare, this might seem really boring, but it is so delicious and spicy!

Ingredients:
1 can black beans, roasted with spices (see below for details)
1/4 cup red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 fresh jalapeno, finely diced
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1 cup chopped kale
1 1/2 cups grated sweet potato
1 egg, beaten (optional)

Roasted black beans:  Drain and rinse a can of black beans and pat dry with paper towels.  Toss with 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp cayenne and 1/2 tsp salt.  Bake at 400 degrees F for about 30 minutes, checking and stirring every 10 minutes.  Check more often in the last 10 minutes to be sure they don't burn!




The hash: Saute the onion, garlic and jalapeno in 1 Tbsp olive oil for a minute then add the cumin and salt.  Continue to cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add chopped kale and cook 4-5 minutes until the kale wilts.  Break up the roasted beans with your fingers and add them to the pan along with the grated sweet potato and beaten egg.  Stir to mix the ingredients well and cook about 10 minutes to cook the sweet potato through.






Serve with poached egg.  Awesome with sour cream (or yogurt) and salsa.