At Long Last, I Have Mastered Kale!!

As a Park Slope, Brooklyn mommy, I've been trying for well over a year now to figure out how to cook kale. After all, kale is one of nature's perfect foods. Despite it's reputation for bitter taste, it's high in protein, fiber, calcium, iron, folate, vitamin C, and low in calories. My poor husband Jesse. He has patiently suffered all of my attempts to make kale taste good and only once or twice proclaimed, "NO MORE KALE!" I am pleased to report that last night, he requested seconds on the kale. Hah! The keys, in my estimation, are several. First, steam it long enough to make it tender, i.e. chewable. Second, if you have the choice, go with the baby kale, which is already more tender. And third, use too much oil. But that's the key to making a lot of things taste their best, so it's a no-brainer. Try this simple kale recipe and see who in your household will eat it without protest.

Sauteed Kale with Walnuts and Lemon

1/2 c. walnuts, toasted, cooled and roughly chopped

1 large bunch/container/bag of kale, preferably baby kale or young Tuscan kale

4 T. olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 t. dried red pepper flakes

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Wash the kale in a colander and remove the really thick stems. If it's a kale variety with really big leaves, cut them into more manageable pieces. Don't worry about drying it, just place in a steamer with a good inch of water in the bottom. Steam the kale for 8-10 minutes, depending on the variety. The tougher the leaves, the longer the steam. Use tongs to lift the cooked kale back to the colander. Run under cold water to stop the cooking. Press or wring the water out of the kale using your hands. You might wish to separate the leaves at this point.

Carefully use a dish towel to dry out the pot you used to steam the kale. Over high heat, heat the oil, garlic and red pepper flakes. As garlic becomes golden, add the kale and stir frequently for about 2-3 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and then reduce heat to low. You can add the zest from that lemon as well, if you wish. Add the toasted walnuts. Stir everything together and keep warm until ready to serve.

Makes two servings.

Speaking of being a Park Slope mommy, another required dish in my Birkenstock, health-conscious neighborhood is quinoa. First, make sure you're pronouncing it right: KEEN-wah. At our little farmers' market down the block, there's an Afro-Caribbean man with the most beautiful hazel eyes who sells homemade pastrami-smoked salmon. He suggested I use the salmon in a quinoa salad with avocado. There's another vendor at the market selling flavor-infused olive oil. I bought Jesse a bottle of the blood orange infused oil and the pastrami smoked salmon as a Hanukkah gift. Here's the quinoa salad I made the other night using both ingredients. If you don't have orange infused olive oil, probably any flavor-infused oil that you're fond of will do. Or, add some orange zest to the seasoning. But this oil gave the salad a lovely infusion of flavor.

Here's something else I discovered with this dish. At the very same farmers' market, there's a Korean vendor who sells excellent produce. Small quantities, and a small selection, but his salad greens, and root vegetables are excellent. Last Sunday I bought a bunch of mini-parsnips with their tops still attached. I asked the vendor if I could eat the parsnip tops-- they looked exactly like parsley. "Of course," he said. The tops also tasted exactly like parsley, and I used them in this recipe.

Quinoa Salad with Smoked Salmon and Avocado

1/2 c. toasted hazelnuts, loose skins rubbed off, and roughly chopped

2 1/2 c. cooked quinoa, prepared according to package directions

1 scallion, thinly sliced

1/3 red pepper, diced

1 small zucchini, diced

4 oz. dry smoked salmon, flaked (The oily, sliced smoked salmon that you might put on a bagel won't work as well here. The dry type will flake nicely.)

1 Hass avocado, diced

large handful of fresh parsley or parsnip greens, finely chopped

juice of 1/2 lemon

2 T. blood orange infused olive oil

freshly ground black pepper

Toast hazelnuts for about 4-5 minutes in toaster oven or in a small dry saute pan. Rub off loose skins on a dish towel and coarsely chop.

Cook quinoa according to package directions. Put hot quinoa into a large bowl and add scallions, red pepper and zucchini. Stir in the vegetables so that they cook slightly. When mixture has cooled completely, add remaining ingredients. Stir and eat. Makes 4-6 servings.