No one can deny that kale is a nutritional powerhouse. A cup of the stuff contains only 36 calories, but it also provides 5 grams of fiber, and 15% of the calcium you need each day. It’s loaded with more than your daily requirements of magnesium, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Vitamin K. And, as a bonus, you get minerals like copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus. But, wait, there’s more: It has more protein per calorie than red meat. Bam.

So why shouldn’t we bow down before it?

Well, some people just don’t like it. Or are afraid of it. It’s really, really green. And vegetable-y. I was one of those people until a few years ago. It started with Kale Chips, then there were the Green Smoothies, and then this salad came along and forever changed my weekly consumption of kale, the vegetable I’d never purchased until 2009.

This salad is good for you in more ways than just delivering a delectable dose of kale. It requires that you squeeze it and smash it and knead it until it transforms into something completely different. It’s an upperbody-workout-and-salad-in-one. Most people enjoy a massage, but this time it’s the kale that’s on the receiving end; despite, this, you will not mind. The massage breaks down the cell walls and releases any bitterness you might have previously associated with kale.

You may never make it to full-blown worship, and that’s okay, but you may at the very least, find yourself thinking about it fondly and wishing you had a big bowl of it right in front of you. 

SILKY LEMON & GARLIC KALE SALAD

1 Large Head of Kale, washed & ribs removed (any variety, but my favorite is curly)

2-3 Tablespoons Good Olive Oil

3-4 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

1/3 c. Parmesan Cheese or Nutritional Yeast for Vegan

3 Garlic Cloves, Grated or Pressed

1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce

Salt and Fresh Pepper to Taste

Tear washed and dried kale into medium sized pieces in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and get to work. Manhandle and massage the kale for about 3 minutes until it turns a darker shade of green and becomes silky. Garnish with an optional slice of lemon and serve immediately.

Homemade croutons are an excellent addition.

This should serve 4 but usually only serves 2.

Cauliflower. This is the vegetable that has daunted me more than most of the others I’ve taken on in the past few years. First, there was Broccoli — not too hard — then Brussels Sprouts, then on to Eggplant and Asparagus. I saved the most feared for last, Cauliflower. While I can’t say I get cravings for all the veggies I’ve been dubious about, I do at least have a few recipes for each in my arsenal now and I don’t avoid them like a 6-year old at dinner parties like I used to.

I needed to ease in to the white vegetable department with some cheese and spices on my side and I was more than pleasantly surprised with the results. Yotam Ottolenghi’s cookbook, Plenty, steered me in the right direction with the Smoky Cauliflower Frittata which employs the double- whammy of Smoked Mozzarella AND Smoked Paprika. And a nice sear on the cauliflower too. I would make it again, eat it again, any day. That is saying a lot.

Stay tuned for more Adventures in Cauliflower.

Bourbon Barrel Smoked Paprika

My not-so-secret smoky standby. If you’re thinking to yourself, “Oh, I’ve used smoked paprika before…” Stop. And buy a tin. Or 4, like I do. It’s close to culinary magic and you’ll find yourself saying “Hmmm, this could use a little of THAT paprika… ” and you won’t be wrong.

http://bourbonbarrelfoods.com/

When the temparatures drop, I turn to all sources of coziness. I am a huge fan of cozy so I welcome and embrace the cold as long as I am armed with the proper supplies. An impossibly soft blanket is always good. Ultra-fuzzy slippers don’t hurt either. And I will never complain about a cashmere scarf. But when it really comes down to it, nothing beats being warmed up a little on the inside, and truth-be-told, I’m always looking for an excuse to make soup. 

A base of potato always seems so sturdy and true. But when you dress it up just a little with leek and bacon and blue cheese, it goes far beyond Irish-style sustenance.

Now, we just need a little snow.

BLUE CHEESE, ROASTED POTATO & LEEK SOUP w BACON

1 lb. thin skinned Yukon Gold Potatoes, skin on and cut into 1” chunks

4 medium Carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

2 medium Onions, quartered and sliced thin

2 Tbsp. Butter

3 Tbsp. Olive Oil, divided

1 Leek, Cleaned Well, Halved & Thinly Sliced (Whites & Very Light Green Only)

3 celery stalks, trimmed and minced

1 c. Dry White Wine

3 c. Vegetable or Chicken Stock

About 1/2 lb. of good, strong Blue Cheese (Roquefort works well, but don’t limit yourself!), Broken into Small Crumbles (get a little extra to use for bonus garnish!)

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Pepper

More Salt & Pepper to Taste

6 strips of cooked, thick cut Bacon, crumbled for garnish (optional, but delicious!)

Minced Chives for garnish (also optional, but very pretty)

Preheat oven to 400º.

Combine potatoes, carrots and onions in a roasting pan and drizzle with about 1 Tbsp. of oil oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss well to coat. Roast for about 30 minutes or until potatoes can be pierced easily with a fork.

While veggies are roasting, melt butter over medium heat and add 2 Tbsp. of olive oil to the pan. Once the butter is melted, add celery and saute for about 5 minutes and then add leeks. Continue cooking until celery is a little translucent and leek is wilted, about 10 more minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Once the veggies are done roasting, remove and let cool a bit.

In a good, sturdy soup pan, combine the roasted veggies, the leek-celery mixture, the stock of your choice and the white wine and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat, cover and allow to simmer for 25 to 30 minutes while you have a glass of the leftover white wine.

Carefully, using an immersion blender*, blend the soup until there are no large chunks of veggies left, it won’t be silky-smooth, but it shouldn’t have any hunks of carrots peeking out either.

Once the soup is pureed, add the blue cheese and stir until melted and combined into the soup. Taste and add more blue cheese and salt and pepper as needed.

Serve hot garnished with bacon, blue cheese crumbles and chives, or if you want to keep it strictly veggie, a few extra crumbles of blue cheese and chives look (and taste) nice too.

*If you don’t have an immersion blender, a regular blender will work fine, you’ll just need to cool the soup before transferring it to the blender to puree. Once you’ve pureed all the soup, return to soup pot and reheat before adding blue cheese.

When we moved north from Miami, we assumed we were moving toward temperatures and terrain that allowed for more than one season. Four distinct seasons sounded so dreamy, but what we secretly hoped for more than anything was snow. We dreamed of kids building snowmen, snowball fights and school closings. What we’ve ended up with more years than not, are a couple feeble inches of slush. Sure, there have been a few freakish exceptions. And they have been perfectly and absolutely wonderful.

This year, no different from any of the others, we naively looked to the coming season with glints of hope for a white Christmas…No? Okay, maybe just a white New Year? Just a few random flakes? We are really not picky, but we didn’t sign up for 70º days in January. 

So, to distract my boys from their panicked theories on the acceleration of global warming, we turned to something we could control and whipped up our own, magical, sweet, white fluff. A big pan of homemade marshmallows. The boys were thrilled and distracted, and it even amazed. There was even some brief educational banter about mass and volume. But best yet, in their finished state, they transformed into a true winter moment. Roasted Marshmallows and S’mores by the fire. It was perfect. Even without any sight of snow.

HOMEMADE VANILLA MARSHMALLOWS

3 Packets Unflavored Gelatin

1 cup Cold Water, Divided

1 c. Light Corn Syrup

1 1/2 c. White Sugar

1 Tbsp. Pure Vanilla Extract

1/4 tsp. Salt

1/4 c. Confectioners Sugar

2 Tbsp. Cornstarch

Nonstick Cooking Spray

Mix Confectioners Sugar and Cornstarch well in a small bowl and set aside.

Place Gelatin & 1/2 c. of cold water in the bowl of a stand mixer. Attach the whisk attachment and let the gelatin stand while you prepare the sugar syrup.

In a saucepan combine 1/2 c. cold water with corn syrup, white sugar, and salt. Stir to combine and place over medium heat, cover and let cook for about 3 minutes. Uncover the mixture and attach a candy thermometer to the pan and cook until the mixture is clear and almost reaches the “Firm Ball” stage (about 240º). Once the syrup reaches temperature, remove the pan from the heat.

Turn the mixer on the lowest speed, you’ll begin pouring the hot syrup down the side of the pan and you absolutely do not want any of that to splash out on you. Continue pouring the syrup in until it’s all been added. Now, gradually increase the mixer speed until you are on high, you need to add as much air as you can into the mixture as well as allow it to cool. After about 13-ish minutes, the mixture should look like thick marshmallow fluff and you should be able to handle the still-warm, but not-hot metal bowl. Add the Vanilla and continue beating until it is all well incorporated.

During the 13 minutes while the marshmallow is fluffing, prepare a pan. Lightly spray a 9” x 13” baking pan (I like using glass in case the marshmallows don’t release well and I have to cut in the pan) with cooking spray and generously dust the pan. Reserve the remaining Confectioners Sugar mixture for later.

When your marshmallow mixture is ready to transfer to the pan, lightly oil a spatula and spread the mixture evenly in the pan. Dust the top with more Confectioners Sugar mixture and let the marshmallows “cure” overnight, uncovered.

Dust a cutting board with a little more Confectioners Sugar and turn the marshmallows out onto the cutting board. Very lightly oil a very sharp knife and cut to desired size. (You’ll probably need to oil the knife now and then as you cut all the marshmallows.)

Prepare a bowl with a little more confectioners sugar and dust the remaining sides of each marshmallow as you cut it. I like to add a little more confectioners sugar into a zip lock a plunk them in there as I go. Once I finish cutting, I give them a good shake to make sure they’re well coated so they don’t stick together.

This should make 30 to 40 if you cut around 1’-1 1/2’ marshmallows, but I will not judge if you only get a dozen. They’ll keep well in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks if they last that long.

The holidays can ramp up to genuine craziness in record time. Whether it’s crazy-shopping, crazy-parties or just crazy-family crammed into one house together, it can max-out pretty quickly. But I firmly believe the holidays — insanity included — are still undeniably magical, and these nuts, for me, are simple, humble & pure holiday magic. They’re comforting, they’re sweet, they’re spicy and they smell like a holiday should when they’re warm from the oven. And they’re easy. And highly-addictive. And better than too much eggnog. So when you’re facing the parties, the lists, the shopping, the traffic and the family, take your own-kind-of-nuts wherever you go. 

ROSEMARY-SPICED EVERYDAY’S-A-HOLIDAY NUTS

Adapted from Union Square Café’s Bar Nuts

5 c. Unsalted Mixed Nuts, but here’s a list to get you started: Almonds, Cashews, Peanuts, Pecans, Pistachios, Pine Nuts, Walnuts, go crazy!

4 Tbsp. Rosemary, Very Finely Minced

2 Tbsp. Dark Brown Sugar

2 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter

1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper

1 tsp. Kosher Salt, or a little more to taste

Preheat oven to 350º. Spread nuts evenly on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven for 10 minutes. Shake pan gently to redistribute nuts after about 5 minutes.

While the nuts are getting toasty and warm, prep rosemary, brown sugar, cayenne and salt and mix together in a large bowl. Melt the butter and set aside.

Remove the nuts from the oven and carefully transfer them to the bowl of rosemary mixture. Pour butter over the nuts and spices and toss gently with a spoon. Serve warm.

Can be stored in a sealed container for up to a week, but please take the time to reheat them gently before serving, you will not be sorry about the extra 5 minutes that makes them extra-good.

When you’re burned out on sage-this and rosemary-that, it’s time to break out the curry. No matter how good Thanksgiving dinner is — and it is — the leftovers are only charming and nostalgic for a finite amount of time. So when you’re done with leftovers and contemplating what’s next, turn to all those hardy winter squash that your CSA is so generous with and whip up this simple/speedy, rich/complex, vegan/but-who-cares soup. It will make you thankful for curry too.

CURRIED BUTTERNUT SQUASH & APPLE SOUP with COCONUT & CILANTRO

1 @2-ish lb. Butternut Squash*, scrubbed and cut into 1” chunks

4 Small Granny Smith Apples, peeled and cut into 1” cubes

2 Small Onions, cut into 1” cubes

1 c. Vegetable Broth

1 1/2 c. Water

1 c. Light Coconut Milk plus more for Garnish

3 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1/4 c. Roasted, Unsalted Cashews

2 tsp. Curry Powder, I used Penzey’s Sweet Curry

1 tsp. Salt

Pepper, to taste

Pinch of Cayenne Pepper, or more to taste

Cilantro for Garnish

Preheat oven to 375º while you prep the squash, onions and apples. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss vegetables and apples with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until squash is tender when pierced with a fork.

Let rest on baking sheet until squash is cool enough to handle. With a spoon, scrape the squash away from the skin. Add squash to a blender as you go and once you’ve worked your way through all the squash, transfer the apples and onions into the blender as well. Add vegetable broth, water and cashews to the blender as well and puree until smooth.

Transfer the squash mixture to a medium sized stock pot over medium-low heat. Gently stir in the coconut milk, curry powder and cayenne. Taste and add more salt or cayenne as needed. Stir occasionally until heated through.

Garnish with coconut milk and cilantro if you are feeling fancy.

*Feel free to substitue a similar amount of acorn squash or pumpkin.

Possibly one of my favorite reasons to love fall is that it’s time for some soup. The crisp air and any hint of chill demands that I stir up something that can warm us inside and out. See, I’m just not a chilled soup person and so for me, soup has a season. It waits for fall to make its first appearances and then ramps up to a full-boil by the fire to fight the bitter cold of winter. Nothing else seems to have the somewhat-magical traits that soup does.

This is a version of my mom’s Cream of Mushroom Soup that always filled our house with a blanket of warmth and contentment.  I have to admit, I didn’t always appreciate it for its depth and soul-soothing properties as a teenager because I just wasn’t into mushrooms. I have become a convert over the years and this soup honors all that is good about creamy mushroom soups. It’s not even a second-cousin twice-removed of that gelatinous blob of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom we’ve all averted our eyes from at some point in our lives. (Soup should never, ever hold it’s shape.) 

A deceptively speedy weeknight recipe, the taste of this Creamy Mushroom Soup with Thyme belies its simplicity once your spoon hits the bowl. Grab a crusty loaf of bread and a head of romaine and dinner is done.

CREAMY MUSHROOM SOUP w THYME

5 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter, Divided

1/4 c. Chopped Yellow Onion (about 1/2 of a small onion)

1/2 c. Minced Shallot

1 Stalk Celery, Finely Minced

1 Carrot, Finely Minced

4 1/2 c. Vegetable Broth (you can also use chicken in a non-vegetarian version)

2 Bay Leaves

10 oz. Fresh Shitake Mushrooms, Stems Removed & Thinly Sliced

6 oz. Fresh Oyster Mushrooms, Stems Removed & Thinly Sliced

1/3 c. Half & Half

2 tsp. Fresh Lemon Juice

Thyme for Garnish

Melt 2 Tbsp. of butter in a medium-sized, heavy stock pot over medium heat. Add onions, shallots, carrot and celery and cooks stirring frequently until vegetables onions become translucent, about 8-10 minutes. Add in Shitake Mushrooms and increase heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring until mushrooms release their liquid and most of it evaporates, this should take 6 or 7 minutes. Add broth and bay leaves, let the soup come to a simmer and then cover and continue simmering for 30 minutes.

In a skillet, melt remaining 3 Tbsp. butter over medium heat and add Oyster Mushrooms. Sauté until the mushrooms begin to brown. This can take up to 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, remove from heat and set aside.

Remove and discard bay leaves from soup pot. Add the sautéed Oyster Mushrooms and stir to combine. If you have an immersion blender, now is the time to break it out! Puree the soup, but not all the way to oblivion. You still want some pieces of lovely mushroom to peek through. If you don’t have an immersion blender, transfer about 3/4 of the soup to a blender and puree and return to the pan.

Return soup to a simmer and stir in half & half. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Serve hot with a garnish with fresh thyme.

A chilly glass of Spicy Ginger Ale is my send-off to the heat of summer. It’s a little heat in a frosty glass.

So, as I begin to slowly, begrudgingly accept the fact that sleeping in is for weekends, I raise a glass of Ginger Ale and say goodbye to balmy afternoon hammock-naps and intentional idleness.

Ginger seems to be the perfect transition. This chilly and spicy ginger of summer eases us into the apple pies of fall and then on to ultra-cozy ginger-laden gingerbread. 

GINGER SYRUP

1 c. Filtered Water

1 c. Sugar

1 c. Ginger (Sliced, Chopped or Grated — depending on heat you prefer*)

1 Tbsp. Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice

1 Tbsp. Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice

Combine water, sugar and ginger in a heavy saucepan, stir well and bring to a simmer. Keep an eye out and stir occasionally so sugar crystals don’t burn. Continue simmering for 10 minutes after all sugar crystals have dissolved. Remove from heat and cover to steep for 1 hour. If you chopped or grated your ginger, you’ll need to strain it into a glass container. If you sliced it you can leave it in and just transfer to a glass storage container. Stir in the lemon and lime juices, cover and store for up to a month in the fridge.

Use for Spicy Ginger Ale or add a little to your tea or concoct an ah-mazing ginger-centric cocktail (I highly recommend Absolut Pear, Ginger Syrup and Seltzer).

* The finer your ginger, the spicier your syrup.

SPICY GINGER ALE

2-4 Tbsp. Ginger Syrup

8 oz. Seltzer Water or Club Soda

Sliced Lemon for Garnish (optional)

Combine ginger syrup and your choice of fizzy water. The first time you make your ginger ale I recommend starting on the low end of ginger syrup and adding more to taste. Serve over plenty of ice and garnish with lemon.

It’s time to fill your belly with these Zucchini-Cornmeal Pancakes.

I always feel sympathetic for zucchini this time of year. They’re prolifically pouring off the vines as you look at them with a mixture of enthusiasm (“They’re gorgeous!”) and befuddlement (Not more zucchini!”). You persuade yourself to “just pick up a few,” then you get home and they sit in a corner. Alone. Sad. Uneaten.

By this time of year, you’ve purchased a few or received a few pounds (or more) in your farmer’s market share and you’ve worked your way through your zucchini repertoire. So, now come the days where we hit a wall and they just sit around looking pretty. They just wait for us to do something — anything — with them as the slowly begin to not look so pretty or so shiny. 

Zucchini and Cornmeal meet up to make a tasty little pancake/zucchini over-abundance solution. I do not get tired of these so you see them at my table quite frequently in August here. They are exceedingly delicious and easy that will hopefully become part of your regular zucchini rotation. Try them reheated at breakfast with a poached egg. Yum. Viva la Zucchini Season!

ZUCCHINI-CORNMEAL PANCAKES with CREME FRAICHE & CHIVES

2 Medium-Large Zucchini (1 1/4- 1 1/2 lbs. total)

1 Medium Sweet Onion

1/3 c. Cornmeal

1/3 c. All-Purpose Flour (whole wheat pastry flour can also be subbed in)

1 Large Egg, lightly beaten

2 tsp. Baking Powder

1 tsp. Kosher Salt

1/2 tsp. Fresh Ground Black Pepper

1/2 tsp. Coriander

Pinch of Nutmeg

A bit of unsalted butter & neutral oil (canola or grapeseed work well)

Creme Fraiche & Chopped Chives for serving

Preheat oven to 275º to keep finished pancakes warm as your work your way through the batch.

Using the grating disk fitted on your food processor, grate zucchini and onion. Alternately, you can hand grate both into a bowl with a box grater. (I hate cleaning the food processor, but it sure makes this step speedy!)

Transfer zucchini and onion mixture to a large bowl. Combine all the dry ingredients in another bowl and mix well. Add dry ingredients and (lightly beaten) egg to the zucchini and onion and stir until combined. Let the mixture rest for about 5 minutes, and stir again. (The zucchini and onion will release more water during the rest period.)

Heat a large skillet* over medium heat. Add about 2 tsp. each of butter and oil and let it heat up, swirl the pan to distribute. Once the butter has melted, reduce heat slightly. You want to cook these slow and (medium) low. (*I do not use non-stick for various crazy-lady reasons, but if you are not afraid of them, this is a great recipe for it and you can also cut back on the butter and oil you need.) 

NOTE: This batter is pretty lose, but don’t worry, they will hold together once they set in the pan. If you prefer, you can also alternately add a Tbsp. of Cornmeal or Flour to the batter to thicken it up a bit if your zucchini get too watery. I use my hands to transfer the batter to the hot pan and just squeeze out the excess liquid over the bowl. Messy, but in the end, actually easier. If you use a spoon or measuring cup press against the side of the bowl to release extra liquid.

Drop about a 1/4 cup of batter into the pan for each pancake. Do not crowd the pan. Cook the pancakes about 3-4 minutes until set and browned. Do not try to move them until at least the 3 minute mark, they will crumble. Carefully flip and cook the other side until nicely browned. Add a bit more butter and oil if the pan is drying out. If you don’t the pancakes will stick and fall apart. (You can also use a paper towel and tongs between batches to wipe out the pan if you’re fastidious and like to start fresh.) Place finished pancakes in preheated oven to keep warm while you work your way through the rest of the batter.

Serve warm with creme fraiche and chives.