time to cook the kale

Maybe I got over-enthusiastic about the kale at the farmer's market last week. I've had my head so far down in 1964, I haven't cooked much the past couple of weeks except for Sunday dinners. Now it's time to cook (or massage, or juice, or etc) the kale.

I've still got a ways to go. But I'm making a dent. Kinda how I feel about the novel right now. Happy Weekend! Eat your kale.

Breakfast at Home

I'm off the road. I can control what I eat, when I sleep, how I move, where I go, and how I get there. Bliss. I might even break out the Christmas decorations today. I'm rested enough. I think.

Time to pull back into myself, after so much outward action. Time to regulate... everything. In a good way. Here is my at-home breakfast, most mornings.

Yogurt/Fruit/Nut Concoction
All measurements approximate

Into a humble and lovely soup bowl dispense:

3/4 c. plain low-fat yogurt (Stoneyfield Farms)
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. protein powder

stir

add 1/2 banana, sliced (or a sincere ripe pear)

Next, listen to your taste buds. Add a liberal sprinkling of:
dried cranberries
sunflower seeds
walnuts
or whatever you've got on hand. Sometimes I use sliced almonds instead of walnuts or golden raisins instead of cranberries. You choose.

Sit in front of crackling fire and enjoy with hot coffee. You've given yourself a protein boost for the day, and you've coated your intestinal tract with great bacteria. All's well with the world. I send you forth to conquer something. Your fears, maybe?

I'll join you in that quest.

We Like Beets

We like beets, yes we do. We like winter vegetables -- squashes of all kinds, beets, turnips, potatoes, onions, and one red apple.

So I baked them all together this afternoon. This recipe is adapted from one I saw my friend Jackie Martin put together in Iowa last month. Jackie used beets, hubbard squash, turnips, potatoes and onions. I didn't have turnips, and I used red instead of white potatoes, but otherwise the root vegetables are the same.

Here's how I began:


I added an apple to the mix.


I coated my favorite metal pan with good olive oil and cut up everything and added it to the pan.

Then I realized the pan was too small. Jackie used a cookie sheet sort of affair, low sides, all vegetables in one layer so they can all brown evenly.






So I got out a bigger pan, a glass Pyrex pan, but it was clear that I needed still more room.











So I got out my biggest pan, the one I make the granola in, and started over yet again:

Baked Root Vegetables
adapted from watching Jackie Martin at work

Choose whatever root vegetables strike your fancy:
fresh beets
fresh turnips
fresh hubbard squash
fresh red and/or white potatoes
plump, juicy onions

one red apple is a good choice as well (I used a gala)

Cut everything into bite-sized chunks (large bites). No need to peel.

Put into baking pan and try not to pile too deep (I always pile too deep, but it's okay), as you want everything to have that crispy-outside baked appeal.

Drizzle some outstanding olive oil onto your vegetables... into this olive you will have added:

salt
pepper
a bit of red pepper if you are adventurous
lots of good garlic (I used garlic powder; it's fine)

Stir to coat your vegetables.

Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour and a half, stirring every 20 mins. or so. How golden! How delicious! How filling!

Jackie's root vegetables had a drier taste than mine, sort of like a perfect baked potato is dry and flaky, but crispy on the outside. She also peeled her squash and beets. I did not. I like the fiber.

My vegetables were more steamy, I'm sure because they were piled on top of one another more, instead of in one layer in the pan. S'okay. They were great on day one, and still succulent the next day when I heated them on top of the stove in a Revere Ware pot and took them to a friend's house as my contribution to a lasagne dinner. Just the colors of this dish say soooooothe yourself, come be home.

And it's so easy to make. Serve with warm, crusty bread (you can see the bread I chose, above), buttered or not. We had some angel hair pasta on the side with feta cheese and diced tomatoes. Not enough protein in this meal, I think. I'll work on it. I did drink a glass of milk. I was full.