Simply Red Kale

It seems as if I have not posted on this food blog in awhile... my bad. Well, you can blame Blizzard for not having adequate servers for Starcraft 2... I guess that is my own problem for having a somewhat gaming addiction to the best game ever created to attract Asians, especially that one country with delicious BBQ. I'll have you guessing what that country is.

Anyways. I found some red kale that was sitting leftover from the CSA box that I got a week ago. Tell you the truth, I had no clue what red kale was. It does not even look like regular kale. When I first saw red kale in "What's in a Box this Week", I was expecting to see a red version of kale. Instead, I found a brittle looking green bunch.

Since I did not know what to do with it, I decided to keep it simple and easy.

Simply Red Kale

(Does that look red to you??)

Ingredients
10 leaves Red Kale
2 cloves Garlic
1/2 Yellow onion
1 tbs Butter (yum heart attack!)
1 tsp Brown sugar
1 tsp Salt

Preparation
1. Shred the red kale
2. Mince the garlic
3. Slice the onion

Cooking of simplicity
1. Melt the butter in a pan
2. Throw in garlic and onions and cook until onions are translucent
3. Toss in red kale and saute the kale for about 1-2 minutes
4. Add in brown sugar and salt and mix around until sugar dissolves

What can I say? There's quite an excellent aroma that comes out of the brown sugar and red kale combination. It tastes quite good for some odd reason. Tell me what you think.

Beet Couscous with Fava Bean Cream

Oh man! It has already been a week with my box of delicious vegetables courtesy of the South Central Farmers. What I have left are the following: fava beans, beet greens, 1 golden beet, 2 red beets, and chard. Today, I shall knock down another beet, fava beans, and beet greens, just like how my group demolished a truss for my bridge design course.

I was talking to a couple friends about beets, and how much I detest them. Apparently, the beet greens taste pretty good. In addition, they suggested eating the beets cold in salad. The problem is .... I am not really a salad person. Another thing that I can't stand is eating salad. I find it not exciting putting vegetables together in a plate and mixing it with your favorite dressing.

For a side note .... the other day, I made balsamic beets. Today, I decided to try them cold, straight out of the fridge. They were pretty delicious. Somehow the coldness alters the density and probably reconfigures the flavor cells (made up science) of the beet into something quite yummy. It tastes similar to the pickled cucumbers that Chinese people put with their cognee.

Anyways, enough talking... Time to get to the main portion of this post. I decided to make a more complex dish with most of the remaining ingredients. The time it takes is about 1 hour to make it.

Beet Couscous with Fava Bean Cream


Ingredients for Couscous and Tofu
1 1/2 cup Couscous
2 cups Stock (vegetable, chicken, fish, your choice)
1 large Red beet
1 Yellow onion
1/2 cup White kidney beans
7 Beet greens
1 Bay leaf
4 oz Firm tofu
4 cloves Garlic
2 packs Raisins (about 2 oz)
Salt and pepper

Ingredients for Fava Bean Cream
1/2 cup Fava beans
1/2 cup Stock (vegetable, chicken etc.)
1/4 cup Half and half
1 tsp Thyme powder
Juice from 1/2 a lemon
Salt and pepper

Preparation and cooking <- important to read it all before you start if you want to cut time. This recipe requires a lot of management

Tofu
1. Preheat oven to 370F
2. Begin to boil water in a pot
3. Cut tofu into cubes
3. Line sheet tray with parchment paper and line tofu onto the paper
4. Salt and pepper tofu
5. Toss in the oven and set bake time to 20 minutes
6. When the tofu is done, leave it in the oven to keep warm

Beet couscous and other misc prep work
1. Wash beet greens and shred them and place into a bowl
2. Dice onions and place into a bowl
3. Setup food processor
4. Your water should be boiling by now, throw in fava beans and cook for 6 minutes
5. Coarse chop the beets and throw into the food processor.
6. Operate food processor until the beets look like tiny pieces about 2 mm in size
7. Heat oil in a pan and toss in onions, bay leaf, raisins, and beets
8. Cook until onions are translucent on medium low heat. (1 minute)
9. Add in couscous and cook until couscous is lightly browned (2 minutes)
10. Add in stock, cover, and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Fava bean sauce process (10 minutes)
1. While the couscous is cooking, remove the fava beans and begin removing them from the shells (5 minutes)
2. Wash food processor and throw in the fava beans, half and half, chicken stock, thyme powder, and lemon juice.
3. Blend well and transfer to sauce pan (2 minutes)
4. Cook the sauce until it is hot and reduce until sauce-like consistency (3 minutes)
5. Salt and pepper to taste.

Beet Greens (3-5 minutes)
1. In another pan, add in oil and wait for it to get hot
2. Add in garlic, beet greens, white kidney beans, salt, and pepper
3. Cook for 2-3 minutes until leaves are tender

Assembling it all together!
Now, check up on your couscous to see if it is tender and firm to bite. If it isn't, add a little more stock if there is no more liquid left in the pan and cover to cook a little longer. REMEMBER TO KEEP STIRRING after every 3 or so minutes so you don't burn the bottom.

To plate:
1. Place sauce on the bottom of the bowl or plate.
2. Use a ring cutter and add couscous
3. Top with beet greens, beans, and tofu

Well, that was probably the longest post and probably one of the most complex things I've made. The whole combination of all these things is quite delicious. Enjoy trying to recreate this dish xD.

Beet chips with Spinach Artichoke Dip

One beet down, time to beat down another beet. During class, I was thinking about how to conquer another beet into a delicious dish. The other day, my friend Cynthia was talking about artichokes, which lead to a conversation with my co-workers about spinach and artichoke dip and how it goes well with chips. Then bam! That would knock out the spinach, artichoke, and another beet from the CSA box. The beets can be turned into chips. It's like a triple kill.

Because I only had one artichoke, I grabbed from artichokes from Trader Joes and steamed the hearts for 30 minutes.

Beet Chips with Spinach Artichoke Dip

Ingredients for the beets
1 beet
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Prep for slicing and slaughtering and cooking the beets
1. Preheat the oven for 370F
2. Peel the beets
3. Take a mandolin slicer or super ninja knife skills and slice the beets as thin as Lays potato chips
4. Line sheet tray with parchment paper
5. Lay sliced beets spaced apart on the tray
6. With a spray bottle, spray olive oil onto the beets
7. Bake the beets for 8-10 minutes.
8. Remove from the tray and cool in a bowl.

Creating Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Ingredients
5 Artichoke hearts
5 oz Spinach
2 oz Light cream cheese
2 oz Cheddar cheese
3 cloves Garlic
Salt and pepper

Directions
1. Cook spinach in water for 2-3 minutes.
2. Remove and dry the spinach
3. Coarsely chop the spinach with a knife.
4. In a food processor, add artichoke hearts, garlic, cream cheese, and cheddar cheese.
5. Pulse until artichoke hearts are well pureed with the rest of the ingredients
6. Mix with the spinach
7. Salt and pepper to taste
8. Place in the oven at 370F for 10-15 minutes or until bubbling.

Now enjoy this "healthy" snack while watching baseball or at a party for healthy people.

Collard Greens Quiche

The other day, I went to Santa Monica with my friend Jessica to eat at a British tea house on Santa Monica and 2nd st called Tudor House. The restaurant offed various pies and afternoon tea menus. I saw that one of the specials was a quiche. I did not order it (shepherd's pie instead), but it inspired me to create a quiche over the weekend. Well, I decided to use the collard greens from the CSA box (click on the link if you don't know what CSA is). No it's not Chinese Student Association.

Collard Greens Quiche (for 6 in diameter baking dishes)


Ingredients
1/2 Basic pie dough (Approximately 1/2 lb)
2 Eggs
7 Stalks collard greens
2 tsp Garlic powder
3 oz Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup Milk
Pepper (Optional)

Prepwork and cooking
1. Preheat the oven for 375F
2. Finely chop collard greens into strips or pieces as seen in the picture
3. If you don't have shredded cheddar cheese, cut the cheese into 1 cm cubes
4. Beat the eggs with the milk.
5. Roll out the pie dough to fit your pie medium (I used a 6 in diameter Corningware dish because I don't have a tart mold or pie pan)
6. Fit the dough over the pie dish
7. Pre-bake the pie dough in the oven for about 10-13 minutes.
8. In a food processor, add the cheese and shred it finely.
9. Add cheese, eggs, garlic powder, black pepper (optional), and collard greens together and mix.
10. When 10-13 minutes is up, add the egg mixture into the pie dough to fill just about the crust edge of the pie as seen in the picture.
11. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the egg is firm.

Yum, this quiche is quite good. I never knew that collard greens would go so well with eggs and cheese. Well, I'll probably be making more quiches in the near future.

Carrot Souffle with Balsamic Beets

Beets are my absolute worst enemy in cooking. I really do not know what to do with them. I hear that they are full of good carbohydrates, protein, and other healthy stuff, but man, they have some pretty weird aftertaste. Since I got it in the CSA box, I shall not be wasteful and throw it out. Here goes beet number 1 and 3 carrots....

Carrot Souffle with Balsamic Beets

(looks like a drink)

Ingredients
1 Beet
3 Carrots
1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup flour
1 tbs Brown sugar
1 oz Light cream cheese
2 tbs Romano cheese
2 Egg whites
Batch of basil for garnish
Black pepper (a dash)

Prep and cook the carrot souffle!
1. Preheat the oven for 350F
2. Peel the carrots
3. Toss in a pot of boiling water until tender
4. Strain, dry, and chop until it can fit in your food processor
5. Puree the carrots with the cream cheese and Romano cheese
6. Beat egg whites until peaks form
7. Fold in carrots, sugar, pepper, and flour into the egg whites
8. Place souffle mixture into ramekins or ovenproof dish
9. Bake for 20-30 minutes until top is golden

Meanwhile ....

Prepwork for the beets
1. Peel and cube beets into 1 cm cubes
2. Shred the basil

Cooking process
1. Heat a little olive oil in a pan
2. Saute the beets for 2-3 minutes with salt and pepper
3. Add in balsamic vinegar and cover for 2 minutes or until beets are cooked.
4. Wait for the souffle to finish and then put balsamic sauce and beets over the souffle with basil garnish.

I got to say ... this is quite an interesting dish that could use some improvement. If you have any ideas of how to make this taste more interesting, let me know xD!

Community Supported Agriculture

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

Vegetables ... ew disgusting, meat should be the way to go! Haha ... as they say...
Last week, I ordered a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) box for 15 dollars and was thinking that I must be crazy to spend money on such a big box of vegetables. It is organically grown from the local South Central Farmers (http://scfcoop.southcentralfarmers.com/). Yay supporting local farming!

I heard about this through various friends, and they thought it would be an excellent challenge. So far, many of them have never used up all the vegetables because they always encounter two or three never seen before vegetables. They thought it would be a good idea to see what I can do with all these mystery vegetables.

So... I went to pick up my box of mystery on Wednesday from the local drop-off point (it's starting to sound like a detective story). My heart was beating as I carried it back to my apartment. What could be in this box? Is it peppers? Is it lettuce? Is it just a box of dirt? (side note: there was a lot of dirt coming from the bottom of the box <- yup freshness)

I slowly opened the box as if I were diffusing a mail bomb. To my surprise, there were several varieties of vegetables that I have used before. I shall list them:
Kale - 5 oz
Carrots - 11 oz
Spinach - 5 oz
Red kale- 11 oz
Red beets - 3
Yellow beets - 1
Artichoke - 1
Fava Beans - 6 oz
Broccoli - 8 oz
Red cabbage - 1
Collard greens - 7 leaves

Well, time to go crazy and head to my kitchen of experimentation... but before that, I must spend the time to wash all these dirty vegetables with small miniature protein still attached (bugs).