Krispy Kale Khips

I can't believe packages of these sell for $5 for a 1.2 oz bag at the grocery store. Kale is in season almost all year in the PNW. Best pricing at a grocery store will be about a dollar a bunch for fresh green kale during mid-summer. Red and multicolored kale is slightly pricier, but it doesn't matter which variety is used for these "chips". Definitely remove all the tough 'ribs' from the leaves before shredding them by hand. The end product is ideally light, crispy and slightly salty.

[edit: later that day] I weighed the remainder of what I didn't nibble on, and it would appear that a bunch of fresh kale (roughly 1 lb) yields about 2 oz crispy kale chips.

I did three batches with a head of kale; largely because only a third of the leaves would fit on the baking sheet at one time. I found that using a 9x13 glass baking dish did not work so well in evenly drying the leaves. As for flavorings, here's what I used:

• batch #1: coarsely ground Himalayan pink salt with Mrs. Dash tomato/garlic/basil seasoning
• batch #2: lightly sprinkled with black truffle oil salt
• batch #3: lightly sprinkled sea salt

Batch #1 came out way too salty for my taste but light and crunchy. The process is pretty simple and the messiest part is preparing the leaves for baking. Taking time to massage oil into the individual leaves helps the "chips" attract salt and/or spices, or at least stick on better.

As for plating, I suggest a parchment cone in a large glass tumbler or a decorative rectangular dish.

Ingredients

a bunch of kale, washed and stems removed

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

sea salt, to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.

1. After you have washed and dried the kale leaves, remove the thick rib from the middle of the leaf. Tear the leafy parts into bite-sized pieces. These will retain most of their size after baking. Toss in a large bowl with olive oil.

2. Arrange leaves in a single layer on a baking sheet and lightly sprinkle with salt.

3. Bake for 20 minutes. You could rotate the leaves after 10 minutes of baking, but that depends on how much residual oil is on the leaves. I did not flip the leaves on two of the three batches and they came out okay.

4. Serve immediately.

Basic Marinara Sauce

I break even on the raw material cost with this recipe and can reduce my reliance on having to make a special trip to the grocery store to make a sauce for spaghetti or lasagna. June was an abysmal start to summer with all the rain and chilly temps. In the Pacific Northwest, the warm days and clear sunny skies have only just begun. Locally grown tomatoes are just starting to appear on plants and at local vegetable farms. Typically, the ugliest tomatoes leftover from the end of the season are turned into canned tomato goods: tomato sauce, diced tomato, marinara sauce, etc. A local farms these typically go for u-pick pricing of $0.50/lb or cheaper. The average store bought marinara sauce consists of about one or two cans of crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce with various herbs, cooked mushrooms, salt, sugar, and onions tossed in for flavor. It makes you wonder about the quality of the tomatoes that are used in mass produced tomato-based sauces.

Use with: Italian pastas, cheese fries, baked summer vegetables

To reconstitute tomato paste into tomato sauce, add an equal amount of water to the tomato paste. An 8 oz can of tomato paste + 8 oz water = roughly a cup of tomato sauce.

Using fresh tomatoes: To make this sauce with fresh tomatoes, peel the tomatoes by blanching them in hot water (this makes it easier to remove the skins). The Smitten Kitchen blog has a very good write-up and photos of this process (details). 4 pounds of roma tomatoes will make 4 cups of tomato sauce.

Ingredients

One 14.5 oz can of diced or crushed tomatoes
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced or roughly chopped
6-12 basil leaves, stems removed and sliced
8 oz fresh white or crimini mushrooms, sliced (optional)
8 oz tomato paste + 8 oz water (or tomato sauce)
up to 1/2 tsp kosher salt, to taste
up to 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 bay leaf
a pinch of sugar or a pinch of baking soda (optional, to reduce acidity)

Directions

1. In a 2-quart (or larger) heavy bottomed pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Sauté until the onions are translucent. Add mushrooms, tomatoes, tomato sauce, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes.

2. Remove bay leaf and purée using an immersion blender.

Leek Pie

This recipe comes from The Ploughman's Lunch and the Miser's Feast by Brian Yarvin. Made it for dinner tonight. Came out really good. It's a stick-to-your-ribs sort of meal. I used the leftover crust dough to make odd shapes on top. Uses 1 hot-water crust recipe (see below).

Filling Ingredients

6 leeks, chopped into 1/2" pieces
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 c. heavy cream
1 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten (optional)

Filling Directions

1. In a large skillet, heat oil and fry leeks until they are translucent; about 30 minutes.

2. Remove skillet from heat and combine leeks, cream, cheese, and spices in a large bowl. Mix well.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

4. Using one of the rolled out pie crust rounds, line a pie dish and add the filling. Cover with the second rolled out pie and trim off the edges. Decorate top of pie with excess crust dough cut into shapes. Crimp edge with fork tines. Brush top of pie with an egg wash (1 beaten egg).

5. Bake on the center rack for 40 minutes.

British Hot-Water Pie Crust

This part of the recipe makes two 9" pie crusts. As far as I can ascertain, the "British" part of this pie crust is using beef suet/lard/shortening. American pie crusts, Brian says, typically use ice water and chilled butter.

Crust Ingredients

4 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp salt
1/2 c. whole milk
1 c. shortening
1/2 c. water

Crust Directions

1. Sift flour into a large bowl.

2. In a small saucepan, combine milk, water, shortening, and salt. Bring to a boil then immediately add to the flour and mix together.

3. Once the dough comes together easily, divide into two equal portions. Roll out to fit the pie dish. Take care to not overwork the dough. This is a much thicker crust than what you'd use on a fruit pie.

4. Roll out dough to 11 inches wide and 1/8" thick.

Note: If the crust is too dry to roll out, add 1 tbsp of hot water. If the crust is too wet, add 1 tbsp of flour.

Pork Fried Noodles

The best part about tasty leftovers is being able to create a tasty dish that can be enjoyed. We had leftover pork roast and leftover whole wheat spaghetti noodles from two separate meals. You can easily substitute the pork for chicken breast, beef, or shrimp.

Ingredients

cooked spaghetti noodles
1 c. pork roast, sliced or diced
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 c. garlic chives, cut into 1" slices
1 garlic clove, minced

Directions

1. In a large cast iron pan, heat 2 tbsp olive oil and add noodles. Fry over low heat until the noodles have browned. Flip the heap of noodles over so that the other side can brown too.

2. Add garlic, chives, soy sauce, sesame oil, and slices of pork roast. Stir into the noodles until everything is evenly distributed. Don't let the chives brown. When the chives turn a vibrant green color, they are cooked.

3. Serve in bowls or on plates. Enjoy.

Chipotle Quinoa Salad

I seem to have put a little too much of the chipotle powder into this recipe. I intended to give the salad a little kick. Made this for a weekend BBQ. It takes the freshness of late spring produce and kicks it up a notch.

Ingredients

2 1/4 c. organic quinoa
4 1/2 c. water
1/2 tsp salt
1 organic red bell pepper, seeded, pith removed, and diced
1 organic green (or yellow) bell pepper, seeded, pith removed and diced
2 small tomatoes, seeded and diced
2 tbsp lemon juice (or lime juice, if preferred)
1 green onion, minced
1/2 tsp chipotle powder
1/4 tsp paprika
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste (optional)

In a pot, bring salted water to a boil. Add quinoa and it back to a boil. Simmer covered for 15 minutes, or until the quinoa has absorbed all the water. Fluff with a spoon.

At this point, the quinoa is pretty plain and needs a little dressing up.

In a large bowl, mix green and red bell peppers, tomatoes, lemon juice, green onion, chipotle powder, and paprika until the ingredients are evenly distributed. Gradually mix in the cooked quinoa.

Serve immediately or chill.