All Hail Kale Salad: Swipe!

Swiper, no swiping!

Those of you that have young siblings as I do or children of your own
might catch that reference. If not, I just swiped or knocked off a dish
from everyone's favorite Veggie Grill.

To be honest, I've never even had the darn thing. Yes, everyone raves
about it, blah blah blah-- but I have a hard time bringing myself to
pay $8-10 for a bowl of kale. I don't care how good it is. If I'm going
to go out to eat and drop dollars in the double digits, it better be
something I can't make at home or have never experienced before.

Its Ok if you can't cook and like to eat out because its the only decent
way to get good food, but you have to at least tell me you're trying to duplicate these things.

What is this All Hale Kale stuff? Apparently it is Kale and Quinoa
marinated in a papaya vinegarette, topped with purple cabbage,
walnuts, carrots, and a roasted corn salsa and chic'n/tempeh (opt).

I basically had everything but the papaya, so I subbed out some OJ for
that baby. Voila. Pretty delish. I didn't do the grilled plant protein,
since we were already eating quinoa and quinoa is high in protein.
Although, we did have some assorted baked sweet potato fries on the
side: orange, purple, and white sweet potato!

FYI: although many people do, there is really no need to remove the
stems from kale. Just cut off the very end and roll the whole leaf with
a rolling pin to tenderize. Crush the stem so it is soft and chewable.
Why waste a perfectly good piece of kale?



All Hail Kale Salad for 4

8 stalks of kale, tenderized and shredded finely
2 cups cooked quinoa

1 cup purple cabbage, shredded
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/4 cup raw walnuts, chopped

1/3 cup orange juice
2 tbsp olive oil or a nut oil
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp agave
juice from one lemon
1/2 tsp grated ginger
salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup fresh corn
1 tomato, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 small clove garlic, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
juice from one lime
salt and pepper to taste
cilantro (opt)

Once the cooked quinoa has cooled, toss it with the kale and add the
dressing. Go ahead and mix the salsa, let it sit to 'age' the flavors.

Once you're ready to chow down arrange the salad on the plate
starting with the marinated kale, salsa, cabbage, carrot then walnuts--
or whatever you like, it's all ending up in the same place anyway!

This is where you go "WHAT? That's it?!" and I smile and laugh manically.

I guess it's the Forth of July... Don't go out and roast dead animals
or burn a forest down with stupid fireworks... please and thankyou.
No, we are not celebrating today. Why? I dunno, should it be a priority?

Mexican Roasted Taters

I looove me some roasted potatoes. Any seasonings... My favorite has
to be rosemary and sage. But these mexican seasoned potatoes were
pretty darn good too.

We had some left-over taco filling and beans from the tamales I made
the night before and we didn't want get overloaded with corn tortillas
or fattened up with chips.

You roast them at 450F, tossed in a little bit of olive oil with your
seasonings. Cook for about 10-15 minutes on one side and flip cooking
for about 5-8 minutes more. They get all crispy and soft in the middle.

I used some sea salt, chili powder, a wee bit of cayenne, pepper and
some lemon juice. We had some black beans, sweet corn, steamed
cauliflower, our taco mix, some sweet chillies and a nice salad.

Fit Falafel

Honestly, when is falafel not a good idea?
Probably when you don't wanna share. Good thing, I was
taught to share a lot or Monkey-man would be screwed, man-
Screwed!

Got my fine fillings from TJs and also picked up their
tahini dip. Apparently they don't sell just straight tahini.
But it was damn good anyway- thicker than I'm used to, but no
complaints. Nice and zingy and garlicy!





We tried out the pitas from Fresh and Easy and they were
surprisingly awesome. I hate it when the inside melds
together and they are more like a big soft cracker or
super thick wheat tortilla. But we had just got them
because they were on super cheap and they turned out
to be great.

This is about the extent of my pre-made food purchases
so don't judge me!



I call these 'fit falafel' because they are baked- not fried.
One of my Mom's favorites it became a staple in our house
when I was old enough to seriously cook. But it wasn't until
I started sneaking garlic and onions into the house that I
realized how fudging amazing real homemade falafel was!
So pass up that premade boxed stuff folks get your butts
in gear!

Ingredients

16 ounces chickpeas
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
1-2 tbsp flour or potato starch (binding purposes)
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
A squeeze of lemon
and salt and pepper
some wheat germ for rolling

Its so much easier if you actually have a food processor,
but I've always just mashed them by hand. So grab the
nearest fork or machine or potato masher and get to work.
You don't want hummus, so take it easy. Leave some lumpies
in there.

Throw in all your spices and stuff. If it needs some more
liquid to bind, add a little bit of water. Shape into small
patty/balls and roll in some wheat germ. Place on a 'lightly'
grease baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes at 375F or
until they start to brown.



After that- You know what to do. Stuff the buggers and
chow down!



A jaw dropping addition to the fabulous food that is falafel
is cucumber raita. And if you have never had raita before,
you have not lived. I posted this while ago.
Make it, eat it, love it. Now.

Summer Salads

Alright, so I'm pretty lucky. Its not that hot where I live.

In fact, its usually pouring rain. No matter what the rest

of the island looks like, guaranteed- its raining at my house.

So I don't need to worry about it being too hot to cook

or too stick to make soup for supper. But I pretend.

I have to give myself the illusion of seasons somehow,

or else I'd probably run mad!

Well, hitting the beach is a different matter. We went

yesterday and it was darn tootin hot! So cool watermelon

and fuji apples were the perfect choice.

I also hit up another one of my campus survival foods...

a cool Purple Salad. My buddy used to steal my beets

when I was eating lunch cuz she was crazy for them.

I try to make this for potlucks too. I've convince people

that hate purple potatoes that they love them now,

all thanks to this lovely little dish.

Every time I eat this I forgot how much I loved it and

wonder why I don't eat it more. We all need a little more

of the rainbow in our lives...

Its mostly just a potato salad with beets and purple sweet
potatoes, but I'm working on it. I'm talking about the potato
salads with vinegar, not mayonnaise...

So far? I think the peas have gotta go...

Sweet Apple Salad

If an apple a day keeps the doctor away,

than this salad with its delicious greens

and it's sweet-tangy little twist will keep

away a whole detachment of doctors.

This salad is so refreshing we had to

go eat out doors to round off the whole experience.

Apple of My Eye Salad

The salad is comprised of mixed greens (include arugula- my new best friend)

Cherry tomatoes, diced carrots, sweet peppers, raisins and sliced apples

To keep the apples from yellowing from oxidation you can toss them in some

citrus juice ahead of time

Apple of My Eye Dressing

1 cup of apple cider or 100 per cent apple juice

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

about 4 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp fresh dill

1/2 tsp dijon mustard

salt and pepper to taste

whisk all ingredients together and drizzle over salad fixin's

Creamy Avocado Dressing

This creamy dressing is so versatile and can be used in wraps, salads,

pitas and more. It is simple and tangy and has a great color.

Add some cilantro to your greens and get a nice south of the border taste.

Creamy Avocado Dressing

1 medium avocado

3/4 cup soygurt

3 tablespoons of lemon juice

3 tablespoons of water

1/4 tsp sea salt

combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and

blend until smooth.... and thats it.

Princess Papaya Dressing

Enter her royal highness holding

a dish of vibrant greens and organic garnishes.

When asked for seconds,

this paradise perfect dish leaves

one somewhere between 'yes'es and tears of joy...

Princess Papaya Seed Dressing

Ingredients

1/2 cup of water

1/4 cup of oil

2 tablespoons of lemon or lime juice, freshly squeezed

2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon of dijon mustard

1 tablespoon of papaya seeds

a couple of scoops (1/4 cup) of fresh papaya

1 tablespoon of sweetener

salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in blender and puree until

smooth and frothy. Season to taste and serve over

a bed of delicious greens.

Here I used butter leaf, romaine, arugula, red leaf, cucumbers, tomatoes, toasted walnuts

(but macadamia nuts would be even better), and whole wheat/homemade croutons.