Kale-A-Lujah!

This week, I made a few of my tried and true recipes, and tried a couple of new creations as well!

I made two soups this week. One, an old standby that I make often in the winter months (Potato Leek), and another new recipe, courtesy of my sister in law Nikki: Asparagus-Potato.

They are both delicious!

The Asparagus Potato soup is actually called “Garden Fresh Asparagus Soup” and is made with lemon zest, curry, and coconut milk - but it was a rainy and cold day, so I changed up the recipe to make it a more hearty “winter soup”. I will be making the correct version as the weather warms.

(not my photo!)

For both soups, prepare a "bouquet garni" with cheesecloth, or tulle, or...whatever (pantyhose?), containing 20 peppercorns, 2 bay leaves, 4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme. When I make the Potato Look Soup, I use two leek leaves, crossed over each other and then alternately folded to make a packet, and tied with string. For the Asparagus Potato soup, I cut up a Tu-Tu. Yes, a Tu-Tu. I happened to have one laying around.

Here is how you make both soups:

Cut up two pieces of bacon (I used Sunday Morning Organic, the FM was sold out of Holding Ranch Bacon)
Fry the pieces in 2 T of butter until the bacon starts to render its fat
Add and saute a chopped onion (or the thinly sliced, white parts of two leeks if you’re making the Potato Leek soup)
Add ½ Cup of dry white wine (or organic chicken broth if you don’t have wine on hand)
Bring to a boil
Add:
The bouquet garni
2 cups or 1 pound of small red potatoes (skin on) sliced or cubed
5 Cups of Organic Chicken Broth
¾ t of white pepper and 1 1/2 t of salt
Simmer for 30 minutes
(For the Asparagus-Potato soup: add 2 cups of chopped asparagus after 15 minutes and continue simmering for the remaining 15 minutes.)
After 30 minutes total, remove the bouquet garni
Use an immersion blender to get rid of lumps
Add ½ Cup of Crème Fraiche (or heavy whipping cream, or light coconut milk) and season with additional salt and pepper, if desired, to taste.

Enjoy!


I also made one of our favorites (the whole family, boy and all, will eat this one!):



Mini Beef Sliders with Garlic Aioli Sauce & Caramelized Onions, with a side of Sweet Potato Fries!


The ground beef was a local grass fed organic from Holding Ranch.

Wow, can I just tell you that I’m not so sure I like beef after all (at least ground), now that I know what it actually tastes like? Sort of like bison (per Rob, who likes bison). It’s kind of “gamey” or “animal-ly” tasting. It doesn’t taste at all like the ground beef I used to eat. That stuff, come to think of it, doesn’t really taste like anything at all. Maybe I’ll stick a Portobello in the slider next time.


Aioli Sauce:
5 T buttermilk
3 T light mayo
2 cloves garlic
Pinch of salt
Teaspoon of lemon juice



Sweet Potato Fries: (If you’re like me, you either burn ‘em, or they’re not crisp. I found the “PERFECT FRY” recipe here: Instructables website. And it worked!!

A tip: Do NOT pre-toss them in a bowl like I used to, just put the cut potatoes on foil or parchment paper on a cookie sheet and drizzle the olive oil, sea salt and pepper directly on them, push them around with a wooden spoon or spatula, then arrange so they aren’t touching each other. I had to turn my oven down a bit and cook them about 5 minutes less (400 degrees for 15 minutes, flip, then 10 more minutes).

I'm making the Stuffed Portobellos again tonight! So good. But this time, instead of two mushrooms as a main course, we'll have one, along with a bowl of Potato Leek soup, and enjoy them for two nights!


I tried to scan the recipes for the Portobellos AND the Thai Chili, after receiving a few requests, but was unable to. If you're interested, just send me an email and I will send you the attachments that way!


And the super-duper find this week?

Kale Chips!

My name is Eline, and I’m a chip-aholic. Seriously, I’ve never met a potato chip that I could stop eating after the first handful. My grandpa Frank used to call me “Mouse”, because every time I visited, it was like they had mice sneaking into their cupboards and eating all their chips! It’s a real problem for me. I made whole wheat pita chips and hummus this week as well, but found that I could eat those like Lays, and at 130 calories per pita, well, it adds up after about four pita’s worth in one sitting! I'll reserve those for camping and parties.

But Kale…..Wow! These crunched and tasted surprisingly like actual potato chips! It was WEIRD! And exciting!

I bought a few bunches of Kale at the farmers market and was planning on the ol’ saute in olive oil with garlic and serve over quinoa dish, when I read this recipe in “Real Simple” magazine. I Laughed Out Loud, because excuse me, I know chips, and you can’t make a chip out of a hearty, leafy green. Oh yes you can! Or as my friend Arlene would say, “Oh, KALE yes!” (she actually said "Oh, Kale NO", because I don’t think she thought it was a very good idea):

Clean and chop some kale
Toss with a small amount of olive oil (I used too much the first batch…it seems that kale is kind of oily on its own and doesn’t need much extra)
Sprinkle with some sea salt
Arrange on a lined cookie sheet and bake for 15-18 minutes at 300 and voila! You have a healthy chip!

(Shhhhh! Are those angels singing?)

So GOOD! I plan on spending a few hours this weekend making a super-batch to test out "how well they keep". (eye roll, chuckle, eye roll)

By the way...I lost 5 pounds on my first week of Clean Eating without necessarily trying, and have held if off this week. An added bonus!