kale

Greens Soup

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A few weekends ago, I was running errands while blasting Splendid Table on NPR (because it’s just how I do), when Sally Swift introduced Anna Thomas, and she started speaking about a “medicinal green soup.” I’ll be honest with you, I immediately scrunched my face and almost turned the radio off hearing those three worlds used together. As you can tell from previous entries, I’m a big fan of vegetables and kale in particular, but a straight up greens-based soup is never what I would describe as medicinal, wholesome, or comfort food. Thank you, Anna. I stand corrected. Continue reading

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Coconut Pineapple Green Smoothie

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Friends, I’m in love. While coconut has always had a place in my heart, I have had little admiration for coconut water. Until now. Thanks to Whole Foods, I learned about a new way to prepare a green smoothie, and it’s one that I’ll likely be making weekly. Summer will never be gone as long as this bad boy (or girl, no judgement) sticks around! Continue reading

Pork Meatball Banh Mi

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In Portland, Asian-fusion is its own food group, and while Pok Pok and Koi Fusion are among the city’s highest acclaimed Asian restaurants, Lardo is quickly rising through the ranks. The best Lardo menu item I’ve had thus far is their Pork Meatball Banh Mi, with its sweet, spicy, and pop of freshness flavor, this is a meal I can get behind any time of year. In an effort to limit how many times a week I want to eat out, I made my own Lardo-inspired banh mi, and while it’s not perfect, it’s pretty darn close! Continue reading

Roasted Corn and Avocado Caprese Salad

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Oh, yeah, summer won’t be over that easily! This salad is very simple to put together and a perfect side dish (or even a full fledged meal).

Ingredients (serves 4)

  • 1-2 corn husks or 1 can of corn (on the cob is WAY better!)
  • 2-3 tbsp butter
  • Seasoning – I keep this open-ended, because it can be good with so many different flavorings. I chose a BBQ rub, comprised of chili powder, garlic powder, kosher salt, brown sugar, cayenne and Italian seasonings
  • 2 avocados, cubed
  • tomatoes, diced (I prefer cherry tomatoes, but that’s just my bag)
  • Kale leaves
  • Mozzarella cheese
  • Optional meats: salami, cubed chicken, salmon

Directions

Grill up the corn adding butter and seasonings toward the end of its roasting (after about 10 minutes). If it’s not grilling season, it’s just as easy to do this on a stove top, it just tastes better when it’s off the cob. Mix in with avocado, tomatoes, and any other toppings you’d like. I found that the butter coated the whole dish nicely and didn’t require any additional dressing, though I would recommend a squeeze of fresh lime over the whole thing. Enjoy!

Colorful Kale and Cauli Salad

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Colorful Kale and Cauli salad

Fast, visually pleasing and delicious, this salad brought me great joy as my dinner. I was lazy after pilates and didn’t want to cook, so I dug through the fridge and tossed together my findings, and thus became my tasty meal.

Salad bits

  • Kale
  • Blue cheese crumbles
  • Shredded cabbage
  • Died cranberries (or cherries)
  • Pumpkin seeds (great for building immunity)
  • Pine Nuts
  • Fig & Walnut Vinaigrette (found at New Seasons)
  • Cauliflower (first tossed with the Fig & Walnut Vinaigrette)

Scallops with Salsa d’Acciughe e Rosamarino

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It’s no secret that one of my favorite places in the world is Hipcooks. I’ve written about them many a time, and am happy to say that I have recreated multiple dishes they taught me, but I think this one is my favorite. To ward off the initial scrunchy face syndrome, Hipcooks wisely calls the sauce for this dish “Salsa d’Acciughe e Rosamarino”, which has a lovely ring to it, rather than what it actually is: garlic, rosemary, lemon and anchovy sauce. No matter what, it’s delicious, so wipe that scrunch off your face, make this up and enjoy the hell out of it! Continue reading

Linguine with Kale Pesto, Cherry Tomatoes, and Shaved Parmesan

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I am a big, big fan of The Dough Will Rise Again blog, and this morning’s kale pesto post has me drooling. Looking forward to trying it myself!

The Dough Will Rise Again

Happy 2014! I apologize for the gaps in posting… like about half the country, Michigan got pounded with a few intense snowstorms over a span of 10 days, and then our temperatures plummeted for a while (on a Tuesday, our wind chill was -40° [yeah, you read that right]… 3 days later, on Friday, our high was 42°). Trying to accomplish everyday activities while fighting 2 feet of snow gets exhausting pretty quickly; and the crazy, intense cold lead to a lot of evenings where I refused to come out from under a pile of 7 blankets, for fear of frostbite. So, no posting. But, the weather has relaxed a little bit, the temperatures no longer begin with a negative sign, and I can once again feel my hands!

Linguine with Kale Pesto, Cherry Tomatoes, and Shaved Parmesan

I realized a couple days ago that I had a giant bunch of kale wilting away in the fridge. It was…

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Orange Balsamic Beet Salad

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Yes, even in winter there is the possibility of a bright, spring-like salad. During a recent discovery of Buyers’ Best Friend, I walked away with some basil infused olive oil and orange balsamic vinegar and have been eager to test them out.

Continue reading

Indulge at Sparrow Cafe

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Oh, Haight-Asbury, the great joys you bring to my senses. From vintage shops to naked men wearing nothing but gold sequent socks (and not on their feet), to an impressive array of food options, you never disappoint me.

During my recent Christmas trip to San Fran, my mom and I ventured to the Haight for some shopping and brunching. Continue reading

Stuffed Acorn Squash

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All stuffed and ready to go

All stuffed and ready to go

This recipe was originally inspired by the twice baked potato with salmon, but basically the only ingredients that stuck were the potato and horseradish. When all was said and done, I have decided the potato was too much starch for this recipe, so I’ve removed it from the ingredients. This is great for a cool fall evening and the need for a warm, hearty (and healthy) meal. Continue reading