Kale Gratin

Kale is king these days. I’ve been reading all about things such as crispy fried kale and kale chips and braised kale and of course, kale soup.

All delicious. And it’s healthy too. Calcium. Vitamins A, C and K (sounds like New York subway lines). Also one of those cabbage descendants that may have anti-cancer effects.

I never heard of kale, growing up. The only cabbage we ate was in Aunt Goldie’s special soup and also the sauerkraut we put on top of our hot dogs.

But now, as I said, kale is king. Like other cabbage cousins, it can be acrid so you have to treat it right. If you overcook it, it can smell up the entire kitchen. But if you undercook it it doesn’t taste right.

I buy kale a lot because I like to experiment with recipes, especially with ingredients that weren’t familiar from my childhood.

But Ed has always hated my kale concoctions.

Until this one: Kale Gratin. It looked so appealing to him he actually asked for a piece (I was saving it to be rewarmed for another meal). And then he asked for seconds!

A miracle.

We finished the rest the next day (10 minutes in a preheated 400 degree oven).

Enjoy this, kale lovers!

Enjoy this, everyone celebrating Shavuot. It’s the cheese dish I will be serving instead of my usual Spinach Pie this year.

Kale Gratin

1 large bunch kale

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 cup half and half cream

1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2-3 tablespoons plain, fresh or dry bread crumbs

1 tablespoon butter

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut off and discard the hard stems from the kale. Discard discolored leaves. Wash the leaves carefully and cut them into 3-4 pieces. Place the leaves in a large saucepan, add about 1 cup water and cover the pan. Cook on medium-high heat for 6-8 minutes or until the leaves are soft and wilted. Press the water out of the leaves. Chop the leaves into small pieces and place in a lightly greased baking dish. In a bowl, beat the eggs and mustard until combined. Stir in the cream and blend ingredients thoroughly. Stir in the Swiss cheese and some salt and pepper to taste. Pour the mixture over the kale and stir to distribute the kale evenly in the dish. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top. Cut the butter into small pieces and use them to dot the surface of the gratin. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the top is crispy and golden brown. Makes 4-6 servings

Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies

Is this any time to be eating cheesecake? I mean, just when the weather is grand and we are beginning to think about what we will look like in a bathing suit soon?

Well, yes, if you don’t eat the whole cake and maybe you cut down on other high-calorie items or maybe work out a little longer. Indulgence is fine, IMHO, as long as it doesn’t get to be a habit.

And yes, if you will be observing Shavuot next weekend. This Jewish holiday celebrates the giving of the law (Torah) to the Israelites after the Exodus from Egypt. But somehow, for celebration sake anyway, there’s usually a cheesecake involved. Scholars say it may have to do with the Israelites’ flight from Egypt to the Holy Land, which is described as the land of “Milk and Honey.”

I think this year I will serve a different kind of cheesecake: Brownies with Cheesecake. In fact, they are already in my freezer for the company I am expecting.

Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies

1 cup butter

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

2-1/2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped nuts, optional

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 8-ounce package cream cheese

Lightly grease a 13”x9” baking pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter and chocolate together in a large saucepan set over low heat (or in the top part of a double boiler set over barely simmering water). When the butter and chocolate have melted, blend them and stir in 2 cups of the sugar and 3 of the eggs. Whisk ingredients thoroughly. Add the flour, salt, nuts (if used) and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and stir in the ingredients with a large wooden spoon. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until thoroughly blended. Spoon blobs of the cream cheese mixture on top of the chocolate batter. Cut through the cheese, making swirls in the chocolate mixture. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool. Cut into bars with a sharp knife dipped into hot water. Refrigerate. Makes 24-36 pieces

Ambrosia

Marshmallows are the hot trend of 2012. According to this article, anyway.

And the folks at the Food Channel apparently agree. 

Frankly I have no clue why marshmallows would be any more popular now than some other time. I thought they were always popular. 

For example, my Dad’s hot chocolate was considered the best in history, primarily because he heated the milk with a couple of marshmallows in it (and then capped off the drink with more marshmallows).

My Mom made an ice cream pie with chocolate ice cream mixed with nuts and cut up marshmallows.

And don’t thousands of people top mashed sweet potatoes with marshmallows every Thanksgiving? And make S’mores with marshmallows during the summer?

Of course, the simplest way to enjoy a marshmallow is to toast it over a fire to crispiness and eat it, ashes crumbling and insides oozing. Like my grandchild is doing in the photos. 

But there’s lots more you can do with marshmallows. Try this version of Ambrosia. Really just fruit salad with some added coconut, marshmallows and honey. Simple, easy to make. Light and refreshing.

Ambrosia

• 1 large peach or mango

• 2 navel oranges

• 1 cup cut up bite size pieces fresh pineapple

• 1 cup red seedless grapes, cut in half

• 1 cup cut up strawberries

• 1 cup shredded coconut

• 1 cup cut up marshmallows

• 1/4 cup honey

• 2-3 tablespoons orange, pineapple, mango or other fruit juice

• whipped cream or sorbet, optional

  Peel the peach or mango and cut the flesh into bite size chunks. Place the chunks in a bowl. Peel the orange and cut it into thick slices. Remove the white pith and cut the orange into bite size chunks. Add to the bowl. Add the pineapple, grapes, strawberries, coconut and marshmallows and toss to distribute the ingredients evenly. Pour the honey and juice over the fruit and toss ingredients. Let rest for about 10 minutes before serving.  Top with whipped cream or sorbet if desired. 

  Makes 4-6 servings

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thepoliticalfreakshow:

According to this website, Tumblr is having widespread technical difficulties.

It’s not just me, thank goodness.

Hope it gets fixed really soon!!

yes, which is why my blog post got posted twice today

Sweet Potatoes with Coconut Oil and Maple

Healthy and delicious all in one dish? 

Some say it can’t be done.

But I have found out differently over the years.

Take sweet potatoes and coconut oil. They’re both “good for you” according to most recent findings. Put them together and what have you got? More than bibbedy bobbedy boo, that’s for sure.

Like this recipe I tried yesterday. These sweet potatoes are lightly sweet — I added just one tablespoon of maple syrup — they don’t need more really. I remember my Mom made candied sweets using an entire stick of butter and about a half box of brown sugar for a large can, including liquid, of cut up sweet potatoes. Yes, it was dee-lish. But also loaded with fat and calories. So if you are looking for a recipe that’s lighter, healthier and with lower fat and calories, try this one.

It’s pretty too, don’t you think?

Sweet Potatoes with Coconut Oil and Maple

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 tablespoon maple syrup

3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into julienne

2 scallions, chopped

1 large clove garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary or parsley or use thyme leaves

sea salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Heat the coconut oil and maple syrup together in a small saucepan over medium-low heat for about one minute or until the coconut oil liquefies. Place the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the scallions, garlic and herb on top. Pour the coconut oil-maple mixture over the vegetables and toss the ingredients to coat the vegetables. Sprinkle with sea salt. Roast for 22-24 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and lightly crispy. Makes 4-6 servings

Healthy and delicious all in one dish? 

Some say it can’t be done.

But I have found out differently over the years.

Take sweet potatoes and coconut oil. They’re both “good for you” according to most recent findings. Put them together and what have you got? More than bibbedy bobbedy boo, that’s for sure.

Like this recipe I tried yesterday. These sweet potatoes are lightly sweet — I added just one tablespoon of maple syrup — they don’t need more really. I remember my Mom made candied sweets using an entire stick of butter and about a half box of brown sugar for a large can, including liquid, of cut up sweet potatoes. Yes, it was dee-lish. But also loaded with fat and calories. So if you are looking for a recipe that’s lighter, healthier and with lower fat and calories, try this one.

It’s pretty too, don’t you think?

Sweet Potatoes with Coconut Oil and Maple

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 tablespoon maple syrup

3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into julienne

2 scallions, chopped

1 large clove garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary or parsley or use thyme leaves

sea salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Heat the coconut oil and maple syrup together in a small saucepan over medium-low heat for about one minute or until the coconut oil liquefies. Place the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the scallions, garlic and herb on top. Pour the coconut oil-maple mixture over the vegetables and toss the ingredients to coat the vegetables. Sprinkle with sea salt. Roast for 22-24 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and lightly crispy. Makes 4-6 servings

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Coconut Flour and More Brown Sugar

Chocolate chip cookies are like politics. You get stuck on a point of view and most of the time you don’t change it. I always sort of knew this but the idea was reinforced recently at our annual family cookoff. Everybody liked different recipes for all sorts of personal reasons.

I like crispy chocolate chip cookies but my sister-in-law Eileen likes them soft.

Ed and his sister Barbara insist that their Mom’s recipe was wonderful. But her chocolate chip cookies were so lumpy and dry they crumbled like sandcastles.

Jesse likes a variety of chips and also other stuff in chocolate chip cookies — the chips are just one diversion for him.

Is there such a thing as the “best” chocolate chip cookie?

As I said, it’s like politics. It depends on your point of view.

Recently, Felicity Cloake wrote a very informative article in The Guardian, explaining all the ins and outs of chocolate chip cookies. Like why some are chewy, some crispy, whether you should let the dough rest and, of course, a discussion on the chips. She also gives a recipe.

She says that the original Toll House Cookie recipe is a good basic recipe.

But I say, it’s not perfect. A tweak here and there to suit your tastes is okay.

BTW, so far, despite Jesse’s great Chocolate Chippers with all Sorts of Other Stuff and the other three cookoff recipes in our family event, all of which were good, the family universally agrees that nothing we’ve tasted thus far surpasses the Grand Finale cookies from my book, Hip Kosher.

Grand Finales are crispy and contain dark chocolate chips, nuts and raisins. Nothing beats them. So, do try them.

Or try the recipe below, a bit more caramel-y because there’s more brown sugar and less white sugar than standard versions. These are soft but moist, neither crispy nor chewy. Vaguely coconut-y because I’ve used some coconut oil and coconut flour.

BTW, this may sound like heresy, but I never use Nestle’s chocolate chips. I think they are way too sweet and not chocolatey enough. I usually buy Ghirardelli but sometimes I use bar chocolate and chop it into pieces.

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Coconut Flour and More Brown Sugar

14 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup coconut flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups chopped chocolate or chocolate chips

Cover cookie sheets with parchment paper. Beat the butter, coconut oil, brown sugar, white sugar and vanilla extract in the bowl of an electric mixer set at medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture is smooth and well blended. Add the eggs and beat the mixture until well blended. Add the flour, coconut flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and blend them in thoroughly. Stir the chocolate into the dough. For each cookie, mound balls of dough (about 3 tablespoonsful) onto the prepared cookie sheets, leaving an inch or more of space between each mound of dough. Flatten the mounds slightly. Bake immediately or refrigerate for 2-24 hours. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes about 24-28 cookies

Friday Reads: Next to Love

fridayreads:

This week’s #FridayReads giveaway is Ellen Feldman’s Next To Love -

Synopsis:

“When their men go off to war, Babe, Millie, and Grace, three childhood friends in Massachusetts,  live on letters, and in dread of telegrams that can bring only bad news.  But as the war drags on, and when  peace breaks out, they experience changes that move them in directions they never dreamed possible.  The women lose their innocence, struggle to raise their children, and find meaning and love in unexpected places.

And as they change, so does America—from a country in which people know their place in the social hierarchy to a world in which women’s rights, the Civil Rights movement, and technological innovations present new possibilities and uncertainties.

Yet Babe, Millie, and Grace remain bonded by their past, even as their children grow up and away and a new society rises from the ashes of the war.

A story of war, loss, and the scars they leave, Next To Love depicts the enduring power of love and friendship, and illuminates a transformational moment in American history.”

Praise:

“The ‘Greatest Generation’ and the battles to defeat Germany in Europe during WWII have received generous and much-deserved attention. Ellen Feldman turns our attention to the home front in a moving and insightful story of three young women in a small New England town, two of whom lose husbands on the Normandy beaches, and one whose returning husband is haunted by what we now know as PTSD. How they attempt to rebuild their lives is a story beautifully told. Feldman’s narrative also encompasses the racism and the anti-Semetism of those years as well as the nascent women’s movement without ever seeming didactic. A brilliant book!”

— Marian Nielsen, Orinda Books, Orinda, CA

Links:

The author’s website

Indiebound

I’m reading Indomitable Will, LBJ in the Presidency, by Mark Updegrove. All about LBJ from different perspectives of the people who knew him

Kid Lunch. Toasted Cheese

Gillian’s new App, Lalalunchbox, is a big hit. Kids all over the world, it seems, and their parents, are using it to help them pick stuff for lunch. (And the App also sets a shopping list up for you.)

Naturally, I’m thrilled for her. And happy for all those people out there who use it and have a chance to talk with their kids about the food they bring to school. And the App is fun to use too.

It also prompted a conversation about lunch with my trainer this morning because while I’m working out, as I’ve mentioned here before, Robbie and I talk about food practically the whole time I am doing pushups, squats and running up and down the stairs.

We talked about “retro-lunch.” You know, the kind of stuff we took to school or ate at home (I walked home from school at lunchtime) when we were kids. His Mom sent things like meatball sandwich (two of them) plus an apple or other fruit, “something crunchy,” like Doritos, and something sweet, like chocolate chip cookies.

My Mom made a sandwich, like salami or cream cheese and jelly or leftover roast beef. But my favorite was her Toasted Cheese, hot if she was home, cool and waiting for me on the counter if she wasn’t. No fruit as I remember. Or anything crunchy or sweet. Snack was for when I got home at the end of the day at 3:30, always milk and cookies.

I still make Toasted Cheese the way my Mom did. Two or three slices of American cheese on each of two pieces of bread, then broiled (these days in the toaster oven of course). Eaten open-faced.

Very often she left the sandwich in the broiler a few seconds too long and burn bubbles appeared on top of the cheese. I didn’t complain about that. In fact, I thought it added to the flavor.

Still do.

Here’s how I make the Toasted Cheese, which, by the way, you can put in a kid’s lunchbox as a sandwich (I’ve done that for my grandchildren), by slapping it together like a regular sandwich.

Toasted Cheese

2 slices whole wheat or multigrain bread

1 tablespoon butter, optional

4-6 slices, approximately, American cheese (or cheddar slices)

tomato slices, optional

Slather the bread slices with butter, if desired. Place 2-3 slices American cheese on each slice of bread. Top with a slice of tomato if desired. Toast in a toaster oven until hot and bubbly, or longer if you like blackish-brownish burnt bubbles on the surface. Eat open-faced or place the centers together for a traditional closed sandwich. Makes one sandwich.

Vinegar Pie

Is apple cider vinegar healthy?

Or is that a myth?

Honestly, I’ve always wondered about all those studies that tout this, that or the other thing to try to prove a point. One day we’re supposed to stop drinking coffee because it’s harmful, then another study comes along and says no, coffee is good for you.

Ditto chocolate. And coconut oil.

And other stuff.

Are these really scientific studies or generational shifts, like theories about child-rearing?

I guess, like a lot of life — it depends.

It depends on the study, how many people are study subjects, who is sponsoring the study and so on.

Obviously, findings made in unbiased settings with no corporate sponsors done over a long time with many subjects are worth paying attention to.

So I was happy to read this article which cautions people to beware of the “apple cider vinegar can speed up fat loss, lower your cholesterol and help with diabetes” notions. Apparently, the studies that have been done are way too small and don’t actually prove anything of the kind.

Which is not to say there’s no use for apple cider vinegar. I always have a bottle on hand. It’s a good choice for basic vinaigrette when you don’t want something quite as powerful as Balsamic vinegar or as harsh as wine vinegar. It’s nice as a liquid, in small amounts, to deglaze a pan of sauteed chicken. You can use it to give some extra flavor to caramelized onions.

And so on. Like this recipe for Vinegar Pie. Don’t laugh. It’s true, it may sound weird but adding a bit of apple cider vinegar to custard makes a hugely delicious difference. Like the sweet-and-salty thing with chocolate covered sea salt caramels. The apple cider vinegar cuts the sweet just enough. You actually don’t taste the vinegar.

This is a quick, easy and light-on-the-stomach dessert that’s terrific for summer. Or anytime really. You can add some sliced almonds if you wish.

Vinegar Pie

 1 9-inch unbaked pie crust

4 large eggs

1-1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup melted butter

1-1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

sliced almonds, optional

whipped cream and/or fresh berries

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place aluminum foil over the pie crust and weight it down with pie pellets or dry beans. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the weights and foil. Return the crust to the oven and bake for another 3 minutes. Remove the crust and let it cool. Lower the oven heat to 350 degrees. Mix the eggs, sugar, melted butter, cider vinegar and vanilla extract. Blend ingredients thoroughly and pour the mixture into the prebaked crust. Sprinkle with some sliced almonds if you wish. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until filling is set. Remove the pie, let it cool and serve it garnished with whipped cream and or fresh berries. Makes one 9-inch pie