can't eat too much kale recipe

This is my favorite recipe, of all time, even if I said something else was my fav. I can’t get enough spinach, kale or chard . . . maybe I have a vitamin deficiency. It could be that this is such a nostalgic recipe for me. I made it frequently when I was misplaced, lost and living in Wisconsin for far too long.

My mom was visiting this past weekend, made a beeline to the garden and picked some of the last of my swiss chard to whipped up this dish. You can use kale or fresh or frozen spinach in this recipe. I made a 3 onion risotto using some of my leeks to serve on the side. The creamy risotto and rich chard was a perfect and healthy comfort food. It is perfect in it's simplicity.

• 1 lb fresh swiss chard, spinach or kale – if frozen use one cube of spinach
• 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 medium onion
• 5 cloves garlic
• Red pepper flakes

In a large pan sauté the onions for about 4 minutes, add the garlic and diced tomatoes. Add the greens and cover and simmer on low until tender.

Occasionally, I will add a 14 oz can of tomato sauce or a can of V8 and some cooked rice, kamut, splet or quinoa.

berrylicious spinach and goat cheese salad

Well, garden growth is still headed in the right direction! We are just finishing up on the raspberry harvest, an eggplant has made an appearance, I underestimated the potential of my tomatoes (mere cages cannot hold these beasts. shout out to happy cat organics! his plants are looking great in my garden) and I was just munching on sweet peas from the vine.

This recipe will be a punch of super foods (SF) and is a creation of my mother's (special event caterer at the Lewes Hospital). She said this salad was a success and she hopes you enjoy it too. It also offers an opportunity to buy local, organic and seasonal foods.

Huge score for me, I picked up freshly picked blueberries from a neighbor who puts out a few pints of whatever is growing in the garden that week. The raspberries that compose the dressing are from Dan's bushes and the thyme from my garden.

The down and dirty on this salad begins with an organic spinach base that provides you a daily allowance of this SF. Spinach is loaded with anti-oxidants and mineral rich. Blended in is a mix of local blueberries and a from scratch raspberry dressing with a hind of shallot (yes, you guessed it... the crazy cousin to garlic and a SF) and thyme . Topped with walnuts (yes, it's getting redundant ... another SF loaded with omega 3-fatty acid and more) and thyme and lime zest goat cheese. BTW, the berries help satisfy that sweet tooth craving!

raspberry vinaigrette

• 10 oz / 1 pint / 2 cups raspberries
• 1 T shallots, finely diced
• 1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 c white wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp stone ground mustard
• 2 T maple syrup
• 1 T lime juice, freshly squeezed
• 1 tsp lime zest
• 2 tsp thyme or tarragon

food process the raspberries. you can leave it seeded or remove the seeds by pressing it through a strainer. when you have the raspberry pureed whisk in the remaining ingredients. mom suggests you gently mix the blueberries and raspberry dressing to macerate overnight in the fridge. don't second guess mom.

salad

• 5 cups (16oz box) organic spinach, unless you are growing some
• 5 cups blueberries, fresh (use 4 cups in dressing)
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, shredded
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 small log (5-6oz) of goat cheese
• zest of one lime
• 6-8 sprigs of fresh thyme or tarragon, chopped (mirror the herb used in the dressing)

toss the spinach, 1 cup berries, shallot and carrots. mix the zest, herb and 2 T of walnuts (finely chop those) and roll the goat cheese to coat in the herb mixture. slice the goat cheese into discs. top the salad with the blueberry and raspberry dressing, walnuts and then the goat cheese. This might be best presented on individual plates.