Kale Chips

A very large bunch of kale! Right now everyone loves Kale chips.

Ingredients

 1 bouquet kale or 2 bunches if buying in store
 2 tablespoons oil
 2 teaspoons salt
 1 clove garlic finely chopped

Directions

Preheat oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Discard the stems and the thick vein down
the middle of each leaf. Use a pair of scissors
to cut thick part away.
Wash the leaves really well, at least twice and
then roughly cut the leaves into pieces about
3 or 4 inches square.

Dry leaves thoroughly with a paper towel.

Put leaves in a bowl, add 2 tablespoons oil,
1 teaspoon salt, the chopped garlic and bake
in oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15

minutes. Keep stirring every five minutes, you want them crispy brown on the edges but not burnt.

It helps to place the kale on parchment paper on a baking sheet. You don’t have to worry about one layer of kale as it cooks down.
I did not use this whole bouquet of kale, perhaps one third of it.

Nice nutritious snack!

Japanese Greens (Mizuna) also known as Kyono

Selling at the Farmer’s Market, delicious added to salads, snip the tender leaves, discard the stems.

Brussels Sprouts

In November, buy Brussels sprouts at the Farmers’ Market. If it’s cold enough, keep in the garage with the sprouts on the stalk. Pop off the sprouts as needed.

Ingredients


12 Brussels Sprouts

1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon salt



Directions

Wash the sprouts and remove the outer leaves, make a slice in the bottom. Place in bowl with a little oil and salt, mix well. Bake in oven at 400 degrees for approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Delicious eaten right away or next day cold.

Cranberry Relish

Make this seven days before eating, can be stored in refrigerator for 2 -3 weeks

Ingredients

2 12 oz packages fresh cranberries
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1 12oz frozen orange juice
2 cups raisins
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
2 cups chopped celery stalks
2 cups chopped pineapple
2 cups chopped apple
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

Wash cranberries first, discard any berries that
are not firm.
Then in a saucepan put 2 cups sugar, 2 cups water and the drained cranberries. Cook over low heat for 15 minutes.
Let cranberries cool while you are chopping the other ingredients.
In a large bowl, place the frozen orange juice and add the cranberry mixture to the frozen orange juice. This speeds up the thawing process.
Add remaining ingredients, mix well and then refrigerate for at least one week. This can be stored for up to 3 weeks.

Falafel with Tahini Sauce

Falafel with Tahini Sauce

Preparing to make falafel.
Trying it two ways, my
mother in law ground it in
 a meat grinder with fava
 and garbanzo beans .
Chef Kamal Al Fakih makes
them in a food processor with
just garbanzo beans. 
You can also get skinless fava
beans which cuts down on time
spent skinning by hand. The following recipe is adapted from Alice Fuleihan's recipe and Classic Lebanese Cuisine, by Chef Kamal Al Fakih






Ingredients

1 cup dried garbanzo beans
1 cup dried fava beans (try to get skinless)
1/4 cup cilantro coarsely chopped
1/2 cup coarsely chopped parsley chopped
1 onion coarsely chopped
1/2 cup scallions chopped
2 cloves garlic
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoon raw sesame seeds (topping)
2 cups canola oil  for frying.

This makes 22 falafel

Garbanzo beans and fava beans soaking in water.

Directions

Begin two days ahead by soaking 1 cup
 garbanzo beans and 1 cup fava beans in
 8 cups of water. Add 1/2 teaspoon baking
 soda. Baking soda soften the beans.
Change the water daily.








Fava beans....... the white beans
have been skinned, the bowl in
the front shows fava beans before
removing the skins.
I skinned the beans after 24 hours,
the skin came off easily. Resumed soaking the skinless beans. I soaked  the beans for 36 hours, these can be soaked for 4 days.
To prepare the falafel, drain the beans,
rinse in water and then lay out on a paper towel in a single layer, pat dry really well. Too much moisture results
in the patties not holding together very well.

Grind the beans with the onion in a meat grinder on a coarse grind. Make sure you
pat dry the parsley, scallions, and cilantro with a paper towel and then add these to the bean mixture along with the finely chopped garlic cloves. Mix thoroughly. Put through the meat grinder a second time. Add the salt, spices, 3 tablespoons flour and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda.
Mix thoroughly.
Pass through the meat grinder a third time. Test to see if the patties hold together. Add a little flour if they seem too wet.

Using 2 tablespoon portions, form the mixture into dome shaped patties. I used a mold for making marmoul (date cookies)
Place the patties on a baking sheet covered with plastic wrap.
Press a few of the sesame seeds on top with your finger (do not used toasted sesame, make sure they are raw. Raw sesame seeds stick, toasted do not)

Next put the falafel still sitting on the baking sheets uncovered in the freezer. Once they are frozen you can stack in a covered container
and leave in freezer. When you need them, do not thaw, just fry the patties straight out of the freezer.
I made the falafel the day before serving,
left them in the freezer and removed them just before frying.

Heat the oil to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, have the oil about 1 inch thick. Fry three at a time. Remove when they are golden brown with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Try to keep the oil at 375 degrees so that the patties fry evenly. A candy thermometer is helpful)

Tahini Sauce (Chef Kamal Al-Fakih)

Ingredients
1 large clove garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup tahini (mix well before using)
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup water
parsley chopped (just use the leaves and tender stems)

Directions
Finely chop the garlic and mash the garlic and salt to a pulp using a pestle.
Add the tahini, lemon juice and water. Whisk until smooth and creamy. It should be like pancake batter.
Sprinkle with chopped parsley.


I also tried the recipe in Classic Lebanese Cuisine by Chef Kamal Al-Fakih). He does not use fava beans and uses a food processor instead of a meat grinder. The falafel were very light and airy.  The taste testers were mixed, there seemed to be a preference for the meat grinder version. But the consensus in the end was make them both ways, they are equally good.
Serve with pita bread, chopped tomatoes, tahini sauce (or hummus), pickled beetroot and pickled turnips.
(Pickled Beetroot posted 4/18/14)
(Pickled Turnips posted  1/4/12)

Avocado Pear with Balsamic Dressing

Ingredients

1 Hess Avocado
1 teaspoon  Grey Poupon Mustard
1 teaspoon Sugar
Salt and Pepper
3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
Juice of 1 Lemon

Directions

With a sharp knife, slice just the skin of the avocado from the top where the stem was, straight down to the bottom of the avocado.










Then peel off the skin leaving the avocado flesh still intact.

With a knife, slice off the flesh in 2 inch chunks, leaving the stone and discard. Place the avocado chunks in a bowl.

For the dressing, start with 1 teaspoon Grey Poupon Mustard in a bowl, mix in 1 teaspoon sugar, next add 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, stir well, add 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar and the juice of 1 lemon. Add salt and pepper to taste. Taste and adjust, adding more lemon juice or vinegar if it seems to oily.

Pour the dressing over the avocado and eat!

Beet Greens

Ingredients
2 bunches beet greens, stems removed
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or to taste
2 cloves garlic minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 lemons quartered

Directions
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil Add the beet greens and cooks uncovered until tender, about 2 minutes. Drain in a colander, then immediately immerse in ice water for several minutes until cold to stop the cooking process. Once the greens are cold, drain well, and coarsely chop. You can do this step ahead of time and store in the refrigerator till later in the day.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the greens until oil and garlic is evenly distributed. Season with salt and pepper. Cook just until greens are hot. Serve with lemon wedges.