Delishytown

Cooking is fun. Eating is funner. I cook, photograph and write these recipes.
Everything I post on this blog I make from scratch using fresh wholesome ingredients.. I've been cooking since I was a little kid.

My recipes are based on trial and error, along with studying cookbooks, family recipes, blogs and cooking shows.

Some of the veggies and herbs I use are grown in my garden. Yay sustainability!
I'm working on making my yard into an edible landscape. It's really fun to go out in the garden and pick your veggies for dinner!

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18 posts tagged kale

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Honey Kale and Cabbage Rolls The kale, dill, carrots, celery, cabbage and shallots were all grown in our spring garden! Yum I love cabbage rolls. This is a good springtime dish because if you drizzle each serving with locally produced honey before serving, the honey helps fight against sneezing and seasonal allergies. And it also makes the whole dish taste fantastically sweet and delicious!  You can make this vegan by eliminating the grass fed beef and cheese. Make a sweet and sour tomato sauce by sauteeing 1 small chopped onion, 2 small chopped shallots and 3-4 smashed garlic in 1 tblsp butter and 2 tblsp olive oil. Cook until fragrant. Add 1 large can of chopped organic tomatoes, 1 cup of chicken or veggie stock, the juice of 1 lemon and 1 tsp turbinado sugar, (or any sugar you have) Season with celery salt and pepper, and a big sprinkle of fresh or dried dill. Simmer and set aside until you are ready to assemble.  For the filling: Saute 1 small sweet onion in olive oil, add 1 lb. grass fed organic ground beef, salt and pepper, cook till browned and crumbly. Once the beef and onion is cooked, drain off the excess fat and add chopped celery, chopped carrots, chopped shallots, and cook until fragrant. Add 1 can of organic beans, rinsed and drained, I used black beans and pinto beans leftover from tacos the other night.. Season with 2-4 crushed garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, juice of 1/2 lemon, and 1 tsp Hungarian paprika, and a bit of dry dill. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Meanwhile, cook some Jasmine or Basmati rice, and start another pot of water to cook and soften the cabbage leaves. Remove core from the cabbage and place it in the boiling water,  let the outer layers soften for a minute or two and loosen the leaves one at a time with tongs, and reserve to a plate. You want them to cook more in the baking part of this recipe. This step is just to soften them so you can roll. Once cooled, cut away the big center part of the stem of each leaf about halfway up. Soften the kale leaves one at a time in the same pot for a few minutes each and cool on the plate. In a casserole, add a few tblsp of the tomato sauce to the bottom layer. Mix the cooked rice with the cooked, seasoned ground beef mixture in a bowl, and roll into the cabbage and kale leaves. I like to place 1 kale leaf on the bottom, add a cabbage leaf over it and roll it all together to have two colors of green on each roll. Place in the casserole , seam side down and continue until the pan is nicely packed together. This packing together assembly also helps the rolls hold together while baking. Top with the remaining tomato sauce. Top with grated cheese if desired. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes until bubbly and a bit browned. Serve with plain yogurt or sour cream and drizzle each serving with honey. YUM!

Honey Kale and Cabbage Rolls

The kale, dill, carrots, celery, cabbage and shallots were all grown in our spring garden! Yum I love cabbage rolls. This is a good springtime dish because if you drizzle each serving with locally produced honey before serving, the honey helps fight against sneezing and seasonal allergies. And it also makes the whole dish taste fantastically sweet and delicious! 

You can make this vegan by eliminating the grass fed beef and cheese.

Make a sweet and sour tomato sauce by sauteeing 1 small chopped onion, 2 small chopped shallots and 3-4 smashed garlic in 1 tblsp butter and 2 tblsp olive oil. Cook until fragrant. Add 1 large can of chopped organic tomatoes, 1 cup of chicken or veggie stock, the juice of 1 lemon and 1 tsp turbinado sugar, (or any sugar you have) Season with celery salt and pepper, and a big sprinkle of fresh or dried dill. Simmer and set aside until you are ready to assemble. 

For the filling: Saute 1 small sweet onion in olive oil, add 1 lb. grass fed organic ground beef, salt and pepper, cook till browned and crumbly. Once the beef and onion is cooked, drain off the excess fat and add chopped celery, chopped carrots, chopped shallots, and cook until fragrant. Add 1 can of organic beans, rinsed and drained, I used black beans and pinto beans leftover from tacos the other night.. Season with 2-4 crushed garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, juice of 1/2 lemon, and 1 tsp Hungarian paprika, and a bit of dry dill. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Meanwhile, cook some Jasmine or Basmati rice, and start another pot of water to cook and soften the cabbage leaves.

Remove core from the cabbage and place it in the boiling water,  let the outer layers soften for a minute or two and loosen the leaves one at a time with tongs, and reserve to a plate. You want them to cook more in the baking part of this recipe. This step is just to soften them so you can roll. Once cooled, cut away the big center part of the stem of each leaf about halfway up. Soften the kale leaves one at a time in the same pot for a few minutes each and cool on the plate.

In a casserole, add a few tblsp of the tomato sauce to the bottom layer.

Mix the cooked rice with the cooked, seasoned ground beef mixture in a bowl, and roll into the cabbage and kale leaves. I like to place 1 kale leaf on the bottom, add a cabbage leaf over it and roll it all together to have two colors of green on each roll. Place in the casserole , seam side down and continue until the pan is nicely packed together. This packing together assembly also helps the rolls hold together while baking. Top with the remaining tomato sauce. Top with grated cheese if desired.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes until bubbly and a bit browned. Serve with plain yogurt or sour cream and drizzle each serving with honey. YUM!

Garden Greens in our edible landscape. Purple Kale, Rainbow Swiss Chard, Red Romaine, and Radicchio. Happy Spring!

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Parmesan Crusted Kale, Leek and Potato Cakes with Red Quinoa and Meyer Lemon This was my delicious lunch today. These were amazing! They kind of tasted like a healthy  version of tater tots, only better. This is one of those dishes where every bite you go, “Mmmh! Ohmygodisthisgood, mmmpfh” And then you eat it all. I’ve been trying to eat lots of nutritious food in order to be cured from a cold. The Kale in these crispy treats was grown in our back yard garden. I love growing winter vegetables. Rain + Seeds = Free Food. For this dish I combined 3/4 cup leftover mashed potatoes with thinly chopped leeks (white and lightest green parts only, sliced in half first and rinsed to get rid of any sand and dirt, then sliced crosswise) and 2 cups blanched kale, which I rinsed in a mesh strainer then pressed out all the water from. I mixed this with 2 eggs, 1 minced garlic clove, 1/2 tsp dried dill, 1/2 tsp flour, and salt and pepper. I pressed the patties in a ring mold and then dusted them with a combo of bread crumbs and grated parmesan cheese before frying in butter & olive oil. I cooked red quinoa on the side, and dressed the whole plate with a giant squeeze of fresh Meyer Lemon juice, also from our back garden. These were so much more tasty than I thought they’d be. Did I mention that this was delicious? Happy New Year Tumblrs! Please have the Best and Most Fun Year ever! 

Parmesan Crusted Kale, Leek and Potato Cakes with Red Quinoa and Meyer Lemon

This was my delicious lunch today. These were amazing! They kind of tasted like a healthy  version of tater tots, only better. This is one of those dishes where every bite you go, “Mmmh! Ohmygodisthisgood, mmmpfh” And then you eat it all. I’ve been trying to eat lots of nutritious food in order to be cured from a cold. The Kale in these crispy treats was grown in our back yard garden. I love growing winter vegetables. Rain + Seeds = Free Food.

For this dish I combined 3/4 cup leftover mashed potatoes with thinly chopped leeks (white and lightest green parts only, sliced in half first and rinsed to get rid of any sand and dirt, then sliced crosswise) and 2 cups blanched kale, which I rinsed in a mesh strainer then pressed out all the water from. I mixed this with 2 eggs, 1 minced garlic clove, 1/2 tsp dried dill, 1/2 tsp flour, and salt and pepper. I pressed the patties in a ring mold and then dusted them with a combo of bread crumbs and grated parmesan cheese before frying in butter & olive oil. I cooked red quinoa on the side, and dressed the whole plate with a giant squeeze of fresh Meyer Lemon juice, also from our back garden. These were so much more tasty than I thought they’d be. Did I mention that this was delicious?

Happy New Year Tumblrs! Please have the Best and Most Fun Year ever! 

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Smokey Chipotle, Mushroom & Chard Frittata  This was delicious, quick and easy. The combo of chipotle chili powder and cinnamon give it a smokey, slightly spicy and delicious flavor. In a cast iron skillet, saute 10 or so sliced mushrooms and some chopped shallots in butter or olive oil until they caramelize. Add chopped chard. Season with celery salt and pepper, a grating of nutmeg, 1/4 tsp skoked paprika, 1/8th to 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder to taste, (if you don’t like it spicy,  just give it a tiny sprinkle for smokiness), and a little cinnamon.  Cook a minute until the greens are wilted. Heat the broiler to high. Scramble 3 to 5 eggs. Pour eggs over the sauteed vegetables. Cook over medium heat just until it starts to set. Add grated cheese, whatever you have or your favorite. I used cheddar and parmesan. Put the pan under the broiler for a few minutes to melt the cheese. Serve with fruit and toast.  Yum!

Smokey Chipotle, Mushroom & Chard Frittata 

This was delicious, quick and easy. The combo of chipotle chili powder and cinnamon give it a smokey, slightly spicy and delicious flavor.

In a cast iron skillet, saute 10 or so sliced mushrooms and some chopped shallots in butter or olive oil until they caramelize. Add chopped chard. Season with celery salt and pepper, a grating of nutmeg, 1/4 tsp skoked paprika, 1/8th to 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder to taste, (if you don’t like it spicy,  just give it a tiny sprinkle for smokiness), and a little cinnamon.  Cook a minute until the greens are wilted.

Heat the broiler to high.

Scramble 3 to 5 eggs. Pour eggs over the sauteed vegetables. Cook over medium heat just until it starts to set. Add grated cheese, whatever you have or your favorite. I used cheddar and parmesan. Put the pan under the broiler for a few minutes to melt the cheese. Serve with fruit and toast. 
Yum!
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Lemony Kale Spaghetti This is delicious, easy, healthy, and very inexpensive if you’re already growing kale and basil. You can swap out any garden greens, like chard or spinach, for the kale in this recipe. I used spaghetti, but you can use any kind of pasta you like. Here’s how I made this delicious dish. Boil a pot of salted water for pasta. In a separate skillet, saute 1 chopped shallot in a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Wash, stem and chop any kind of kale, I used curly kale. Add it to the skillet and sauté. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Keep stirring and cooking your kale until it’s cooked to desired doneness, I like mine to be cooked, but not mushy, and still have a bite to it. So I only cooked mine for about 10 minutes total. Squeeze the juice from 1/2 lemon over the kale in the skillet. Add a big handful of fresh chopped basil. Drain the noodles and toss them with the lemony kale.  Serve with parmesan cheese, a drizzle of olive oil and lemon wedges. Yum!

Lemony Kale Spaghetti

This is delicious, easy, healthy, and very inexpensive if you’re already growing kale and basil. You can swap out any garden greens, like chard or spinach, for the kale in this recipe. I used spaghetti, but you can use any kind of pasta you like.

Here’s how I made this delicious dish.

Boil a pot of salted water for pasta.

In a separate skillet, saute 1 chopped shallot in a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Wash, stem and chop any kind of kale, I used curly kale. Add it to the skillet and sauté. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions.

Keep stirring and cooking your kale until it’s cooked to desired doneness, I like mine to be cooked, but not mushy, and still have a bite to it. So I only cooked mine for about 10 minutes total.

Squeeze the juice from 1/2 lemon over the kale in the skillet. Add a big handful of fresh chopped basil. Drain the noodles and toss them with the lemony kale. 

Serve with parmesan cheese, a drizzle of olive oil and lemon wedges. Yum!

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Lemony Kale Salad This is my new  favorite salad. It’s very healthy and so easy to throw together. I always rub the bowl with a cut garlic clove first. Then add chopped curly kale with thinly sliced purple cabbage and  shredded carrots. The dressing is the juice of one fresh lemon, 2 tblsp olive oil, a little drizzle of honey, salt and pepper and  it’s garnished with chopped feta cheese and sunflower seeds. Toss well to coat.Yum!

Lemony Kale Salad

This is my new  favorite salad. It’s very healthy and so easy to throw together. I always rub the bowl with a cut garlic clove first. Then add chopped curly kale with thinly sliced purple cabbage and  shredded carrots. The dressing is the juice of one fresh lemon, 2 tblsp olive oil, a little drizzle of honey, salt and pepper and  it’s garnished with chopped feta cheese and sunflower seeds. Toss well to coat.Yum!

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Kale Chips I know, I know, every food blogger, magazine and Gwenyth Paltrow in the world is making these. But I have a ton of kale growing in my garden. And they’re damn good. And easy. And as far as chips go, kinda sorta healthy. These go great with any kind of sandwich. Here’s how: Heat oven to 375. Wash & dry some fresh kale (you can do this with any kind, this picture is Red Kale).  Remove the stems & toss in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil, kosher salt & fresh ground pepper. Spread the kale leaves in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake for about 5-10 minutes, stirring them around here and there for even cooking. Serve with sandwiches or dip.

Kale Chips

I know, I know, every food blogger, magazine and Gwenyth Paltrow in the world is making these. But I have a ton of kale growing in my garden. And they’re damn good. And easy. And as far as chips go, kinda sorta healthy. These go great with any kind of sandwich. Here’s how:

Heat oven to 375. Wash & dry some fresh kale (you can do this with any kind, this picture is Red Kale).  Remove the stems & toss in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil, kosher salt & fresh ground pepper.

Spread the kale leaves in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake for about 5-10 minutes, stirring them around here and there for even cooking. Serve with sandwiches or dip.

Chinese Breakfast Omlette with Raspberry Chili Sauce

When I woke up I was hungry for vegetables. I always listen to my cravings. This egg foo young came out delicious! The slightly spicy raspberry sauce and the savory egg dish tasted so good together.  I need to make this again for lunch.

Egg Foo Young is American Chinese food. Some people think this recipe came about in the western U.S. during the building of the railroads. Traditional egg foo young recipes call for a chicken stock & soy sauce gravy, but I didn’t have any chicken stock. So I figured I’d garnish with some sweet chili sauce I had in the fridge.  I needed to doctor it up though, because the sweet chili sauce I bought is way too sweet. I used raspberries from the freezer to balance the flavor. The bonus is that the berries made the sauce bright red! 

The sauce was really easy because I made it from sauce. I know, that’s cheating. I don’t care. Combine 1/4 cup fresh or frozen raspberries in a saucepan with 1/4 cup sweet chili sauce and 2 tblsp water. Simmer for a few minutes till it bubbles and thickens, then strain through a mesh strainer.

For the Chinese omlette, You can use any ingredients you like or have on hand. I had broccoli and bean sprouts in my crisper drawer, deli ham, & kale in the garden.

Sauté chopped green onions, a small amount of fresh grated ginger, shredded kale, chopped broccoli, ham (optional), mung bean sprouts. Once these things are cooked, scramble 2 eggs and mix it all together. Pour a little extra oil into the skillet and pour in the eggs and veggies, gently forming into whatever shape you like. Cook until golden, then flip to cook the other side.

Serve with raspberry chili sauce.

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Sesame Noodles with Garden Kale Kale is a superfood, especially when it’s covered with sweet, spicy dressing.  We have tons of red kale growing out back, it volunteered from kale which I let go to seed last June. I’m glad I did because it’s yummy! The thing I like most about having an edible garden is you always have some kind of food, there’s no need to go to the store all the time. You save $ and time. When I went outside to water the garden, I remembered a friend telling me about a peanut kale dish she had at a restaurant in Los Feliz. She said it was so good it was like spicy candy. I decided to give it a try.  I made a basic sesame noodle type dressing, which I’ve made lots of times before, then I added extra sugar for the candy effect. Here’s how I made this: Boil water, blanch kale for 1 minute until it turns bright green. Remove with a slotted spoon. Add soba noodles to the same pot, cook soba noodles for 3 - 4 minutes.  Drain noodles. Toss with the kale and sesame peanut dressing:  In a small bowl, grate 1/2 inch ginger root, grate 1 large garlic clove, add 2 tblsp soy sauce, 2 tblsp rice wine vinegar, juice of 1 orange or tangerine, 1 tblsp sesame oil, 2 tblsp sugar, 2 tblsp tahini (sesame paste) and 1 tblsp peanut butter, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes. Mix and taste. If it’s not just the way you like, adjust sugar and vinegar a little at a time. Garnish with sesame seeds and samba oelek. Yum!

Sesame Noodles with Garden Kale

Kale is a superfood, especially when it’s covered with sweet, spicy dressing. 

We have tons of red kale growing out back, it volunteered from kale which I let go to seed last June. I’m glad I did because it’s yummy! The thing I like most about having an edible garden is you always have some kind of food, there’s no need to go to the store all the time. You save $ and time.

When I went outside to water the garden, I remembered a friend telling me about a peanut kale dish she had at a restaurant in Los Feliz. She said it was so good it was like spicy candy. I decided to give it a try.  I made a basic sesame noodle type dressing, which I’ve made lots of times before, then I added extra sugar for the candy effect.

Here’s how I made this: Boil water, blanch kale for 1 minute until it turns bright green. Remove with a slotted spoon. Add soba noodles to the same pot, cook soba noodles for 3 - 4 minutes. 

Drain noodles. Toss with the kale and sesame peanut dressing: 

In a small bowl, grate 1/2 inch ginger root, grate 1 large garlic clove, add 2 tblsp soy sauce, 2 tblsp rice wine vinegar, juice of 1 orange or tangerine, 1 tblsp sesame oil, 2 tblsp sugar, 2 tblsp tahini (sesame paste) and 1 tblsp peanut butter, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes. Mix and taste. If it’s not just the way you like, adjust sugar and vinegar a little at a time. Garnish with sesame seeds and samba oelek.

Yum!

Pistachio Crusted Tilapia, Kale & Baby Fennel Salad and Roasted Tomato Relish

This was our dinner last night and it was delicious. The fish was crunchy, flaky, pesto-y and scrumptiously delightful.  And so many garden veggies on the side made me feel like some kind of health superstar. I’m not. I’m making peanut butter cookies for breakfast.

The kale, Meyer lemon, fennel, cherry tomatoes and parsley all came from our garden. The red kale & fennel volunteered because I let them go to seed last summer. The seeds drop off the plant on a windy day and find a nook in the soil, then they germinate when it starts raining. You can tell by the way the seedlings look that they’re not weeds.

I bought the Meyer lemon tree when we first moved to California. It lived in a big container on our back porch for a long time. When we moved to this house, we planted it in the ground. It’s the best tree ever. The blossoms smell sweet and wonderful and then become delicious lemons that are a cross between a tangerine and a lemon.  If you live in a warm climate and have a sunny yard, please plant a dwarf Meyer lemon tree. You’ll be happy you did!

For the Pistachio crusted Tilapia: In a food processor, crumb 1 cup pistachios, 1/2 cup bread crumbs, 2 smashed garlic cloves, and 4-5 large fresh basil leaves (or 1 tblsp dried basil.) & Salt and pepper. Remove to a shallow dish.

Butter a cookie sheet. Heat the oven to 425.

Scramble an egg in another shallow dish. Dust the tilapia filets with some rice flour. Dredge in the egg. Coat with the pistachio crumbs and place on the cookie sheet. Dot with little bits of butter and bake at 425 for 15 to 17 minutes.

For the kale salad: wash and chop a big handful of fresh kale, thinly slice baby fennel and chop some fresh parsley.  Zest one Meyer lemon and then juice it into a cup. Whisk in 1/2 tsp honey, 2 tblsp olive oil, and a splash of red wine vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Toss it all together.

For the tomato relish: Chop cherry tomatoes in half, slice two garlic cloves, julienne 3 or 4 basil leaves. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and bake for 15 minutes at 425.

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Kale & White Bean Soup with Pistachio Pesto Toast Soup tastes so great when you make it from scratch and is very easy. This is great as a pasta dish too, just cook some pasta separately and serve it with the soup. It’s inexpensive to make, really healthy, vegetarian, high protein and gluten free. (If you leave off the pasta & pistachio toast, but, that was my favorite part.) Chop 1 leek, 2 carrots, 3 stalks celery and 1 med onion and saute them in a heavy bottomed stock pot with 2 tblsp butter or olive oil. Add 1 can rinsed and drained white beans, 1 container of chicken or veggie stock, 2 cups chopped kale, 2 tblsp fresh chopped parsley, 2 smashed garlic cloves, salt and pepper, 1 tsp smoked paprika, and 1/2 tsp thyme or basil or both. Simmer until the kale is cooked and all the flavors come together, about 20 -25 minutes. Serve with pistachio pesto toast. For the pesto: In a dry skillet, roast 3/4 cup pistachio nuts on low heat. This only takes a few minutes. Once cool, combine in a food processor with 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, 1 large smashed garlic clove, salt and pepper and about 1-2 cups fresh basil leaves. Drizzle in 1 tblsp olive oil or as much as 1/4 to 1/2 cup of olive oil. Spread on toasted french bread and serve with your soup. Yummy! 

Kale & White Bean Soup with Pistachio Pesto Toast

Soup tastes so great when you make it from scratch and is very easy. This is great as a pasta dish too, just cook some pasta separately and serve it with the soup. It’s inexpensive to make, really healthy, vegetarian, high protein and gluten free. (If you leave off the pasta & pistachio toast, but, that was my favorite part.)

Chop 1 leek, 2 carrots, 3 stalks celery and 1 med onion and saute them in a heavy bottomed stock pot with 2 tblsp butter or olive oil. Add 1 can rinsed and drained white beans, 1 container of chicken or veggie stock, 2 cups chopped kale, 2 tblsp fresh chopped parsley, 2 smashed garlic cloves, salt and pepper, 1 tsp smoked paprika, and 1/2 tsp thyme or basil or both.

Simmer until the kale is cooked and all the flavors come together, about 20 -25 minutes. Serve with pistachio pesto toast.

For the pesto: In a dry skillet, roast 3/4 cup pistachio nuts on low heat. This only takes a few minutes. Once cool, combine in a food processor with 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, 1 large smashed garlic clove, salt and pepper and about 1-2 cups fresh basil leaves. Drizzle in 1 tblsp olive oil or as much as 1/4 to 1/2 cup of olive oil. Spread on toasted french bread and serve with your soup. Yummy! 

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