Happy Birthday, Buggy!

My niece turns 4 today!

These are the childhood years of enchanted cakes!

Enjoy, my Bugster!

A Bit Overdramatic But Sincere

I got this email from my local farmer yesterday:

"The deep freeze has hit us hard and the market growing season has been ended. The produce we now have to offer is in cool storage.

See next 2 pages for current produce and herb offerings. The weather is expected to be very unsettled with snow and ice possible, so delivery may be changed or delayed if conditions are bad.

Thank you for your business."

The end of the season is here. And while I love the snow, ice, and greyness of winter, I will miss my weekly veggie delivery--the potatoes, onions, lettuce mixes, radishes, cabbages, beets.

I will miss my kale.

A lot.

Sometimes I wish I lived in California.

Even More Kale

I'm hooked. On kale. It's bad.

This delicious kale soup recipe from my dear friend Lynn in West Virginia only perpetuates my kale craving.

Bean Soup With Kale

1 tablespoon olive oil or canola oil
8 large garlic cloves, crushed or minced
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
4 cups chopped raw kale
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 (15 ounce) cans white beans, such as cannellini or navy, undrained
2 (15 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 pinch of cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons dried Italian herb seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup chopped parsley

In a large pot, heat olive oil. Add garlic and onion; saute until soft. Add kale and saute, stirring, until wilted. Add the broth, beans, tomato, herbs, spices, and salt and pepper. Simmer 20 minutes. Ladle into bowls; sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Dinner: Pasta & Kale

When the cupboards seem bare, there always seems to be pasta.

Generally we don't eat a lot of pasta. But being that we are trying to be even more conscious of our dining out and our food choices, I thought I'd give the good ol' carb a whirl.

I wanted something quick, easy, and without all that heavy tomato sauce. Of course, I reached for my tried and true Jamie Oliver cookbook Jamie's Dinners.

While the fettuccine was boiling I fried up prosciutto, set it aside, and then whipped up one of Jamie's quick sauces of minced garlic, parm, a squeeze of lemon, and olive oil. After I reserved a little of the pasta's water to stick the noodles and thicken the sauce, I drained the noodles, put them back in the warm stock pot, and incorporated the sauce and prosciutto. Easy enough.

The side dish was easy too. Lately, we've been addicted to kale. I can't get this Molly Wizenberg article our of my head, especially this passage, "She pulled out my largest skillet, put it on the stove, and slipped in some olive oil and a sliver of butter. While the pan warmed, she washed the kale, spun it dry, and gave it a coarse chop. Then she piled it into the hot pan, where it sputtered and crackled like popcorn." I wanted to hear that crackle, so I gave this technique a try. It's been my favorite way of cooking kale thus far.

A simple rustic dinner. Cheap yet tasty. Light yet filling. Quick yet thoughtful.

Question

Any ideas what this utensil is?

A whisk of some kind?

Do tell.

For Cooks Who Love Twilight

There is only one thing that rivals food in my life: Twilight.

These aprons perfectly combo the two into one.

Happy opening night of New Moon, Twi-hards!

Cabbage Roll Crockpot

I've never really fan of cabbage. Until recently.

And I've never really been a fan of cabbage rolls. Until recently.

This dish is how I became a fan of both. My sister-in-law Tracie shared it with me last fall, and since then we're addicts for it, especially when the time comes that we can see our breath while walking Bleu Dog.

What I love most about this dish is we all the bitter and sweet from the cabbage and the tang of vinegar of a cabbage roll without all the messy rolling and the time to takes to roll.

Tra's Cabbage Roll Crockpot

The Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 small onion
4 cups of chopped cabbage
1 green pepper, chopped
1 cup uncooked brown Minute rice
1 cup of water
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
1 can undrained diced tomatoes
1/2 c ketchup
2 T red wine vinegar
2 T sugar
1 T Worcester sauce
1 1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/4 t garlic powder

(optional: a dash of cinnamon, fresh oregano or parsley, and/or grated nutmeg)

The How-To:
1.) Brown beef and onion in skillet and drain. Put in crockpot.
2.) Add cabbage, green pepper, and rice to crockpot.
3.) In bowl combine water and tomato paste. Pour into crockpot.
4.) Add remaining ingredients to crockpot.
5.) Stir until mixed.
6.) Cover and cook on Low for 3 hours.

To serve: Dish up into soup bowls. Or put onto mashed potatoes with a side of corn.
With the leftovers: Consider making a pot pie. I think I'm going to try this soon.
If there are even more leftovers: Freeze it.