“Break-the-Fast” Morning Peppers, Onions and Mushrooms!

If you are one of the morning people who have to jump up early, grab a coffee and toast or a quick bowl of cereal, jump in the car and race off to work or school, this breakfast isn’t for you. But you could cook it for dinner, and in fact most people would do just that.

For me, giving up most wheat, cutting back on grains, letting go of some extra weight that I do not need and having some time in the morning for reading, writing or cooking before I work allows me the pleasure of eating vegetables for my own break-the-fast. Although this may seem strange or un-appetizing to some, for me this works very well, giving me energy to start things off AND allowing some of those extra pounds to start melting away.

If you MUST have meat for breakfast, this works very well with sweet or hot cooked sausage chopped and added as well, or a chunk of toasted artisan whole-grain bread for dunking. Who said breakfast has to be cereal or eggs…and god forbid…pop-tarts, or granola bars that truly are NOT food to begin with!

Always in my recipes here, the emphasis is on fresh ingredients, sensuous flavours and textures, AND simplicity of preparation and time requirements. I learned much about this kind of immediate and simple preparation from my former Italian mother-in-law Maria, and my father-in-law Bill who would whip up the most savory and sensuous delights in a large pot or cast iron skillet with an ease and imagination that still is fresh in my memory altho he is gone now, and she is in her 80’s and we live far apart. And I must admit, with the multitude of cookbooks that are in my collection, I always loved the recipes tucked in the treasure  “Under the Tuscan Sun”  by Frances Mayes…meals prepared with the freshest whole ingredients in season and with a minimum of kitchen time. And of course, ultimately shared!

Ingredients:

3 medium Italian frying peppers, sliced thin, 1-medium vidalia onion sliced thin, 2-3 garlic cloves chopped, 2-3 cocktail tomatoes seeded and chopped, i portobella mushroom cap sliced, fresh basil (or dried if fresh is not available), olive oil and a splash of canned chicken broth handy if necessary for “unsticking”), salt and pepper.

Preparation:

Heat large skillet. Add a light coating of oil. When quite hot, add peppers and onions, stirring constantly..do not brown or burn. When peppers and onions have a “sheen” from the olive oil and the releasing of their moisture, turn down the heat a bit and continuing to watch and stir. This will take some minutes to bring them to a semi-carmelized kind of state, but still firm Add a little salt and pepper to taste…keep stirring periodically. When softened, add the mushrooms and garlic, stirring (don’t burn!). When mushrooms are cooked, add the chopped tomatoes, s splash of broth or water and the chopped basil..cook gently until the tomatoes fall apart and the basil is wilted. Taste and taste again to adjust seasonings to your pleasure. Serve in a pretty dish. (I added a sprinkle of parmesan as well).

It is important to be attentive to your cooking when involved in “Sensuous Cooking”… multi-tasking while going back and forth to the stove (like cooking and doing FB at the same time), or cooking and stirring with the phone cradled between ear and shoulder or even with a headset can surely spell disaster for your ultimate culinary delight and pleasure. For me, preparing food in this way is a kind of sensory art form..yes..it is like making art…and it deserves your attention and presence and focus. For me, this is also like a meditation..a “Be Here Now” experience..and very grounding. And of course when you eat REAL food, you become grounded as well as body, Brain, and spirit have the best fuel to propel you into your life.

Take time, take TIME when you can to feed yourself well, and sensuously! And by all means when you can, SHARE the feast!  

Bella Brussel Sprouts and Pasta (Gluten-free)

No. I am not Italian. But the ingredients I love to use for many of my quickie suppers are connected to the Mediterranean cuisines, using greens of some sort, garlic, onions, basil, marjoram, olive oil and/or tomatoes. Last night I was starving after being out all day and when I am starving, I often want a simple (and sensuous/flavorful) pasta meal with healthy greens..something I can whip together with minimal fuss..a quickie of sorts with whatever is in the refrigerator.

I also have recently given up (or at least minimized) wheat in my diet as new information comes forth about the kind of genetically engineered wheat that has become our national staple and has significant health and dietary risks.  Thankfully, I have found a wonderful non-gluten pasta made from brown rice that in flavor, and even more importantly in TEXTURE,  is an excellent substitution for the wheat. (Made by a company named TINKYADA,  it can be found in health food stores and in many markets in the U.S.)

My refrigerator holds many treasures but for some reason last night I was really craving some sort of green vegetable and was delighted that I had hand-picked a small supply of loose Brussels Sprouts from the market the day before; An odd and amusing vegetable with its unique growth habit ( no it does grow in those little round carboard cellophane wrapped boxes on the shelves)  and in its musky/dusky flavor with a surprise hint of sweetness if prepared carefully. My kitchen counter and herb cabinet als0 is well stocked with other tasty supplies as well to be creatively sprinkled, chopped, or carefully tossed into, poured over or stirred into my evening fare. So here we are! Last night’s very delicious dinner…it was SOOOO good.

I describe here a portion for one person..please just double or triple ingredients by your own good calculations and careful hand.

Ingredients

6-8 small/medium Brussels Sprouts, rinsed,…2-3 slices of sweet (or regular) onion, diced…1 or 2  large cloves of garlic diced…olive oil and butter...3 -4 small sweet cocktail tomatoes, seeded and quarted (may use 2 smallish plum tomatoes)..a small slab of a soft mozzarella,  chopped or diced)…dried basil and marjoram…a pinch of slivered almonds..salt and pepper to taste… a sprinkle of cayenne if desired..several tablespoons of a canned chicken broth as desired… a  single portion of gluten-free pasta ( I used spirals), cooked in advance and set aside, warmed.  (Regular wheat pasta may be used if you are not fussy about “gluten-free.)

Preparation

Cook pasta al dente, drain and set aside keeping it warm. Rinse Brussels Sprouts, discarding bruised outer leaves, cut off dried bottom and cut in half. Boil gently in  lightly salted water until tender and drain. In a small skillet, saute onion and garlic  in a mixture of olive oil and butter (1-2 tablespoons) until translucent and just beginning to color golden (do not burn). Add cooked brussels sprouts and stir.. Add chopped tomatoes, and cook a little longer for them to soften. Add a little chicken broth to moisten and make a little “juice”…sprinkle with a pinch of  the dried basil and sweet marjoram, salt and pepper to taste. It is important always to taste and adjust seasonings as you go along for “sensous” suppers. ( warning! Season with a light touch..and then increase as necessary…it is NOT possible to decrease an ingredient once you have over-added it…!)

Put the warm pasta in a bowl. Add diced/chopped mozzarella on top of the pasta and then put the hot sprouts mixture over those. (There should be a little broth). Add a good pinch of the slivered almonds and a sprinkle of cayenne if desired. Stir lightly to mix ingredients. The cheese should melt a bit and be slightly chewy, the slivered almonds add a crunch, the pasta al-dente, the brussels sprouts rich and flavourful, the tomatoes add a nice red in contrast to the green. Totally delicious.

With this I had a chilled glass of a light, mineral-y vinho verde rose wine (well actually, I must admit..I had two chilled glasses). About $6.99 a bottle. A happy meal! See you again soon!

Bravo Broccoli Rappini !

It has SO been winter here up in the Northeast with winds, snow, blizzards, tree damage, loss of electricity and heat! All sufferings aside as a result of Winter’s wrath, we also experience the beauty of this season, when all vegetation is nestled under a blanket of white, and we can hardly remember the colors of summer..vegetables, herbs, flowers, fruits that delight the eye, and tease the senses and the tongue, fresh from nature’s fields, woodland or gardens.

It is precisely this time of year, after warming soups, and sturdy grains, that many of us start to long for the taste of Greens. Often, salads are not exactly what we crave, many of them being cold in temperature themselves, but still..that emerging deep hunger for green things can be compelling as we wrap ourselves to stay warm, but miss the verdancy and energy of GREEN..dark, rich and energizing within winter’s color palette of brown, black, grey and white.

ENTER the COOKING GREENS such as Kale, Collards and Broccoli Rappini (Rabbe). I often at this time have a particular craving for Broccoli Rappini because of it slightly bitter flavor..a flavor that is is an important part of our digestive process, triggering inner digestive juices that both cleanse us, break down the nutrients of our food and disperse them throughout our body. Altho Broccoli Rappini actually  a member of the Brassica family of plants it, in flavor and appearance , resembles its cousin in the mustard plant groupings which accounts for it peppery bitterness.

For this recipe in winter, I must depend on the commercial variety of Rappini in the supermarkets which are delicious of course, but in summer when I garden, I prefer to raise Italian varieties of wild and garden Rappis,  especially from Franchi Seeds. They are thinner stemmed, and quite hot and slightly more bitter than the commercial varieties…and it takes more of it to make a supper! But it is well worth trying and comparing if you have a garden yourselves.

This is a wonderful supper in a bowl any time of the year…but especially sustaining in this cold season when you have just about had it with shoveling snow, and trying to stay upright on ice-laden walks. I will give alternate hints for including meat and using pasta instead of potatoes.

Please be aware when buying the commercial variety of Rappini in the supermarkets, that especially in those shelved vegetable sections that are constantly sprayed with water and mist, that Rappini deteriorates quickly and will turn yellow and rot. I truly do not like this use of spraying vegetables on the shelves…it cause the plants to spoil, AND unless you shake your purchase vigorously..you are paying for the extra weight of the water trapped within the leaves of your product..which of course I am sure is part of the plan of the merchandisers.

Ingredients: (feel free to add and create on your own, substituting as you like. The only thing not variable is the Broccoli Rappini!)

1 commercial bunch of broccoli rappini, 2-3 medium potatoes cooked, chopped and set aside, one small/medium onion diced, 2 cloves garlic diced, 3-4 cocktail or plum tomatoes, seeded and quartered, olive oil, dried basil and dried marjoram, 2-3 chopped canned artichoke hearts, 3-4 deli olives pitted and chopped, a nice soft-style fresh mozzarella cheese (1 thick slice diced in little squares), 2-3 teasp pignoli nuts slightly sauteed, a little canned chicken broth as necessary, a sprinkle of cayenne.

Preparation :

Discard any yellowed  leaves. Drain. Chop off dried stem ends. Discard. Chop greens in thirds, put in a deep pan with a little water, and steam until wilted. Drain. In a deep pan or skillet, saute onions and garlic in olive oil until just slightly golden, add chopped rappini,  a little salt and pepper, the diced chopped artichoke hearts and a little chicken broth or water. Simmer for a few minutes, add the chopped tomatoes, a pinch of dried basil and a pinch of dried marjoram to taste. Simmer gently for a few minutes, stirring. Add  sliced olives. TASTE, taste, taste,  and adjust seasonings to please yourself. Keep warm, adding a little more broth if necessary.

To Serve:

Put cooked chopped potatoes in the bottom of a serving bowl.  Add chopped mozzarella to the  heated broccoli rappini mixture and spoon the mixture  over the potatoes. Garnish with the lightly sauteed pignola nuts. Taste and adjust seasonings…a sprinkle of cayenne if desired. ENJOY!  A chewy artisan bread and  glass of a light red wine is just fine to complete this supper.

*Note: chopped broiled Italian sweet sausage made be added into the mixture if  meat is desired. This may also be served over a pasta of choice instead of potatoes. I am going gluten free, so I use a brown rice pasta which is absolutely delicious.

STORY !

I have just signed up at the local University for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute...which is a program of no homework/no tests college courses for pleasure and leisure for people age 50 and older. I myself am a teacher/speaker/retreat director/workshop presenter by profession, but am excited to take courses on topics that are of interest but that I do not personally teach. One of the courses I have just signed up for is “Conversational Italian” so in the future I may express my Delicioso recipes with some new and musical words, given the lyrical quality of that language ( and the Italian/Mediterranean enthusiasm for much of my style of cooking!).

Minnestrone Delicioso with Clams/Seafood

There truly are no limits to the ingredients we can lovingly slip into the soup pot! The secret to “Delicioso” (a la “sensuous”) cooking however, is literally a sense of good taste, imagination, a discerning tongue, an eye for artistic beauty and a spirit of adventure..enough of one to confidently break away from a printed recipe and eliminate, add or substitute ingredients that are your own favorites.

This recipe…the “bones” of it,that is… is adapted from one I found and saved from a September 1994 Cooking Light magazine. I eliminated, added and substituted ingredients from the first trial out of convenience, and also because I preferred, for instance, cannelini beans or chick peas to the original lima beans. Also, I will add extra ingredients as the kitchen muse inspires me…Soups and stews always taste better on the 2nd-4th days anyway!

This soup has become a family (and guests’) favorite..I hope it will be a favorite of yours as well!

Ingredients:   

1/2  can of 15.5 oz cannelini beans, drained (or bean of your choice), 2 cups of chopped onion and leek (I mix the two), 3 cloves garlic chopped,  2 carrots, diced, 2 cups diced zucchini or fresh green beans chopped in 3rds, 1 rib of celery, diced, 2-3 small cocktail tomatoes, seeded and quartered,  1  48-oz can low-sodium chicken broth plus one or two regular sized cans of chicken broth as desired, 1 bottle of clam juice (optional), 1 (or 2) 10 oz  cans chopped clams undrained, 1 small wedge of lemon to squeeze.  5-6 large cleaned shrimp, or 3 large scallops halved or 1 sleeve calamari, cut in rings..(all optional) Seasonings: dried parsely, dried marjoram, dried basil, cayenne powder, 1-teasp fennel seed crushed.  

Pasta/macaroni of choice cooked separately and set aside.           

***NOTE: I never cook pasta IN the soup as it swells and takes over. I prefer to cook it ahead and line the soup bowl with desired amount and ladle to soup over the pasta..this way, the pasta retains its soft but firmer texture without becoming fat and gluey, soaking up too much of the broth.

Preparation:

Gently saute onion and/or leeks and garlic in 1-2 tablesp olive oil until soft and just slightly golden, (do NOT burn), add chopped carrots, celery..saute lightly..add green beans or zucchini..saute very lightly. Add large can chicken broth, add chopped canned clams undrained,  add a bottle of clam juice if desired, add more broth. Bring to a boil, quickly turn down to a simmer, ad a pinch of dried parsley, dried basil, dried sweet marjoram. A judicious squeeze of lemon (careful, taste).  Add 1-2 teasp of crushed fennel seed (or a little more..you should be able to smell its delicate scent)). Simmer gently for about 10 minutes. Add the rinsed cannellini beans, chopped tomato. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add the shrimp, or scallops, or calamari rings. Simmer until they are just clear. Adjust seasonings by TASTING, tasting, tasting along the way. 

Serve:

In the serving bowls, add a little pasta first. Ladle soup over pasta, so there is of course more soup than pasta. Sprinkle with a little cayenne powder if desired, and finally sprinkle a little freshly grated parmesan cheese as a garnish. A crusty artisan bread is perfect. A crusty artisan OLIVE bread is even more perfect.  A light red wine or beer…your choice.

Happy Valentine’s Day, btw from Christine, the Greening Spirit

(Sensuous Cooking is an expression of Love….)

*****Check out my other sites:

http://thegreeningspirit.wordpress.com

http://www.thegreeningspiritmysteryschool.com    AND

http://lunchandlearnseminars.wordpress.com

Luscious Lentil Soup- A Sensuous Soup on a Shoestring

Definition of “shoestring “in the Online Dictionary: 1.  Marked by or consisting of a small amount of money: a shoestring budget.

I have periodically given a workshop called “Sensuous Soups on a Shoestring”, in which I prepare in advance 3 delicious but simple soups for a tasting, and present imaginative input on the history of soup as a food form, its preparation and, most importantly, the “meaning” of soup in the metaphorical sense for being part of Community.

It is very true that we live in fiscally-challenging times, and that no matter what income level is ours at this particular moment, living with a budget is a very prudent idea. There are times in many of our stories when for a variety of reasons, there is a momentary blockage in the flow of money coming in, and choices need to be made as to how to take care of all responsibilities. Many people in our country are un-employed, or under-employed and many many people are being helped by the EBT (foodstamp) program, helping to support good food choices for nourishment during a time of stress and coping with financial challenge.

I encourage the experience that living on a shoe-string budget does not mean that what we eat should taste like shoe-leather. It IS possible to shop wisely, and make a simple soup on a budget to feed and NOURISH family of four for a wholesome dinner or for a single person for several days. And it is possible that what we prepare on a shoestring budget can be delicious, and sensuous with color, or flavour or textures or all three!

This all being said, I present Luscious Lentil Soup on a Shoestring. Good for “grounding”, good for the body and stregnth, wonderful nourishment. However. In color, it is BROWN (a story about that at the recipe’s end)  but I assure you, the taste is wonderful! (6 SERVINGS)

Ingredients: 

1 can Progresso Lentil Soup ($1.00 at the Dollar Store), 2 -14 oz cans College Inn or Swanson reduced sodium chicken broth ($ 2.60 total on sale-stocked up), 1-2 carrots, diced ($.43),  1/2 small sweet onion, diced ($.84), 1 stalk of celery, diced (not in picture),  2 cloves of garlic, chopped small,  3 small cocktail tomatoes, seeded and chopped into quarters OR 1-2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped, 1-2 mild Italian sausages broiled, chopped and set aside,  ($.99-$2.29), 1 little wedge of fresh lemon, or several small drops of lemon juice (careful here), and sprinkling to taste while cooking, dried basil, dried marjoram, and cayenne pepper for a personal sprinkle in the bowl. 1/2-1 cup of brown or white rice cooked separately and set aside.      

Preparation:

Prepare brown or white rice ahead of time. Rinse rice grains in cold water until clear, then drain. To cook- 1 cup of rice to 2 1/2 cups of cold water, bring to a boil, then turn heat down, simmer until done..adding a little more water as necessary.

In a suitably- sized soup pan, saute onions, garlic and celery in a little butter or olive oil (or a mix of the two) until softened (do not burn), add diced carrots and celery and stir to coat. Add can of Lentil Soup, stir, add diced sausage, stir, add  one  cans chicken broth, stir, add the second can as desired for thickness of soup..add a small squeeze of fresh lemon, add 1/4 to 1/2 teasp of dried basil and dried marjoram (I just sprinkle as suits me), salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, turn heat down to simmer for 20 minutes, add diced tomatoes and cook just until they are softened. Taste, taste, taste..adjust seasonings to suit you.

Serve:

Serve soup over cooked rice as preferred. Mix. I add a sprinkle of cayenne pepper for heat, and good digestion.

*Note: I do not cook the rice IN the soup as it expands, soaks up the broth, swells in size and takes over. I want to taste and experience the SOUP, and the rice gives more nutrition and a little bulk..but this is never a RICE soup.

STORY: Periodically it is my pleasure to host a family of wonderful musicians from Ecuador who stay with me when they are in the area for performances and conferences. We eat together late at night when they return from their concerts, and being on the road, they truly look forward to “what are we going to eat???”  in the home-cooked family style way. This soup is BROWN, and when I poured it into the bowls, a look went around the table amongst them, no words…but I KNEW. They were not pleased with the color, and suspected I had fallen short of my usual culinary offerings to them as my guests. I had to laugh..being with them for so many years I know their ways, and I truly understood their looks and momentary silence as they pondered the BROWN-ness in the bowl. Hesitantly, gingerly but politely, the spoons went in..into the bowls, and then into their mouths. A look of surprise, nodding heads and without a word, thumbs went up…YES!  

****My advice when cooking such foods in the beige and brown color pallette…in this instance, the sensuousness is in the imaginative and artful use of ingredients, herbs and seasonings..taste, taste, TASTE as you cook, and make it delicious.

It is also true, that for soups and stews, the flavour is even better on the second and third day from preparation.

It may be a soup on a shoestring, but this is sturdy delicious fare to get you through the tough times as well as the good times. ENJOY!

Chicken Soup with Healing Herbs

THIS is no ordinary chicken soup!  This is chicken soup to warm you, ground you, heal you and…well, let’s say.. to nourish your “chi” and increase your “stamina” (more on that a little later when you get to the little story at  the end of this post ..). Especially in the cold winter months, a chicken soup with its golden broth and root vegetables will give you the stregnth and the will to brave the elements before going out, or assist your warming up when you come in, freezing and chilled to the bone. Because of the addition of a special separately brewed (decocted) tea of three gentle but powerful herbal roots, this is a wonderful broth to nourish you or those you love after a bout of a tough cold or debilitating flu.

I make this recipe after I have made several meals from a rotisserie chicken, and don’t want ANOTHER chicken,veggies and salad dinner. Sometimes I store what is left in the original enclosed container in the freezer to use later, but usually I cook this soup up after about 3-4 days from purchase and meals.I am very selective in where I purchase my rotisserie chicken, and read the “ingredients which SHOULD read something like ” Chicken, salt and pepper,granulated garlic, herbs of Provence” or a variation. You would be surprised at the ingredients on some of the labels that include additives, or corn syrup. Stay as pure and simple as possible.    

Also please note that I don’t often use accurate measurements, but try to advise you about “how much” of an ingredient to use. For me it varies as I taste-test along the way. Let’s excuse that in the spirit of a Creative Exercise. Better to under-do and use a light hand as you go along and taste, taste, taste along the way adding here and there as you like it.

Ingredients:

A leftover rotisserie chicken, a medium chopped onion, 2 cloves chopped garlic,, 3-4 carrot chopped, 3-4 parsnips chopped, a chopped yellow or zucchini (optional), 1 large can of reduced-sodium  chicken broth (64 oz?) and 1 32-oz box of the same  (I use either College Inn or Swanson brand) …enough on hand to cover the chicken 3/4 of the way, dried basil and dried marjoram to taste, a squeeze of fresh lemon,  a sprinkle ofcayenne powder, brown rice, and a separate decoction of the healing roots Astragalus, Codonopsis and Siberian Ginseng (eleutherococcus)

Preparations:

***Preparing the Herbal Roots: Before or during the  first simmering of the leftover chicken prepare the Healing Roots decoction. In herbal preparations, a “tea” is made by pouring boiling water over the tender parts of the herb, whether dried or fresh and steeping, covered for 10 minutes for a social tea or overnight for a medicinal brew. We do a

astragalus, codonopsis and siberian ginseng roots

decoction for the tough stems, twigs and roots of the plant by covering them with cold water, bringing to an almost boil, turning down the heat and then simmering for 10-30 minutes. I simmer the roots for this for about 20 minutes, adding more water or a little broth as necessary.                                                                                  

For this I use about 1/4 cup each of the dried siberian ginseng and codonopsis and 5-6 small sticks of astragalus.  Strain out  and discard herbs when done and set the liquid aside  for adding to the soup later.  

Cooking:

Cover the chicken carcass with chicken broth in a suitable deep pot. I cover it up to may 3/4 of the size of the leftover chicken. Simmer for approximately 30 minutes adding more canned broth as necessary to keep it almost covered. Strain and drain the broth into a separate cooking pot, and let the bones cool off in the strainer.

When chicken is cooler to the touch, retrieve as much meat off of the bones as possible and set aside. Be careful to ferret out  any sharp or hidden bones..they can be elusive.

In the strained broth add the chopped carrot, parsnips, chopped yellow summer squash or zuchinni and the onion and garlic (I like to saute those two lightly in a small pan first to enhanced the flavour..I’d suggest that). Simmer until the vegetables are almost tender  and then add the  strained prepared herbal roots decoction to the broth and simmer for a little while longer, adding pinches of dried basil, dried marjoram and salt and pepper to taste. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon ( go easy there..just a tiny tang of flavor..not sour…)

Add the leftover cooked chicken meat.

Serve the soup over your preferred amount of previously cooked brown or white rice. Do not add the rice to the whole pot of soup, as it will soak up all the brothand swell and you will have a gloppy rice porridge.. Not at all sensuous, that. You want to see the golden broth and orane and creamy colored carrots and parsnips swimming above the little soft     grains of rice. I sprinkle (SPRINKLE!) cayenne pepper over the hot soup before eating. (And sometimes I add a little soft chopped mozzarella in to the hot soup as well.)

Variation..chopped spinach or escarole, or small white beans could be cooked in this soup as desired.

A special note/story/myth? in regards to this recipe:  A certain gentleman friend with a taste for fine fare and a delightful sense of humour  gave 10-stars to this soup as, shall we say, a restorer of….uhm… “Courage” when he felt low. He renamed it “Siberian Husky Soup” in honor of the power of the siberian ginseng to give him  (sexy) “strength.”

 (At least that’s what I was told..:-)  )

Tuscan Kale Supper

DELICIOUS, SATISFYING, SENSUOUS AND SAVORY SOUPS AND SUPPERS ARE ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL TO NURTURING OURSELVES AND LOVED ONES IN THE GREENING SPIRIT  Way!

 

 Feb 2, 2012  ~ The Greening Spirit’s recipe for TUSCAN KALE SUPPER IN A BOWL

* please note that in the spirit of abandonment and creativity, I do not use measurements. But this was DELICIOUS! Feel free to experiment. Everything except the KALE, is optional. 🙂 Taste, taste, taste along the way as you cook. Adjust according your own wildest desires…!

Ingredients:  

~ a small-medium bunch of Kale, washed well, and tender leafy green parts stripped from the center rib. Chop if necessary into smaller pieces, a small to medium onion sliced/chopped, 2 cloves garlic chopped, 3-4 small cocktail tomatoes seeded and quartered, several green or black  pitted deli olives halved or quartered, mozzarella cheese in small chopped squares, gently saueteed pignoli nuts,  dried basil and sweet marjoram, salt and pepper to taste, olive oil, a little canned reduced- sodium  chicken broth, boiled chopped potatoes.

Cooking:

Gently saute garlic and onions in olive oil until just a touch translucent  in a separate pan. Add chopped kale to a large pot with olive oil and simmer, stirring constantly. Kale will shrink as moisture is released. DO NOT BURN. When a little tender, add splashes of chicken broth as necessary to cook into further tenderness, always with a little broth remaining. Add sauteed onion and garlic, add sprinkles of dried basil and sweet marjoram (to taste..go easy..add as necessary), salt and pepper to taste, add chopped tomatoes, chopped olives and stir/simmer until kale is tender. Add pignoli nuts.

In your (beautiful) bowl for one personal serving add a layer of cooked chopped potatoes, the chopped mozzarella cheese, and add the kale mixture  on top. I sprinkle a tiny bit of cayenne pepper on many things for fire and good health..(note the word “sprinkle”).

And a glass of a light Paisano wine with it will do quite nicely.