Kale-Cottage Cheese Bake

I adapted this recipe from one in North Country Cabin Cooking.  I substituted kale for the spinach, egg whites for the whole eggs, and non-fat cottage cheese for the full-fat variety.  It was a great way to use up the abundance of kale in the garden, and get a mega-dose of nutrients in a tasty way.   I even ate this for breakfast one morning. 


Garden Kale

Ingredients:
10 oz. cooked kale
1 cup non-fat cottage cheese

3 egg whites or equivalent amount of egg substitute      

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Sprinkle of nutmeg

Sprinkle of paprika

Preparation:

Puree all ingredients, except for the paprika, in a blender.  Pour into a lightly oiled 9" pie plate.  Sprinkle with paprika on top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Nutrition:

Servings per recipe: 4

Serving Size: About 3/4 cup

Calories: 131

Total Fat: 4 g

Cholesterol: 15 mg

Sodium: 619 mg

Total Carbs:  6 g

Dietary Fiber: 1 g  

Protein: 18

Kale and Eggs

Can there ever be too much kale in a garden?   Only if my imagination runs dry.  This morning for breakfast, I put some cooked, pureed, and well-drained kale into my egg whites.  Green Eggs Without the Ham!

Garden In a Glass

I juiced a variety of greens and other vegetables for my birthday meal with my family.  My 23 year old son, Caleb, sampled the juice and expressed his delight with its taste when he declared "It tastes like garden in a glass!"  I loved his description and decided I would adopt his name for it. 

Ingredients:

2 large cucumbers                                                                        
5 stalks celery
1 Granny Smith apple
3 slices ginger root (1" slices)
6 - 7 kale leaves (about 3 cups roughly chopped)
6 - 7 Tyfon greens leaves  (about 3 cups roughly chopped)
1 cup loosely packed parsley

Preparation:
Put it all through the juicer to extract the fiber.  Sip with delight and taste that garden!

Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 6
Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 74
Total Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 84 mg
Total Carbs: 16 g
Dietary Fiber: 0   Sugars:  6 g
Protein: 4 g

Purple Night Out Duluth

Thursday, September 1, 2001,
5 - 7 pm
Clyde Ironworks
2920 West Michigan Street
Duluth, MN

In nearly four decades, one statistic hasn't changed:  Just 6% of pancreatic cancer patients will survive five years.  There is no cure, but with your help, there is hope.
   
Join us for a fun evening and raise awareness for pancreatic cancer.  Come enjoy appetizers and mingling, and learn how you can help support the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.  http://www.pancan.org/.

Free admission, free appetizers, great door prizes from local merchants and artists, and a
memory/honor table for lighting a candle.
Brief slide presentation at 5:45. 

 A special thanks to Alex Guilianni at Clyde Ironworks, Barb Payette at Stewart-Taylor Printing, and local merchants and artists for their donations for this event.  We sincerely appreciate it. 

Sweet Potato-Kale Bake

This recipe was inspired by one I found on my favorite blog, 365 Days of Kale.  This blog is written by Diana Dyer, a registered dietician who is also a multiple-time cancer survivor.  The blog is filled with accurate nutritional information, inspiration, and practical advice.  She provides numerous recipes for kale and other types of vegetables in the brassica rapa family.  My dietary needs don't allow me to eat most of them without modifications, but it has been definitely worth my time to adjust them to my situation.  This recipe is a great example of what I did with her recipe for Sweet Potato Kale Patties, which contained too many small pieces of vegetables that would likely create intestinal blockages for me.  

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked and drained kale
2 cups cooked sweet potato cubes
1/4 sweet red pepper, steamed and chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried onion flakes
1/2 cup Egg Beaters or equivalent amount of egg whites
1 cup cooked quinoa


Preparation:
Puree the kale, sweet potato, red pepper, garlic powder, and onion flakes in a blender with the egg whites.  Transfer to a bowl and stir in the cooked quinoa.  Place the mixture in a lightly oiled baking dish and bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Alternatively, the mixture can be fried in a small amount of coconut oil in a fry pan on the stove. 

Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 4
Serving Size: About 2/3 cup
Calories: 148
Total Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 178 mg
Total Carbs: 31 g
Dietary Fiber: 5 g
Protein: 5 g

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

This is a recipe I found in the February 2008 issue of Diabetes Forecast, from Mr. Food Diabetic Dinners in a Dash by Art Ginsburg.  It is simple and tasty, with a rich supply of vitamins E, C and Beta-Carotene from the red peppers.  I added just a splash of Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce and about a scant tablespoon of tahini.  These are not included in the nutritional information. 

Ingredients:
2 cans (15 oz. each) garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained with 1/3 cup liquid reserved
1 jar (12 oz.) roasted red peppers, drained
3 garlic cloves (or 1/2 head of garlic, roasted in the oven)
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt

Preparation:
In a food processor or blender, combine all ingredients, including the reserved garbanzo bean liquid.  Process until the mixture is smooth and no lumps remain, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Serve immediately, or cover and chill until ready to use. 

Nutrition:
(as provided in the magazine recipe)
Servings per recipe: 14
Serving Size: 1/4 cup
Calories: 83
Total Fat: 3 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 281 mg
Total Carbs: 1 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Protein: 4 g

Garlic Scapes-Kale Pesto

My friend, Christal, gave me a bag of garlic scapes, with a recipe for pesto.  She explained that these cute curly stems were the tops of a hard-neck variety of garlic. In my additional reading about them, they were described as somewhat less potent than the typical garlic. But to be on the safe side, I think they are still best consumed with garlic-loving friends.

Typical pesto recipes contain high amounts of olive oil, so I substituted the more easily digestable coconut oil.  The heat in my kitchen in these sweltering summer days had already liquefied it, making it easy to make the pesto.  I also reduced the amount of nuts, and used walnuts since they contain the healthy Omega-3 fats.  I also added kale to boost the nutrition.  This idea came from my favorite blog, 365 Days of Kale.   The resulting pesto was delicious!   Quite tasty on whole grain crackers. 

Ingredients:
1/2 cup garlic scapes, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 cup chopped lacinato kale,  (tough stems removed)
2 Tablespoons chopped walnuts
1/4 cup coconut oil (liquefy on low-power in the microwave)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Preparation:
Put garlic scapes, kale and walnuts into a food processor and process until very smooth.   Slowly add the coconut oil.  Transfer contents to a bowl and add the Parmesan cheese.  Mix thoroughly.  Add freshly ground black pepper, if desired.

Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 16
Serving Size: 1 Tablespoon
Calories: 53
Total Fat: 5 g
Cholesterol: 1 mg
Sodium: 32 mg
Total Carbs:  2 g
Dietary Fiber: 0
Protein: 1 g