Tarragon Swiss Chard

Starting my morning with a healthy dose of vegetables for breakfast helps put me on the right track. I have posted other recipes for filled egg white omelets using a variety of vegetables.  But laziness prevailed this morning and I took the easy route and made a simple puree of Swiss chard and tarragon and plopped it on my scrambled egg whites.  Easy and much less work than an omelet.   Maybe not as pretty, but my taste buds were just as happy.  I haven't figured out what to call it yet, though.  Any ideas?   I even spread a bit of it on a piece of toast and loved that, too. 

The pairing of tarragon and chard was inspired by my friend, Tahirih.  I had shared some tarragon from my herb garden with her and she had stir fried it with beet greens and raved about it.  If you aren't familiar with tarragon, it has a flavor similar to anise.  I have had it in my perennial herb garden for several years,  but hadn't used it for anything other than with a vinegar/oil dressing for potato salad. So I was pleasantly surprised at how well it complimented the chard. You could certainly substitute dried tarragon for the fresh if you don't have any fresh tarragon available.  Do taste the fresh herb before you decide how much you want to use, as it can be overpowering if anise isn't your favorite herb.  

The Swiss chard, kale, beets, peppers and tomatoes in Tom's raised vegetable bins are vibrant and hearty. This photo gives you an idea those bins.  Yes, we already have a few ripe tomatoes in the bin on the left.  

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon coconut oil
1 large bunch Swiss chard
(yields about 1/2 cup chopped stems and 4 cups chopped leaves)
1 small sprig fresh tarragon, minced
1/4 teaspoon Nature's Seasons
1/4 - 1/2 cup water, approximately

Preparation:
Heat the coconut oil over medium heat and saute the chopped chard stems until tender.  Add the chopped leaves, and fresh tarragon, and saute until wilted.  You may need to add about 1 -2 Tablespoons of the water to make them tender.   Transfer to a Magic Bullet or similar device and add just enough water to make the Bullet do its job and get the desired consistency you want. Put it on top of scrambled egg whites, or in an omelet, or spread it on toast. Any of those ways, you are certain to have Summer Garden Pzazz!

Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 1 cup
Serving Size: About 1/2 - 3/4 cup              
Calories: 68
Total Fat: 4 g
Cholesterol:0  mg
Sodium: 698 mg
Total Carbs:  4 g
Dietary Fiber: 4 g
Protein: 4 g

Currant Kale Soup

Garden Kale

This is an adaptation of Dark Leafy Greens with Caramelized Onions, Raisins, and Pine Nuts from Rebecca Katz's cookbook, One Bite At a Time.  When I turned this into a pureed soup, Tom thought it was even better than its original form.  Maybe it was the melding of the flavors in the pureed form that made it so delectable.

I used kale as the greens both times I made it.  Swiss chard or beet greens or any other type of dark leafy greens would work well.  
Remember, kale is a natural cancer "phyter" with all of it's phytonutrients.  And it is abundant in Tom's vegetable garden right now, as you can see in the photo.  Its rumply green leaves are simply beautiful! I am adding a label of "kale" to my recipes that include it, to make it easier for you to find more of these healthy possibilities.  

Just a quick note about preparing kale:  a quick and easy way to de-stem kale is to rip the leaves from the stem by holding the bottom of the stem in one hand and pulling the leaves up from the bottom with your other hand.  Quick and efficient. The stems can be tough, so it is definitely best to remove them unless the kale is still very tender and young.  

 Ingredients:
6 cups destemmed and chopped kale
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
1 small red onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
pinch of sea salt
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup currants (or raisins)
1 Tablespoon toasted pine nuts (optional)
1- 2 cups water to achieve desired consistency









Preparation:
Cover the chopped kale with cold water and set aside until ready to use.

In a large, deep saute pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and a pinch of salt.  Saute for 3 - 5 minutes. Decrease the heat to low and cook slowly until the onions are caramelized, about 20 minutes.

Add the garlic and stir for about 30 seconds, just until aromatic. Add the currants and stir for about 30 seconds. Deglaze the pan with 2 Tablespoons of water to loosen all the flavorful bits from the bottom.

Drain the kale.  Begin adding the kale to the pan with a pinch of salt, continuing to add as many greens as will fit in the pan. Add the water and cover and simmer until the greens are tender, 5 - 7 minutes. Add the pine nuts.

Puree in a blender, Magic Bullet or VitaMix or with an immersion stick, adding  vegetable broth or water to get the desired consistency.  I made a small batch so I used the Magic Bullet.  Next time I think I will make a large batch and use the VitaMix.  The velvety texture created by the VitaMix is uniquely wonderful and full of Pzazz!

Currant Kale Soup

Nutrition per serving:
Servings per recipe: 2
Serving Size: About 1 1/2 cups depending on
how thick or thin you make it
Calories: 283
Total Fat: 11 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 361 mg
Total Carbs: 25 g
Dietary Fiber: 6
Protein: 8 g

Swiss Chard Sauce or Dip

Garden Swiss chard

The Swiss chard in Tom's raised garden bins is prolific and delicious! Our son, Sam, even loves it.  A couple of mornings ago, he asked me to scramble some eggs with Swiss chard, onions, garlic and peppers to put into a wrap for a breakfast burrito of sorts.  I started by sauteing the onions, peppers and garlic and then added the Swiss chard.  As he looked at how much I made, he said he only needed about half of it.  So I saved half of it for me to use in some way.  

That "some way" came today, as I put the Swiss Chard mixture with canned Great Northern Beans into the Magic Bullet to make a dip to spread on crackers.  Then later, I thinned it with some of the reserved liquid from the beans, and warmed it up with a small amount of pasta and topped it with reduced-fat feta cheese.  I savored it both ways. 

Whenever I cook Swiss chard, I am amazed at how the large quantity of it raw shrinks down to the tiny amount in the pan.  When I made it for Sam's burrito, I think it was a bit more than four cups of chopped chard, though I didn't measure it exactly, and then I saved half of the finished product for my creation today.  So the list of ingredients below is more of an approximation than an exact recipe.  Next time, I will cook a large quantity of this to use in a variety of ways.  Have fun making your own Pzazzed version!


Ingredients:
2 cups chopped Swiss Chard
2 Tablespoons chopped red onion
2 Tablespoons diced green pepper
1/2 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon coconut oil
1/4 cup cooked, drained Great Northern Beans  (but save some liquid)

Preparation:
Saute the onion, green pepper, and garlic in the coconut oil on medium heat until tender.  Add the Swiss chard with a bit of salt and pepper and saute until tender. You will have about 1/4  - 1/3 cup of the mixture when the chard cooks down.  Put this mixture with the Great Northern Beans in a Magic Bullet or similar device. Puree to desired consistency.  You might need to add just a bit of the reserved liquid from the beans to get the Magic Bullet to do its job and to get the desired consistency.  




Nutrition per serving:
Servings per recipe: 1
Serving Size: About 1/2 cup      
Calories: 121
Total Fat: 5 g
Cholesterol:  0 mg
Sodium: 261 mg
Total Carbs: 15 g
Dietary Fiber: 6 g
Protein: 6 g

Kale Sweet Potato Hash Soup

I have a recipe for a scrumptious kale-sweet potato hash that my family thoroughly enjoys.  So today I decided to turn it into a soup.  But I wanted to make it quick and easy, so modified it by using onion powder, garlic powder, and jarred roasted red peppers rather than taking the time to saute onions, garlic and red peppers.  Even with these shortcuts, the soup was delicious.  And it fulfilled my daily quota of one vegetable from the brassica rapa family (kale), as well as healthy sweet potatoes.  It was the leftover sweet potatoes I had from another day that originally inspired me to try this today.  


It also used a bit of the abundant kale from Tom's raised garden beds.  Wow!  Look at all of that kale!  Summer Pzazz for sure!  I have been using much of it to make my other favorite summer kale recipes, including:  
Mudslide 
Kale Coconut Water Drink
Kale Power Drink

Kale 

Adding the sweet potatoes to the sauteed kale

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon coconut oil
2 cups chopped kale
1/3 chicken broth
2 Tablespoons roasted red peppers
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup cooked cubed sweet potatoes

Preparation:
Heat the coconut oil over medium heat and add the chopped kale.  Saute briefly, till it wilts.  Add the chicken broth, roasted red peppers, and seasonings and cook until the kale is soft.  Add the sweet potatoes and put it into a Magic Bullet or similar device and puree to desired consistency. I added a bit more chicken broth to make it thinner. The garnish of Greek yogurt and chili powder worked well.

Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 1
Serving Size: About 3/4  cup
Calories: 191
Total Fat:  6 g
Cholesterol: 1 mg
Sodium:  398 mg
Total Carbs:  33 g
Dietary Fiber:  7 g
Protein:  7 g                                                  

Kale Coconut Water Drink

The kale in Tom's vegetable bins is exploding!  The pure taste of tender, fresh kale is undeniably one of my favorite pleasures.  With the abundance of kale, I have the opportunity to try many new ways of exploring it's full potential.  Kale is a cruciferous vegetable, rich in calcium and cancer-fighting compounds.   It contains sulforaphane, which is a well studied phytochemical that may inhibit cancer-causing substances, according to Rebecca Katz, author of one of my favorite cookbooks, One Bite at a Time. 

I have been sharing some of the kale with my friend, Tahirih, who made a juice of kale, grapes and coconut water.  I had never tried coconut water, but was convinced by her that it's slightly sweet flavor was a great compliment to the kale. So I purchased a small container  (11.2 oz) of VitaCoco coconut water and put it with fresh kale and an apple into my VitaMix.  If you have never made a kale drink, this would be an excellent one to introduce yourself to this nutrition packed green drink. I am unfamiliar with the nutritional merits of coconut water, but will explore that another day.  All I know for sure is that this beverage was true summer Pzazz as I sipped it on the deck yesterday in hot, sizzling summer weather! 

Kale in raised garden bin

Ingredients:
1 cup loosely packed chopped kale  (destem it first)
165 grams (just less than 3/4 cup) coconut water  (that's half of the small container I purchased)
1 small apple ( I used a braeburn apple)

Preparation:
Put it all in the VitaMix and watch it whirl.  Delicious and pure!

Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 1

Serving Size: 1 1/4 cup                    
Calories: 126
Total Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 49 mg
Total Carbs: 30 g
Dietary Fiber: 4 g
Protein: 2 g

Kale Power Drink

Kale Power Drink

Tom's early optimism about gardening when he seeded nearly 1000 plants in March has yielded kale that is ready to harvest. He also built raised beds to extend our gardening space and make weeding easier.  They look a bit like 3 over sized caskets in our back yard, but they are definitely filled with life! In the bin with the kale, there are also seeded beets that have started to poke through the soil. Gardening Pzazz!  The type of kale I prefer most is lacinato kale, also known as Tuscan kale, or dinosaur kale. The deep blue-green color of the dimpled leaves is quite stunning. 

                                                                                   

Ingredients:
About 2 cups chopped fresh baby kale
2 stalks celery, cut into chunks
1 tart apple, cored and cut into chunks
1 cucumber, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 cup or more fresh parsley
1/2 cup water, if needed to start the VitaMix
1/2" slice of fresh ginger, peeled  (optional)

Preparation:
Throw it all in the VitaMix and watch it whirl!
Drink with gusto or sip with pleasure, knowing you are being filled with life-giving nutrients!

Lacinato Kale

Nutrition per serving:
Servings per recipe: 2

Parsley in the deck pot

Serving Size: 1 1/4 cup                                                
Calories: 104
Total Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol:  0 mg
Sodium:  76 mg
Total Carbs: 24 g
Dietary Fiber: 5 g
Protein: 4 g

Mint Pea Soup

This recipe originated from BonAppetit.  Peas with mint are a traditional combination, but this soup takes it to a whole new delectable level!  Vibrant spring green soup with mint and parsley made it perfect for lunch on the deck.  On May 17, I posted Quick Chilled Pea Soup that also had mint with peas, but additionally it included spinach and garlic.  Both soups are great, with this one being a bit more sweet.

My Lebanese mint is finally making a breakthrough in the herb garden.  It was given to me by a friend who received it from a relative in Lebanon. She warned me that, like all mints, it is highly invasive, so I planted it in a pot in the herb garden to keep from spreading too much.  

Lebanese Mint

And the chive plants just keep getting bigger and more abundant in the herb garden. The parsley is in a pot with cilantro and dill on the deck and all are thriving well in the finally warm weather of Duluth!

Chives on June 11

Parsley

Of course, I needed to make some modifications to the original recipe to meet my needs.  I used coconut oil rather than butter and I used non-fat Greek Fage yogurt rather than the sour cream and heavy cream that the original recipe mixed together and swirled into the soup.

On a side-note, at one of my medical appointments this week, I had more lab work done, including LDL levels. LDL is the "bad cholesterol", and the optimal level is below 100.   Since I started using coconut oil about 4 years ago, my LDL has consistently been coming down.  This time it was 85!  Pzazz Hurray for coconut oil!  

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons coconut oil 
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth, divided
6 cups shelled fresh peas (from about 6 pounds pods) or frozen peas, thawed (I used 6 cups frozen peas)
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
Freshly ground pepper  

Garnishes: 
1/4 non-fat Greek Fage
Chopped fresh chives 

Preparation:
Melt oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened but not browned, 6-8 minutes. Add 2 cups broth and bring to a boil. Add peas, reduce heat, and simmer gently until tender, about 5 minutes for fresh peas, about 2 minutes for frozen.

Remove pot from heat. Add parsley, mint, and remaining 2 cups broth to pot. Purée soup in a blender or with an immersion blender, thinning with water if soup is too thick, until smooth. Season soup with salt and pepper. (I didn't add any additional salt, as I thought it was fine without it.) 

Serve warm soup topped with chives mixed with Greek yogurt. I had the soup cold for lunch one day this week and it was just as delicious!                                       

Nutrition per serving:                        

Servings per recipe: 6

Chives on May 16

Serving Size: generous 1 cup  
Calories:  173
Total Fat: 5 g
Cholesterol: 0  mg
Sodium:  213 mg
Total Carbs: 22 g
Dietary Fiber: 7 g
Protein: 10 g