Edible flowers

I was inspired when reading another blog where school children created amazing dishes using local food and tropical flowers. Check out these amazing pictures at the following link. 2012 March « FlipSide Adventures.

We enjoy growing borage in our garden. This edible plant has gorgeous star-shaped blue flowers that taste like cucumber. Honey bees are attracted to the flowers and are crazy for the nectar.

The entire plant is edible, however, the stems and the leaves are covered with numerous tiny hairs making it distasteful. The flowers, on the other hand, do not contain the hairs and can easily be separated from the stem. Just grab the stem and gently pull and separate the stem from the flower.

The leaves work well in stews and the petals can be used in a variety of dishes such as cake and dessert decorations and salads. When used in salads, add the flowers at the last minute or the dressing/vinegar will cause the petals to wilt.

7 Days of Kale- Day 6- Kale Pesto and Spaghetti Squash

This was by far my most favorite kale dish.

6 kale leaves, destemmed

3/4 cup Basil leaves, chopped, from your herb garden

1 cup sundried tomatoes

2/3 cup pine nuts

1 cup Macadamia nuts

4 Tbs Olive Oil

2-3 Tbs lemon juice

1 tsp salt

pine nuts to garnish

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut spaghetti squash in half, place on cookie sheet face down. Bake for  approx 45 minutes. Let it cool for about 30 minutes before scraping the inside out.

Process kale in food processor. Add kale and basil to medium mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients into the food processor. Blend until creamy. Add the sauce to the kale and basil and mix well.

Add pesto to spaghetti sauce, garnish with sundried tomatoes and pine nuts.

Enjoy!

7 Days of Kale- Day 5- Kale Cakes

Not that kind of cake.  This recipe is a one serving mini kale and quiche pie. Delicious. Easy to make. Easy to eat.  Fun to take to parties.

Recipe

1 bunch kale

5 large eggs, beaten

1/4 cup sour cream

1 1/2 c feta cheese, crumbled (may also substitute ricotta or cottage cheese)

2 tbs minced garlic

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp white pepper

Italian herbs, onion powder and paprika to flavor.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

Pulse kale in food processor until finely chopped. Transfer to a large bowl. Add sour cream, feta, eggs, garlic, spices and herbs. Mix thoroughly.

Coat  12 cup muffin pan with cooking spray. Divide evenly amongst the cups.

Bake the cakes for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top. Serve warm.

 

 

 

 

 

7 Days of Kale- Day 4- Kale with Arame Seaweed

Recipe

1/2 cup Arame seaweed

1 bunch kale, destemmed, chopped

1 tbsp garlic, minced

1 tbsp ginger, minced

2 tbsp coconut aminos (any soy sauce)

2 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbs sesame seeds

Instructions: Soak seaweed as per the directions on the package. In skillet, on medium heat,  heat oil, add garlic and saute. Add arame and ginger, cook for 1 minute. Remove arame/ginger/garlic from pan into a bowl.

Heat oil, add chopped kale, add coconut aminos. cook low heat 5-10 minutes until wilted. Mix into bowl with other ingredients.  Add more sesame oil and aminos for flavor. Garnish with sesame seeds.

Recipe borrowed from http://www.simplyrecipes.com

7 Days of Kale- Day 3- Colcannon Recipe

Colcannon is an Irish traditional dish consisting of mashed potatoes and cabbage or kale.

There is a Halloween tradition in Ireland to serve colcannon with hidden gifts, such as coins, inside the dish. Are you kidding? My husband inhales his food. He would swallow the coins whole. Serve this to children? No way!

Recipe

4 potatoes 2 lbs, peeled, cut into large 1 inch chunks

3 cups of chopped kale

3 scallions

1 leek, whites only, diced

1 cup almond milk

2 tbsp sour cream

garlic to taste

salt to taste

1 tbsp veggie oil of choice

Bacon, optional

Instructions-

Bring potatoes to a boil, boil until tender, approximately 15 minutes, and drain.

Saute the kale in oil for 3-4 minutes until wilted, add scallions, add garlic.

Add milk and add potatoes. Mash the potatoes with a masher. Salt to flavor.

Add bacon for added flavor.

We didn’t add bacon to our dish, but I could see this being a great addition to this dish.

7 Days of Kale -Day 2- Kale and Bean Soup

Kale works really well in soups and stews. Make sure to chop the kale in to small pieces. I use a food processor to finely chop the kale before adding it to the soup. This recipe makes a large batch and freezes very well.

Recipe

2 Bunches of Kale, destemmed

1 sweet onion, diced

3 leeks (whites only), diced

3 large carrots, sliced

2 boxes (32 oz) veggie broth

1 can diced or stewed tomatoes

1 can small white beans, rinsed and drained

3-4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

cayenne pepper to taste (optional)

In tall saucepan, saute onions in oil for 3 minutes, add garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Add broth, kale, carrots and canned tomatoes. Cook until kale is tender, about 5 minutes. Add canned beans. Serve hot.

 

7 Days of Kale – Day 1-Fig and Kale Recipe

This is the first recipe for my 7 Days of Kale segment; how to use kale in a recipe.

The addition of sweet figs to the kale and mushrooms gives this dish a sweet, savory and unique flavor.

Recipe

2 bunches of Kale, chopped and  destemmed

12 dried figs, quartered

2 cups fresh mushrooms, roughly chopped

1/4 cup Beef broth

4 garlic cloves

1 Tsp vegetable oil

1/4 tsp Nutmeg

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, saute the garlic for 1-3 minutes, then add mushrooms, and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

Add the beef broth. Add the kale and cook until wilted. Keep the kale moist, by adding more broth if necessary. Season with salt and pepper and nutmeg. Add the figs last and heat for one more minute.

Crazy Clam Salad

Did you know one serving of clams ( 3 oz ) has 1400% RDA of Vitamin B12? That’s 14 days worth of B12. Two weeks. One-half month. Thats a lot of B12!

Totally awesome.

This is a quick recipe to make if you’re in a rush. No fuss, no mess.

Recipe

1 can Bumble Bee Baby Clams, drained

1 tsp or Tbs of Crazy Chicken Sauce ***

1 celery stalk, thinly diced

1 tbs mayo

Salt, onion powder to taste

Mix ingredients together in a bowl and serve with crackers.

My husband’s always asking me to give him the ‘crazy chicken sauce’. I assumed this was the name of the sauce until I went to a chinese restaurant and ordered ‘crazy chicken sauce’.  I received a ‘crazy’ look, but eventually I was given the bottle shown above and we cheerfully ate our dinner:)

Just curious if anyone else calls it Crazy Chicken Sauce?

Kimchi salad

Kimchi is a fermented Korean dish made with napa cabbage and red chili pepper flakes spice.

For those who do not have the time to watch the cabbage ferment, I have provided a quick, easy and delicious recipe.

RECIPE

1 head Napa cabbage, coarsely chopped

1 bunch scallions, coarsely chopped

1 tsp red pepper flakes (or ground paprika for less heat)

1 garlic clove

1 tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped

4 tbs rice vinegar

3 tbs sesame oil

3 tbs coconut aminos (soy substitute)

2 tbs sesame seeds

Toss napa cabbage and scallions in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, combine ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, sesame oil, vinegar and soy sauce. Pour mixture over the cabbage/scallions. Toss thoroughly and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Hawaiian lunch

After touring the Pima Air and Space Museum (four hours of planes, planes and more planes) we were completely famished. We love Hawaiian food and, lo and behold, we found a quaint little restaurant called Lani’s Luau serving authentic food. We perused the menu for a few minutes and finally decided to split the Luau Plate. This plate consisted of Kalua style pulled pork, chicken long rice (chicken soup), laulau, lomilomi salmon, poke, 2 heaping scoops of white rice and a choice of either macaroni or salad garden. Laulau consists of pulled pork and salted butterfish wrapped in taro leaves, wrapped in ti leaves and then steamed.

I usually prefer mom and pop restaurants over the big chain restaurants. If you’re ever in Tucson, take a few extra minutes to find this fabulous little restaurant. You’ll be glad you did.