Brown Sugar Kale Chips

You may remember my entry on sauteed kale back in January. And if you do remember that entry, you may also remember me stating I wasn't a huge fan of kale, mostly due to the texture. Well this recipe totally changes my opinion of kale. For the good. Crispy, sweet, and snackable brown sugar kale chips are AWESOME.

It all started when my colleague made me try her homemade baked chipotle kale chips. I was pretty 'eh' on the idea, but I went for it and was pleasantly surprised. I didn't mind them. Then she mentioned I may like brown sugar ones even more and explained the recipe (which I am only recalling by memory here...) Turns out, I love brown sugar kale chips!!! And I would like to share the recipe... so here it is!


Brown Sugar Kale Chips
Takes about 15 minutes to prep and 20-25 minutes to bake. Serves about 3 people. (Unless you're like me and eat the whole thing...)


Ingredients:
1 bunch of fresh kale
1 1/2 tbs olive oil
1/2 - 3/4 cup brown sugar




Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with tin foil.



2. Wash kale and lay out on a towel (or paper towels) to dry. To help the kale dry quickly, use a towel (or paper towels) and pat down the kale by hand. I hear you can also use a salad spinner to help. Try to get the kale as dry as possible.





3. Tear kale into chip-sized pieces and place in a large bowl. Note: Do not include the stems.





4. Add a splash (about 1 1/2 tbs) of olive oil and mix in with your hands.





5. Add the brown sugar and mix in with your hands. I eyeballed the amount. I just kept adding more until I felt it was well coated.



6. Spread kale mixture across a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until crispy and slightly brown.




7. Be sure to remove from the baking sheet as soon as possible. The more time the kale chips have to cool, the more they will stick to the tin foil!!!

Everything but the Kitchen Sink – Indian Curry in a Slow Cooker

So I've been lazy lately.  I was out of town two weeks ago and last week I had a lot of catching up to do around the house, so I'm long overdo for a recipe.  I promise I'll make something this week, but in the meantime, I wanted to post this AMAZING recipe I received from my lovely colleague, Katie Boswell.  She prepared this delicious meal a couple weeks ago and my mouth has been watering since.

Everything but the Kitchen Sink – Indian Curry in a Slow Cooker
Source: Katie Boswell
Photo Credit: Katie Boswell

Prep time is about 20 minutes and cook time is about approximately 4 hours.

This recipe was inspired by a curry dish my mother made that I felt could be adapted to a slow cooker. Be prepared, it does have an authentic Indian heat to it!" - Katie Boswell

You can put pretty much use any vegetable in a curry dish but I felt the heartier ones would hold up better in the slow cooker, Don’t be scared to add your fave veggies to this dish. Butternut squash, eggplant, etc would all be nice additions.

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 sweet onion chopped chopped/slice/diced to the size you prefer
• 3 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1/4 cup of Curry powder
• 2 tbs of flour ( I recommend Wondra flour)
• 1 tbs chili powder
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper
• 2 or 3 large bell peppers, color of your choosing
• 1/2 head of Cauliflower pulled apart
• 1 cup of chickpeas
• 1 14 oz can coconut milk, unsweetened
• 1 ½ cup carrots cut into matchstick size
• ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 4 oz sliced mushrooms (I use a blend of baby bella, shitake and oyster but any ones will do)

Directions

1. Place potatoes , onion and garlic in the bottom of your slow cooker
2. Combine curry powder, flour, chili powder, red pepper flakes, and cayenne pepper together in a small bowl. Sprinkle spices over the potato mixture and coat evenly
3. Add bell peppers, cauliflower, chick peas, coconut milk, and stir to combine
4. Cover the slow cooker and cook on Low until the mixture is bubbling, add some water or additional coconut milk if it looks dry and allow to cook on low for about 3 hours or until the potatoes are tender and can easily be cut in half with a fork
5. Add carrots, mushrooms and cilantro and cook until the carrots are tender, about 30 minutes
6. Salt dish to taste
7. Garnish bowl dish with cilantro to serve

Curry Tip: Some curry spice can end up a tad bitter when not used in the correct proportion or cooked at too high a heat. If you find a curry to be a tad bitter add 1 tsp of salt + 1 tsp sugar and stir, repeat until the bitterness is gone.

Baked Eggplant Parmesan

Ohhhh, my goodness!  This was delicious AND easy!  Technically, it should be served with pasta and marinara sauce, but I ate it as is, and I don't regret it one bit.  Completely wonderful.

Baked Eggplant Parmesan

Source: 500 Vegan Recipes by Celine Steen and Joni Marie Newman

Takes about an 20 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to bake.  Serves 4-6 people.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium eggplant
• 1 cup panko-style bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup walnuts, ground into a powder
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tbs dried basil
• 1 tbs garlic powder
• freshly cracked salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil for brushing
• 2 Roma tomatoes, sliced thinly

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Prepare baking sheet by lining with parchment paper or foil.
3. Slice eggplant into ½ inch thick slices. You can peel the eggplant or leave it unpeeled. If you leave it unpeeled, the coating won’t stick to the skin on the edges, but there will be plenty of coating on the flesh.
4. In a bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, walnuts, nutritional yeast, basil, garlic powder, and salt & pepper.
5. Brush both sides of the eggplant slices with olive oil liberally and then coat in panko mixture.
6. Place on a baking sheet and top with a thinly sliced tomato.
7. Baked for 20-30 minutes.
8. Serve on its own or with your favorite marinara sauce.

Cleanup Factor:

LIGHT. Easy to make and to clean. Amazing!

Reheat or Street:

The bad news about this recipe that it should probably not be reheated.  I brought this bad boy to work for lunch today... and well, let's just say, I was hungry today.  The truth is that it gets really soggy and weird. Best if eaten immediately.  

Split Pea Soup

Been craving soup, soup, SOUP lately!  Perhaps because it finally feels like WINTER!  There's snow on the ground at last. As much as I hate being cold, I love the beauty of snow, particularly fresh snow.  Anyway, here is a recipe for a hearty winter soup, slow cooked split pea soup.  It turned out great and it was super easy (I...love...you...crock pot...!)

Slow Cooked Split Pea Soup
Source: food.com 

Takes 5-8 hours depends on if you cook it on high or low. Serves 6-8 people.

Ingredients:

• 16 oz split peas
• 4 medium carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 -1 1/2 cup white onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves , smashed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbs salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 6 cups hot water

Directions:

1. 
Layer ingredients in order listed above.  Do not stir. 
2. 
Cover and cook until peas are soft. (High: 4-5 hours or Low: 8-10 hours)

3. Remove bay leaf and garlic (if it has held together) before serving.

The cleanup factor:

"The cleanup factor" is a new part I've decided to add to my blog, since cleaning up is the worst part of making any recipe. As implied by the title, I will just mention how light or rough the cleanup was after making the recipe. The slow cooked split pea soup's cleanup factor was very light.  Just some scraps to go down the garbage disposal and a few dishes, like the knife used to chop the veggies, measuring cups, cutting board, and the crock pot itself to wash.

Easy Tofu Scramble

My lovely friend, Gina, sent me this recipe months ago and I've finally gotten around to whipping it up. It's an easy one that can be done even on your laziest day.  I didn't have many veggies in the house, but feel free to add as many as you like to this delicious scramble.

Tofu Scramble
Source: Regina Leal

Takes about 15 minutes, tops.  Serves 1 person.  For more, double the ingredients below.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 package of extra firm tofu
• 1/4 onion (mushrooms or spanish would also be great in here)
• light coating of nutritional yeast
• dash of ground turmeric
• dash of mustard powder
• some garlic
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Begin by sautéing the veggies with a few drops of olive oil until they are slightly brown.
2. Crumble the tofu with your hands into the pan with the veggies.  Note: Do NOT squeeze the access water from the tofu, as the tofu will stick to the pan if it is too dry.
3. Sprinkle a thin layer of nutritional yeast in the pan and stir.  Cook on medium for 5 minutes, or until lightly browned.
4. Next add the remaining seasonings and serve immediately.

Pesto Lasagna

Lots of work went into this one.  I'm ever so grateful for my friend, Amanda, for helping me!!

Pesto Lasagna
Source: The Accidental Vegan by Devra Gartenstein

Takes about an hour and a half total.

Ingredients:

• 12 to 15 lasagna noodles
• 2lbs soft tofu
• 2 cups pesto (see appendix a, below)
• 4 cups tomato sauce
• 1 cup faux cheese (see appendix b, below)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over medium-high heat, and add the lasagna noodles.  Cook until noodles for about 8-10 minutes (or until noodles are soft).  Drain and set aside.
2. While the noodles are cooking, crumble the tofu into a bowl with the pesto.
3. Then layer the ingredients in a 9 x 11 pan as followed:
• 1/3 of the tomato sauce
• 1/3 of the noodles
• 1/2 of the tofu/pesto mixture
• another 1/3 of the noodles
• another 1/3 of the tomato sauce
• the rest of the tofu/pesto mixture
• the 1 cup of faux cheese
4. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes, or until the "cheese" starts to brown.  Let cool for a little while, and serve hot.

Appendix A: Pesto

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 cups loosely packed basil leaves
• 1 cup raw walnuts
• 2tbs extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Soak the sun-dried tomatoes in boiling water for a few minutes, until softened.
2. Put the garlic in a food processor and pulse several times until chopped finely.  Drain the sun-dried tomatoes and add to the garlic, along with the basil, walnuts, olive oil, parsley, salt, and pepper.  Process until smooth.  Note: If you mix this with pasta or veggies that have just been cooked, don't reheat the mixture further, as you may risk burning it.  You can also serve pesto cold, as a spread on bread or crackers.

Appendix B: Faux Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1tbs olive oil
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or any flour will do)
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast, preferably large flake
• 3 cups water
• 1tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp prepared mustard

Directions:

1. Gently heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat.  Then whisk in the flour and nutritional yeast.  Turn the heat down to low and cook, whisking constantly for a minute or two, or until the mixture is reasonably homogenous, with few lumps. 
2. Add the water and raise the heat to medium.  Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking until it is relatively smooth.  Simmer for 2-3 minutes, or until the mixture thickens to the consistency of pea soup.  
3. Remove from heat and whisk in the salt and mustard.  Be sure to use immediately, as this mixture forms a layer on top.

When Amanda and I finished our dinner, we finished up some vegan sugar cookies Amanda started earlier in the day.  Sorry I don't have the recipe for this one, but I wanted to share the pretty pictures: