I Heart Kale...

Most of you know by now that I have a special place in myhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif heart and stomach for Kale, the earth's most nutritious super-green! Kale just makes me happy and is so loaded with goodness it's the kind of food that as you are eating it, puts a smile on your face knowing you are feeding your body such goodness.

The other night I decided to experiment with my poached egg obsession...and add kale into the mix. You see, the poached egg tradition runs long and plenty in my family. My maternal grandmother was a huge fan, passing the love of eggs just-cooked-enough-to-get-rid-of-the-runny-whites, down to my mom...who then passed the tradition on to me. A true treat for me when visiting my parents, is when my mom prepares her poached eggs on GF toast for breakfast (or dinner), paired with my favorite tea. Simple, yet delicious and always leaves me feeling a sense of kindred spirit with my mom in the kitchen. Over the years, we've even come to "customize" our poached eggs with perfectly paired avocado, yogurt or Parmesan cheeses, and herbed butter slathered on the toast prior to the layering. It's just damn good no matter how you like to put your ensemble together.

So...as I cooked up a batch of the most fresh and beautiful kale the other night I had an inspiration..."Why not layer the seasoned kale between the toast and my poached eggs, then sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan on top?" So I did! The only things omitted from my recipe were the soy sauce and lemon - not sure I'm brave enough to try that combo with eggs.

It seriously made for the perfect dinner. Simple. Healthy. Nurturing, comfy food.

At this point, I'm fairly convinced that eggs in some form or another, can be paired with most any dish or meal. Perhaps it's my French genes talking but I'm not kidding about this opinion. The more I explore and learn how to become a better home cook, the more I want eggs to be a part of my meals...organic, humanely raised, fresh farm eggs, that is.

I would love to hear how your prepare eggs and what's a favorite recipe so do share!

Happy cooking.

Kale, the super food ~

So my darling, tiny Pilates teacher, Jackie, has been singing the praises of Kale for months now during our twice-per-week classes. I have to admit, before Jackie's raving, I had never eaten Kale nor paid much attention to it as I perused the produce aisle at the grocery store. But after listening to her excitement about this super-food and all of it's nutritional value, health benefits, and how it's so simple to prepare, I decided that it was time to expand my world of vegetables and give Kale a try...but of course, I had to put my own gluten-free spin on the recipe.

I highly recommend buying a big, leafy bunch of Kale this weekend and giving it a try - it's delicious and there are so many ways you can "taste it up" and so many options for combining it with a yummy protein (grilled shrimp for example) and starch (Basmati rice) for a complete meal, or just a snack.



(I buy this garlic salt at the San Francisco Ferry Building farmer's market -it's the best!)


(This is a tasty GF soy sauce, but very salty -doesn't take much)

To create what you see above, use the following recipe:

- 1 Bunch of fresh Kale (organic if you like)

- 1/2 Fresh lemon

- 1 Leek

- 2 Tbsp. of organic Olive Oil

- 2 Tbsp. of sesame seeds

- 2 Tbsp. of gluten-free soy sauce (organic Tamari gluten-free)

- 1 Tsp. of fresh garlic salt (Allstar Organics)

Slice 1/4 of the white end of the leek into thin spirals and saute in large pan with olive oil until they turn a yellow-golden color. After washing the Kale, slice each leaf off the stem (run the knife down either side of the stem) - essential to the flavor of the Kale. If you leave the stem on, its bitterness will ruin the dish - trust me! Then slice up the Kale into large pieces and toss into the saute pan with the leek. Add your gluten-free soy sauce, sprinkle in the sesame seeds and garlic salt to taste. Make sure to thoroughly mix the Kale with all the ingredients for 3 minutes. (Shortening the cooking time ensures that more of the nutrition is not cooked out). After 3 minutes, the Kale should turn a darker green and a bit wilted but still maintains it's shape.

Remove the Kale from the saute pan into the bowl/dish of your choice and squeeze 1/2of a fresh lemon over the dish. The lemon is the key and brings out an incredible flavor.

Enjoy!