Seductive Kale Salad ♥

Today's healthy vegetable recipe: I've fallen for the slow seduction of quick-cooked kale. Low carb. Weight Watchers zero points. Not just vegan, "Vegan Done Real".

Is kale the boy-next-door who just might become the love of your life, if you only paid attention? Like that boy, kale is always there, steady and patient. Like most greens, it's especially obvious during the late months of winter, during the weeks and even months when we so long for fresh foods, straight from the earth. But thanks to the miracle of global food distribution, kale is available and inexpensive year-round. (Miracle? Yes, really. Just think what we'd be eating, week in, week out, without it.)

But kale is also the one who gets invited to the party at the very last minute. It's often an after-thought, just something to throw into a soup or a stew at the end of cooking for texture and color contrast, rarely raised onto a deserved pedestal of adoration.

Well, lemme tell you. Kale has lured me in, slowly, slowly, ever so slowly. It started with an after-thought salad, just a few greens thrown into a skillet with a little bacon grease and some boiling water, then chopped and tossed with a little honey and salt. And here's where it's ended up, the reason why in the last weeks, I've brought home a big bouquet of kale every single trip to the grocery. I finally learned how to cook it. For me. For my taste. For my can't-get-enough, been-eatin'-it-like-candy obsession.
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Crustless Quiche with Roasted Peppers ♥

Today's vegetarian quiche recipe: A crustless quiche, makes up in minutes. It has a "secret" ingredient, whipped cottage cheese which adds body and protein. Low carb. Moist and cheesy but Weight Watchers? Just 3 points!

My best Christmas present to myself? Food magazine subscriptions, three to be exact, re-subscriptions in fact. Bon Appetit. Cook's Illustrated. But the surprise favorite is Vegetarian Times, which I subscribed to many years ago when I wasn't eating meat (Note to Vegetarians).

But back then, Vegetarian Times was a little dusty and hippy-dippy for my taste. My memory is that the recipes required too-regular trips to a low-turnover natural food store; were too laden with fat and especially cheese; and just didn't appeal to my just-emerging affinity to fresh, seasonal food.

In 2012? Without question, I love Vegetarian Times. Love it. Real food. Easy ingredients. Nutrition info, people! Mostly main dishes, just a few sweets. Lots of vegetables. Lots of tips. Each issue shows a shortlist of staff favorites, that's where I start and that's where I found today's quiche recipe. (And for anyone who might wonder, this is NOT paid advertising. It's just me, sharing a happy discovery.)

Is anyone else a former (or future?!!) Vegetarian Times subscriber? What's your take on the magazine? What's your favorite magazine for everyday healthy meatless-meal inspiration?
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Beer-Soaked Crispy Baked Fries ♥

For crispy baked French 'fries', here's a quick trick, soak the fries in beer first!

Crispy fries are the holy grail of potatoes – steamy hot and golden brown, crispy on the outside and tender in the middle. Starting on Day 325 in 2006 (don't bother, but there you go), I've tried a half dozen recipes, all disappointing. And when you limit your carbs, on those rare occasions when you choose to eat potatoes, they'd darn-better be worth eating!

The recipe was inspired by St. Louis' "Beer Guy" aka Evan Benn of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The headline read, "Beer-soaked 'fries' are baked to crispy perfection". This sounded ever-so-promising!
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Summer Rain

Summer is officially over as we approach the middle of March. Over the past fortnight we have received over 155mm of rainfall near Shepparton. To help give this context, our average February and March rainfall are 33.8 and 33.5mm respectively. It is WET!  Towns to the north are battling flood waters and some farmers are even using boats to feed stranded livestock. Communities are sandbagging their little guts out and hoping that the makeshift levy banks will hold for a few more days. I hope so too.

Fortunately our patch, south of Shepparton (upstream on the Goulburn) is on higher ground. Our chooks were a bit sad and soggy for a few days, the yellow labrador found some mud (glorious mud) to wallow in, the washing piled up in the laundry basket, and most annoyingly, the grass that had been about 5cm for the last couple of months suddenly remembered how to grow and shot up to knee height almost overnight.  We made some slow, wintry food (oxtail stew, pork rillons) and cracked open some red wine and made the most of it. It almost felt like winter - aside from the shorts and t-shirts! I was tempted to light the fire, just for ambience. The sun has now come back out and the garden looks really lush (albeit overgrown and in desperate need of a few days attention).

To officially mark the end of summer, my hubby is playing his final cricket match for the season today. Cricket. That game. Some say its not much of a spectator sport - and I tend to agree... unless of course it's my hubby batting or bowling. Then I can watch all day. A picnic rug, packed lunch, glass of vino and good company really help.  I'm totally in favour of the Twenty20 match format - short and fast enough to hold my attention, but the traditionalist say its just not cricket.

This season has been a particularly important one for him (and me). After being sidelined with illness and injury for the last couple of years, it was something he looked forward to throughout the winter. To play a game of cricket initially started out as a long term goal, way off in the distance, but hard work, determination, consistency and perseverence paid off.  When summer finally approached, it was a huge milestone to be able to go to training and play games on Saturdays.  He even had a few great days with the bat - 49 and 68.

Summer 2012/12 has reminded me that living a good life means being able to do the things that you love. My hubby is now well enough to actually play a game of cricket - that means all the other things in his life are better too. I will never again whine about cricket having an opportunity cost of summer weekends away. He is happy and healthy. And he makes my world go 'round! Happy husband, happy days!

And speaking of doing the things we love, I've been busy making jam and chutney and am lined up for my first Farmers' Market in a couple of days. Who knew there was so much to organise...? Although if I'd known, it would have probably put me off, so better the devil you don't know in this case! Watch this space!

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No-Cream Creamy Cauliflower Soup ♥

Today's simple cauliflower soup recipe: If you have just three ingredients, a head of cauliflower, an onion and olive oil, you can make this soup! It turns out so creamy, even though it's made without cream, thanks to an unusual slightly-fussy-but-not-difficult technique to draw out flavor and creaminess. Made with water, it's a delicious vegan soup for everyone. Made with chicken stock (Note to Vegetarians), it's a low-calorie satisfying, substantial supper. Low carb. Weight Watchers 1 or 2 points.

Something I've learned about restaurant chefs: many of them cook the same few dishes, again and again, over and over. Sheer repetition means "nailing" the muscle memory of technique and the sensory cues of color, smell, texture, touch. If practice makes perfect, there's a reason that restaurant chefs are good at what they do.

We home cooks, if we make the one same thing once a week, it's a lot, especially if we are curious cooks who for fun are ever expanding our recipe repertoire. Me, right now I make only two things every week, although in fact, every day. Creamy Oatmeal in the Microwave with Peanut Butter. Quick 'n' Easy Raw Salad. But repetition means I have nailed these "recipes".
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