Battle of the Asians

In my old apartment in Astoria, there were dueling take-out restaurants on opposite corners, one Thai and one Chinese. Generally, I'm not a take-out kind of girl. Especially Chinese food! Bleck! I haven't had Chinese food in almost a year and that was only because someone's mom had a coupon. Can't turn down a bargain!

But occasionally, the alluring scent of chili-garlic sauce and MSG would spark a craving in which I will feebly attempt to create something to satisfy the take-out urge!

Since I love Thai-food, that's the route I usually take. However, my own version of "Thai" food deserves quotes the same way my "Indian" food does, in that the flavors miss the mark of authentic. If it has peanuts in it, I'll consider it "Thai-inspired."

Luckily, this recipe is pretty damn good.

Spicy Eggplant in Peanut Sauce

by Bonnie Graham

Keywords: eggplant peanut butter sriracha peas

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Ingredients

• 1/2 large onion, cut into thin slices
• 1 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large eggplant or 2 smaller ones, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1/2 large tomato, diced, optional - I actually prefer it without the tomato
• 1/2 c frozen peas
• 1 - 2 tsp srichara (optional, depending on how spicy you like it)
• 1 small handful of cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 to 1 c of homemade peanut sauce
• canola oil
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Spray cookie sheet with oil and toss cubed eggplant with a couple of teaspoons olive to ensure they don't stick to the pan when roasting. Let eggplant roast for 45 minutes our until eggplant gets golden, flipping in half way through the roasting process. This can be done a day or two ahead of time.

3. When eggplant is cooked almost all the way through, put onions in a pan with oil to begin softening. After a few minutes, add garlic. Adding the garlic after the onions have started to cook will prevent garlic from burning.

4. Add tomatoes and cook for a few more minutes before adding the roasted eggplant and peas. You can also add the srichaha at this point.

5. Add peanut sauce, stirring to coat all the ingredients. Warm through.

6. Remove from heat and add cilantro. Serve.

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No Soup?

I can remember a time back in high school where I dined at some "fancy" restaurant with a group of friends. I think it was Uno's. After reading the menu, I was so excited to order the Baked Potato Soup. As soon as I saw it, my decision was made. My menu was closed. I waited anxiously for the waitress to come take our order.

Everyone went around the table, ordering their lame burgers and gross deep-dish pizza. When it was my turn, I enthustiacally said "I'll have the Baked Potato Soup please!" The waitress said there was no soup that day. "No soup?" I asked, deflated. The entire table burst into laughter. They equated my reaction to that of a child who just lost their puppy, completely heartbroken. I don't remember what I actually ordered that night, but I do remember that there was no soup!

Needless to say, I have a crazy ridiculous enthusiasm for soup. In fact, I've been told its one of my best qualities! When the weather changes, I probably eat soup every day.

But wait, a diabetic posting a potato soup recipe? That seems unholy! Poor Mr. Potatohead gets a bad rep when it comes to carbohydrates. Potatoes are still vegetables, my friends. And while they may be more carb heavy then say...baby carrots...there is still a place for them (in moderation) for a low-carb diet. 

Creamy Potato-Kale Soup

by Bonnie Graham

Cook Time: 35 - 40 minutes

Keywords: soup/stew potato kale

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Ingredients (4 - 6 servings)

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 - 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp fresh thyme
• 4 – 5 medium potatoes, diced - I used Yukon Gold.
• ½ c white wine
• 3 ½ c vegetable broth
• 2 c kale, finely chopped
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a large pot. Add the onion over medium-heat. Stir every minute or so, until soft and lightly golden.

2. Stir in garlic and thyme until fragrant, about a minute or two.

3. Add chopped potatoes and sauté for a few minutes.

4. Add the white wine and deglaze, making sure to scrap all the brown bits from the bottom of the pot.

5. Add veggie broth. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to simmer for about 20min.

6. Stir in chopped kale, desired amount of salt and pepper if needed, and simmer for 10min.

7. Remove from heat. Using an immersion blender, puree your soup to desired consistency.

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Squash-a-mania!

The squash situation had definitely gotten out of control here. Here a squash. There a squash. Everywhere a squash squash.

Here was the Squash Countdown:
1 gigantic butternut squash
1 spaghetti squash
3 acorn squash
1 patty pan squash

That's six squash in total! Six squash! All locally grown. Never mind the 5 cans of pumpkin I have sitting in the pantry (which is also squash). Ironically, despite having an abundance of squash, I kept waiting for the perfect squash recipe to come along. To be inspired to make something different then the usual.

By the way, I've already used the word "squash" 15 times so far in this post. Make that 16 times. 

Finally, I had to give in and just cook something. This soup is a variation on the usual seasonal butternut squash soup. And it's gooooood.

Garnish with spiced pumpkin seeds for some crunch

Spiced Butternut-Apple Soup

by Bonnie Graham

Keywords: blender soup/stew vegetarian butternut squash apples carrots

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Ingredients (8 cups)

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 inch fresh ginger, grated (2 tablespoons)
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh sage
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp cardamom
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 tart apple, peeled, quartered, and chopped
• 4 c chopped butternut squash
• Coarse salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until tender, 6 to 8 minutes.

2. Add ginger, sage, cinnamon, and cardamom and cook until fragrant.

3. Add carrots, apple, squash, and 3 cups water. Bring to a boil; cover partially and reduce to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Cook until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Let cool slightly.

5. Working in batches, puree until smooth in a blender. Adjust seasoning, if necessary.

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Dirty Veggies, Part 13

Dedication. That is what I have to the farmer's market.

Despite the freezing temperatures and swirling snowflakes, I (proudly) made my way through the market yesterday. There was part of me that wasn't going to go. It was too cold. Too rainy. Too snowy. But then I thought those vendors who drive down (or up) from their farms to set up shop in weather that is too cold, too rainy, and too snowy. I figured if they could do it all day long, I could do it for the 15 minutes it takes for me to park, shop, and leave.

I am also in storage mode since winter has made its early arrival and feel I need to take of advantage of the last few weeks of the market that I can! Which also, of course, means that I have bought an abundance of squash again this week! Which also means that there will be a squash recipe at the end of this post. Yay!

This week's round-up:
1 spaghetti squash - $2.35
1 butternut squash - $1.45
1 1/4 lbs Brussels sprouts - $2.45
5 large parsnips - $2.25
1 large head of kale - $2.25
5 onions - $1.50
1 head of garlic - $1.25
Total: $13.50

Onwards to the recipe!

I am always looking for new ways to use spaghetti squash. It's fine plain with butter and cheese. Better with tomato sauce. But I was really trying to think of something even more creative then the usu. That's when I thought of Spaghetti Squash Gratin! It was actually quite good. And low carb!

Until Hurricane Sandy came and I had to let it go to waste. Or force myself to eat 2 pounds of squash gratin! It was good, but it wasn't that good.

Sage-Infused Spaghetti Squash Gratin

by Bonnie Graham

Cook Time: 1 1/2 hours including roasting

Keywords: bake vegetarian low-carb spaghetti squash sage

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Ingredients (6 - 8 servings)

• 1 large spaghetti squash, roasted
• 1 c milk
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 3 - 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 1 to 2 anchovy fillets, chopped
• 4 - 5 chopped fresh sage leaves
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1/2 c almond meal mixed with 1/4 c nutritional yeast (or use bread crumbs)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut squash in half and place face down on a cookie sheet. Roast for 40 - 45 minutes or when squash is soft. Let cool. Reduce heat to 350 degrees.

2. In a small sauce pan over medium heat, whisk milk, butter, cheese, anchovies, and sage until combined and anchovies are brown up.

3. Shred spaghetti squash with a fork. Add to a greased 2-quart baking dish.

4. Pour milk mixture of the squash and mix to combine.

5. Top gratin with almond meal mix or breadcrumbs.

6. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. You can also place gratin under the broiler for a few minutes to brown up the top.

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Dirty Veggies, Part 12

This week's farmer's market was a bit of a challenge for me. Mostly because we can open up our own little farm stand with the amount of veggies we have in the house! Have I mentioned our squash problem? Because we have such an abundance, I didn't want to over do it at the market and end up throwing away any pretty produce.

However, I went to the farmer's market with a particular recipe in mind. Parsnip-Rosemary Muffins. Parsnip. In muffins. Doesn't that sound like the most amazing idea ever? Okay, okay, fine, I'm sure that chocolate and peanut butter in muffins sound much more amazing, but I love parsnips! And I love rosemary. Can you see how putting the two together would equal excitement? 

This week's roundup:
1 head of garlic - $1.25
1 bunch of kale - $2.00
1 bunch rosemary - $1.50
7 Bosc pears - $2.25
6 large parsnips - $3.00
Total: $10.00

These muffins were quite good if parsnip and rosemary are your thang. This recipe could easily be made into a bread loaf too.

Parsnip-Rosemary Muffins

by Bonnie Graham

Cook Time: 20 to 25 minutes

Keywords: bake breakfast snack vegetarian parsnips rosemary

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Ingredients (1 1/2 dozen)

• 1 3/4 c whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 c apple sauce
• 1/4 c brown rice syrup or sweetener of your choosing
• 1 c plain fat free yogurt
• 3 eggs
• 2 large parsnips, grated
• 2 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin tins.

2. Mix all dry ingredients together until combined.

3. Add all wet ingredients except grated parsnips and rosemary. Combine well.

4. Add in parsnips and rosemary. There are a lot of parsnips in this muffin!

5. Fill muffin tins 1/2 way with batter. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean and muffin top bounces back when pushed.

6. Allow muffins to cool for 10 minutes.

7. Enjoy toasted with butter!

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Dirty Veggies, Part 11

I think I've gone a little buck wild on squash.

Right now, I have three acorn squash, 1 huge butternut squash, 1 patty pan squash (which I have no idea what to do with, thanks Mom!), and 1 spaghetti squash all sitting on my kitchen counter. It's just so hard when you walk around the farmer's market and see all these amazing (and cheap) squash there!

However, the real star of this week's farmer's market is this guy:

Meet Romesco. Or, as Jerry referred to him, Little Shop of Horrors. Feeeed meeeee, Seymour!

Romesco is an alien variation of cauliflower. When I saw this bad boy at the farmer's market for only $1.50/lb, I knew I had to get him. I have never made (or eaten) Romesco before, but I always wanted too. I'm not sure exactly what I am going to do with him, but I'm sure it'll be delicious.

This is the stuff I am talking about, people, when I talk about the farmer's market. Where else would I have been able to buy this guy if it wasn't for the market. I certainly haven't seen him in Stop and Shop. That's what makes the market so amazing. And why you should go do it.

Okay, okay, I'm stepping down off the soapbox.

Here's the weekly roundup:

7 onions (red and white) - $2.95

1 head of garlic - $1.25

1 bunch Swiss Chard - $2.00

1 bunch fresh sage - $1.75

3 lemons - $1

6 Bosc pears - $2.25

1 head of Romesco - $2.25

2 green peppers - $1

1 spaghetti squash - $2.25

Total: $16.70

To learn more about Dirty Veggie posts, read here and here.

Coping Mechanism

Urdvahastasana
Uttenasana
Urdvah Mukhasvasana
Adho Mukhasvasana

No, that's not Jackson walking across my laptop. Nor am I having a stroke. Those are actually words. In Sanskrit. If you think spelling them is hard, try saying them. To a roomful of people.

This is what the first weekend of Yoga Teacher Training held for me. While this first weekend was exciting, interesting, and energizing, it was also overwhelming and intimidating. On the third day of our training, we had to "teach" each other the poses of Sun Salutation A. If you have ever taken a yoga class before, this is a pretty common set of poses. Even my father knows Downward Dog. What is not so common is saying the Sanskrit names for each pose to a room of 20 people!

In preparation for my teaching debut on Sunday morning, I did what I normally do to calm my nerves and kill some time. I cooked my little heart out!

For me, cooking serves many purposes. Besides the obvious need for nourishment, cooking is a way of coping with something that may be stressful, of releasing energy, of procrastinating. Maybe you can tell from the photo below just how much "coping" I needed since I cooked enough food for a small army.

In case you can't read my chicken scratch, I made:

• Applesauce
• Beer Bread
• Spicy Broccoli + Red Lentil Dal
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Protein Cookies
• Tomato Pepita Sauce
• Bean-stuffed Poblano Peppers

All before leaving for my training at 1 PM. In.Sane.

One of the dishes I made used my fresh farmer's market broccoli. Yay! This dish is spicy. If spice isn't your thang, feel free to adjust the spices to your liking.

Spicy Broccoli and Red Lentil Dal

by Bonnie Graham

Keywords: entree vegetarian red lentils broccoli

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Ingredients (4 servings)

• 1 c red lentils
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp mustard seeds
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 c chopped fresh broccoli
• 2 1/2 c vegetable broth
• 2 c milk
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice + lemon wedges for garnish
• 2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• 1 1/2 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tsp tumeric
• paprika, to garnish

Instructions

1. Add oil to a large saucepan over medium heat. Add in the uncooked lentils, chopped sweet onion, cumin, and mustard seeds. Cook on low-medium heat for about 6-9 minutes until the mixture begins to sizzle.

3. While this mixture is cooking, roughly chop the florets. Place stems and florets into a food processor and process to desired consistency.

3. Add broccoli and veggie broth to saucepan. Stir well. Add salt.

4. Cover and cook this mixture on low for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. After about 20 minutes, add in milk, lemon juice, turmeric, garam masala, red pepper flakes, curry powder, and additional salt (to taste) if necessary.

6. Cook on low for another 10 minutes. Serve.

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Why Dirty Veggies?

It's been brought to my attention that maybe people don't really care what I buy at the farmer's market from week to week.

Here are the top 5 reasons why you should!

1. Because I love the farmer's market! And anything I love, you should love too. Because we're connected like that. Like soul mates. Like brothers from another mother. Like BFFs who will like totally love each other forever.

2. Because if you're truly into food, the farmer's market is your best source for the freshest veggies possible. Things from the farmer's market really do taste better. They're fresher. They're more flavorful. They're just good. It's the way food should taste when it's not loaded up on pesticides and shipped from half way across the world on a diesel-fueled truck.

3. Because it's important to support your local farmers. Large corporations are under-cutting and eliminating smaller local farmers at steadfast speed. By buying from your local farmer's market, you're helping to keep small family farms, that may have been operating for decades, in business!

4. Because it's better for you. The benefits don't just extend to your local farmers. Large corporate farms  are slowly poisoning our foods with pesticides, herbicides, genetically modified mutations, etc. Most of these farms are organic, but because of restrictive and expensive governmental processes to obtain an official label of "organic," many don't have the resources to go through the process. By ingesting less processed, pesticide-free food, you're improving your health without even trying.

5. Because you should be going to your local farmer's market too! The point of showing my weekly goods from the market is encourage you to get out to your local markets. It dispels the misconception that farmer's markets are overpriced. I can get the same things for the same price or even cheaper then what's available in the supermarket.

While I can appreciate that my grocery list may not be as exciting to some as it is to me, these posts aren't without purpose. And it would probably be more meaningful if you actually saw the outcomes of those grocery lists....meaning recipes. Which I will be conscious of posting so you know my veggies are decaying into a puddle at the bottom of my fridge.

And lastly, if you just not down with the Dirty Veggie posts, skip'em. I'll never know.

Now....without further ado, this week's roundup:
7 onions - $2
1 pint of fingerling potatoes - $3 - this week's splurge
3 NYS Bosc Pears - $2
1 head napa cabbage - $1
3 acorn squash - $2 - deal of the week
Total: $10 

To learn more about Dirty Veggie posts, read here. 

Dirty Veggies, Part 9

You may have noticed a slight decline in my visits to the farmer's market. I have been off the last few Wednesdays. As much as I love my farmer's market, I'm not driving up to Westchester from Jersey! It's had to go on without me. Sniffle, sniffle

However, I more then made up for it this week with my ridiculously awesome (over budget) buys! I was so excited about everything I got this week, I actually texted Jerry to tell him about all of my wonderful buys. Funny, somehow he wasn't as enthusiastic about poblano peppers and broccoli as I was!

Crap picture of veggies. Adorable picture of Jackson. 

This week's roundup:
1 head garlic - free....I realized afterwards that the guy didn't ring it up. Oopsy.
1 bunch celery - $2.50
5 onions - $1.75
2 heads of broccoli - $1.00! Farm fresh broccoli! I'm not sure I have ever had such a thing!
1 pint cherry tomatoes - $2.00 The last I'll be seeing for a while
3 lemons - $1.00 Not local, but I needed them
4 yams - $3.50
3 poblano peppers - $2.00
3 pears - $2.50
2 large parsnips - $2.50
1 bunch fresh thyme - $1.50
Total: $20.25

Let's see that face upclose!

Dirty Veggies Are Back!

Oh Farmer's Market! How I've missed you!

Between our vacation, days off from work, and my being sick, it seems like MONTHS since I visited my weekly farmer's market! It's really been more like A month, but whatever. I was ridiculously excited to go yesterday. It was as if I had won a trip to Disney World with one of those special passes that let you cut straight to the front of the line....which I think may only be for children with special needs, but hey, I qualify!

As the weather has started to make its shift into the colder temperatures, the food at the farmer's market is also reflecting the shift. While there were still plenty of zucchini and tomatoes to be had, there were also more apples, squash, and potatoes.

In my zealousness to be back at the market, I went waaaaay over-budget. But, as usual, I can justify it. You see, it's been at least 4 weeks since I've been to the farmer's market. So that's four weeks where my $15 was spent else where. I owe it to this farmers to make up for the money they've lost. It's my duty. I'm so patriotic like that.

Which is why I'm over budget this week. Oopsy.

This week's roundup
2 yams - $1.75
1 very large butternut squash - $3.25 - trust me, it's big!
1 large eggplant - $2.25
1 huge bunch of kale - $2.00
1 bunch carrots - $1.75
4 NYS apples - $3.00
2 zucchini - $2.00
1 container of figs - $4.00 - my splurge, had to see if they were as good as in Spain. They weren't.
Total: $20

Ah, it feels good to be back.

To the farmer's market.

Because, make no mistake. I would still rather be in Spain.

Eating Our Way Through Spain

On the second day in Spain, we went to La Mercat la Boqueria for breakfast. Which was really lunch. Because we had too much Sangria the next before to actually get out of the hotel to eat anything resembling a breakfast.

At the market, I ate the world's best fig. I never knew that figs could taste like that. I'm forever ruined as I will never be able to eat another fig unless its out of a plastic cup in Barcelona.

In the Mercat, there was an amazing looking tapas bar, where you could pick out fresh seafood that they cooked on the grill in front of you. There were all sorts of items to choose from.

Of course, we chose clams that look like penises for our first course.

And a plate of octopus and Pimentos de Patron - our favorite peppers, but I won't bore you with yet another picture of them.    

 Initially, when I saw these, I thought the were cupcakes. Really they're meringues! Don't they look amazing. 

For dinner, we went to Bilbao Berria in the Barre Gotic as my friend's, Erica, suggestion. Bilbao Berria is a serve yourself kind of tapas place. You walk around with a plate and choose whichever tapas looks good to you. At the end of your meal, they count up your toothpicks and figure out your bill from there. It was definitely a fun dining experience. Especially since we're gigantic fat kids who love variety!

Of course, every meal includes Sangria. It's pretty much the same as water here. 

Iberian Ham with fried quail egg and a stuffed mushroom with cheese

White fish with eggs, caviar, and a dollop of olive tapenade

Roasted zucchini and brie on herbed flat bread

Same as above, just a prettier angle

Sardine with roasted red peppers and stuffed mussel

Morcilla (blood sausage) with red pepper, Croquette with Pimentos, flatbread with roasted veggies and anchovies

So good. And so in love with Spain. 

Have Fat Kids Will Travel

Fat Kids in Spain - Day 1

Our first breakfast in Barcelona - Egg Sandwiches

Mercat de la Boqueria

Fresh almonds

Amazing fruits and veggies

Dragonfruit

Yes, those are hooves.

Drink of Choice

Pimentos de padron - so fucking good

Best peppers ever and Grilled Octopus

Seafood Paella

Meat Stick

Bottoms Up

Eat the Rainbow

Now, this is what I'm talking when it comes to eating the rainbow! Who needs those stupid sugar-coated candies anyway?!

I bumped up my budget at this week's farmer's market to $15. I know. Big spender! This week, I'm only $.75 over budget. Well worth it when you consider all of the stuff I got.

This week's roundup:
2 heirloom tomatoes and 5 vine-ripened tomatoes - $5.00
3 lemons - $1.00
7 nectarines - $2.75
2 cucumbers - $.50
2 ears of corn - $.50
1 bunch of onions - $2.00
1 bunch of celery - $2.50
1 head red lead lettuce - $1.50
Total: $15.75

I have some plans for that head of celery! Oh, you just wait.

Dirty Veggies, Part 7

Okay. Here are my thoughts. Get ready.

The whole point of me going to the farmer's market each week, in addition to getting ridiculously good veggies, is to support local farmers, right? And if I end up going to the supermarket to supplement my produce because I didn't buy enough at the farmer's market...well, aren't I just giving into The Man? I might as well hand out dollar bills at Walmart!

This is how I am justifying this week's overexpenditure.

Which I actually think is totally valid logic. In fact, I'm thinking it's so logically, I might increase my weekly budget to $15! Gasps! If I'm using the farmer's market as my primary source of produce, shouldn't I be able to spend a little bit more to supplement?

I can see you nodding your head through the screen.

I thought you would agree.

This week's roundup:

2 cucumbers - $.50

1 bunch carrots - $1.75

1 head green leaf lettuce - $1.50

1 gigantic head of collard greens - $2.00

1 white eggplant - $1.35

6 peaches - $2.25

2 beautiful heirloom tomatoes - $3.05 (my splurge)

Total: $12.40....only $2.40 over-budget

Disaster Area

Holy moly, making this recipe was a total shit show!

It may partially be my fault. Despite arriving home an hour later then expected, I decided that going to an 8:00 Boot Camp class at the gym would still leave me plenty of time to make this recipe and enjoy the rest of my evening. Have I mentioned I'm my father's daughter and that the concept of time is something that frequently eludes us?

When I returned home from the gym, I started working on what was initially called a Kale-Farro Market Salad. Until I realized I had no farro.

Actually, let me correct myself.

Until I realized that I couldn't tell which bag of grain, out of the many, many bags of grains we have in our cupboards, was actually farro. Was it this one? No. How about that one? Maybe. It got so bad that I woke Jerry for his "expert" advice. To which he responded that every single bag I presented was filled with barley. I don't think he wanted to play my game.

After I scoured the internet, comparing each little grainlet to Google Images, I decided to just give up and make what was actually identifiable as barley. But it was hulled barley. Which means that it takes over an hour to cook. Well, I just wasn't feeling up to waiting a WHOLE hour for barley to cook. I figured I'd use my trusty pressure cooker.

Which cooked nothing.

After 45 minutes of listening to the pressure cooker gauge lock and unlock, I gave up on that as well and decided to pour the whole thing into a pot and cook it the good ol' fashion way. I'm not sure how, but it seemed to take a full two and half hours to cook this barley that should have been done in an hour.

While the barley cooked, I prepped the other ingredients for the salad. Kale was the star for this one. I picked up Tuscan Kale at the farmer's market and was so excited to use it. Until I tasted it. And had to stop myself for spitting it out. How is this possible? How are there millions of kale salad recipes out there yet I manage to pick out the one variety of kale that tastes like varnish?!

Again, I went back to my old reliable Google and searched "how to make raw kale not taste like ass?" Apparently, you need to be gentle with your kale and give it a good rub. Massage your kale to help break down the watchmacallits and speed up the somethingtechnical process to reduce its bitterness.

I was ready to do a striptease for this friggin' kale if it meant salvaging this disaster of a salad.

Ridiculous long story short....this salad was really good! I've eaten three times.

Try it for yourself.

Kale-Barley Market Salad

by Bonnie Graham

Keywords: food processor salad vegetarian kale grain nuts carrots

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Ingredients

Salad Ingredients:

• 1/2 bunch kale, destemmed, torn into pieces
• 1 cup cooked barley
• 4-5 farmers' market carrots, very thinly sliced
• 2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
• 1 avocado, cut into small cubes
• a big handful of toasted, slivered almonds

Green Garlic Dressing Ingredients:

• 2 stalks scallions, rinsed and chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, plus more to taste
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons ripe avocado
• 1 teaspoon honey, or to taste
• fresh pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Puree the scallions, salt, lemon juice, olive oil, avocado, honey, and pepper until smooth in a food processor. Adjust seasonings to taste.

2. Combine the kale with about half of the dressing in a large bowl use your hands to work the dressing into the kale, softening up the kale a bit in the process.

3. Add the barley, carrots, and celery, more dressing, and a couple pinches of salt, and toss again. Taste.

4. Add the avocados and almonds. Give one last toss.

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Dirty Veggies, Part 6

I needed to go over budget at today's farmer's market.

No, really. I did.

And it wasn't one of those "I need as many golden beets and heads of red lettuce that I can squeeze into my eco-friendly shopping bag" kind of need. No, it was a "I have to feed 8 people a deliciously large, locally grown salad for lunch tomorrow...oh and dessert too" need.

My team at work are a bunch of fat kids. We love to get our eat on and try to work it into every single meeting we have. Potlucks are a frequent occurrence. And I love it.

For this week's potluck lunch, I wanted to re-create a salad from one of my favorite natural food blogs, 101 Cookbooks. The appeal of this salad was that it uses ingredients that I see every week at the farmer's market. Hence the reason for going over budget.

Notice my little wooden piggy in the background. 

This week's roundup:
6 avocados - $3.75*
2 zucchini - $2.00
1 gigantic head of kale - $2.00
1 bunch carrots - $1.75
1 bunch celery - $2.00
6 white peaches - $2.50
Total: $14.00

Recipe to follow.

*Okay, okay, I know these aren't locally grown, but if I can help a small farm stand help make a buck when it supplements its usual produce with some imports, then fine. At least that's how I justify it in my head.

Dirty Veggies, Part 5

So close to budget this week. That damn friggin' quarter!

This week's roundup:
1 zucchini - $1.00
2 white peppers - $.75 (White peppers?! I know!)
1 head red leaf lettuce - $1.50
1 bunch fresh onions - $2.00
6 peaches - $2.50
6 tomatoes - $2.50
Total: $10.25

I had a 19-year client come into my office today and announce that it smelled like potato salad.

"Oh, it's just my fresh onions that I bought today at the local farmer's market. I also have tomatoes and peaches and look! White peppers. Aren't those cool?"

He wasn't impressed.

Dirty Veggies, Part 4

You'll be excited to hear that, this week, I almost stayed within budget. Almost. I'm over by just a quarter. You can't fault me on a quarter!

This week's market shopping was a little different then usual. First, I had a recipe in mind, so some selections were based on that. Second, Jerry and I are going to Virginia for a long weekend, which means we won't be home. In an effort to not waste food, I bought things that would either survive the weekend or be taken with us for snackin' on our long drive to VA.

This week's roundup:

2 cucumbers - $.50

1 bunch of golden beets - $1.50

1 bulb of garlic - $1.25

1 bunch of parsley - $1.00

1 bunch of scallions - $1.50

6 tomatoes - $2.50

6 plums - $2.00

Total: $10.25

Not too shabby!

Recipe to come soon.

Can you guess what it might be? Is the suspense killing you?!?!?

Dirty Veggies, Part 3

I'm going to get the confession out of the way now.

I went over budget at this week's farmer's market. I can explain!

But first....let me distract you with my beautiful, dirty vegetables (and fruits!).

This week's roundup:
1 bunch of kale - $1
1 bunch of golden beets - $1.50
1 large zucchini - $1
6 NYS tomatoes - $2.25
6 local peaches - $2.25
1 large eggplant - $1.25
1 head red lettuce - $1.50
1 bunch of red onions - $2.00
Total: $12.75......$2.75 over budget.

I'm sure I could have put something back or worked my magic for a free head of lettuce, but even then, I'd still probably be over-budget. I just couldn't control myself. The deals were too good! The veggies just too awesome! A bunch of golden beets for $1.50? Come on! Locally grown peaches for $2.25? Do I need to show you the over-priced peaches you get in the supermarket?

That's not really a great explanation. Unless you're a total food dork like me and would rather buy produce over...just about anything else!

Plus, I've given myself a weekly grocery budget of $50. Since starting that budgeting goal, I haven't made my daily trips to multiple grocery stores ALL WEEK. Did you read that? ALL WEEK!

Granted, it's only Wednesday, but I'm hopeful. :)