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Recipe: shredded kale salad

Over the holidays when I was recovering from my cold, but still essentially useless, I rifled through my sizable yarn stash and decided to put a dent in it. I wanted to make something for my friend, Kat, who is moving away this very week. Knowing how sorely out of practice I was, I made a trial run which ultimately had some inconsistent tension and resulted in a scarf that I’d be willing to wear, but was too flawed (in my opinion) to gift to someone.

the trial run scarf

I made the test scarf blue because I prefer cooler hues and because I needed to save my green yarns for Kat’s scarf. Green is her favorite color and I happened to have a lot of different funky novelty yarns in greens. It’s a remnant scarf which means you use up the remnants of various skeins of yarn. When I was done with the tassels, it reminded me of a rainforest. And she loved it, which is what really mattered.

kat’s scarf

Even though I’m pretty much recuperated, I am finishing up one last remnant scarf for another friend. It makes me realize how impatient I am to sit down and work on these things when I’m back to normal, because I much prefer being on my feet. So I am forcing myself to hurry up and get it done lest it be forgotten in my yarn bin for another two years.

kaweah likes to keep me company and doze on the couch

But you know, there are days when it is just too nice to pass up getting out under those bluebird skies. Our winter blues are the best kind, really. Erin agrees with me.

i kid you not

After our hike, Erin and I met two other girlfriends in Boulder for a late lunch at Oak. I really like their food, so much so that I reproduced their shredded kale salad at home. I have been loving on winter greens salads for the heartier texture, the slight bitterness, and most of all – because I can make a big batch and enjoy the salad over the course of a few days instead of preparing a salad fresh each time!

olive oil, orange, apple, red wine vinegar, salt, almonds, kale, togarashi

Oak’s version of this salad uses Parmesan cheese, but I omitted that because I wanted to keep this light. They also put candied almonds in their salad (which tastes great) as opposed to the seasoned almonds I had on hand. I think next time I’m going to use baby kale. It’s so tender that I could skip the step of stripping the leaves from the ribs.

strip the leaves from the ribs

roll the leaves up and slice thin (chiffonade)

If memory serves me well, Oak uses a simple oil and vinegar dressing. I wanted mine to have an orange juice base. But you know what? It’s a salad. That means you do whatever you want to it. Of course, I have to say the orange juice dressing is lovely… unless you have a thing against oranges in which case, I am sad for you.

place the vinegar, orange juice, and salt in a bowl

whisk in a steady thin drizzle of olive oil

pour over the kale

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: bacon-wrapped boursin-stuffed dates

It snoooooowed! It’s snooooooowing! *running around with joy* I can’t tell you how happy this makes me (and Jeremy and Kaweah)! We’ve gotten over a foot at home and more than 18 inches on the local hill the last couple of days. And it’s not just the skiing, it’s the precipitation we desperately needed. But… THE SKIING!!

my first day of the season at the local ski hill

the prettiest morning commute – on the way to get first tracks!

a quick afternoon ski tour before dark

jeremy pretends to take a rest on a trailside bench

sunset from the trail

Despite the jaunts out in the snow, I’ve finished my baking and packaging and most other holiday-related stuffs. The oven has been working overtime (as have I) and the house smells of ginger and spices and baking. Several varieties of cookies are packed, tagged, and nestled in their gift boxes or gift bags to be delivered. We’re looking forward to wrapping up 2012 with some skiing, Kaweah snuggles, work (it never ends), and good food. If you’re in search of an easy appetizer for a holiday party or maybe nibbles to tide folks over for a big holiday meal – might I suggest this super easy little old party in your mouth?

bacon, dates, and boursin cheese

Three ingredients, minimal preparation, and ten to twenty-five minutes of baking. Say yes with me. And hello, there’s bacon. Start with the dates. I like to use medjool dates as they are large, sweet, and have a nice chewy, almost velvety texture. They are also sticky as all get out. You can purchase them pitted, but the only organic ones I can find are not pitted. It’s not hard to pit them, though. Just take a sharp knife and slit the side open and pop the pit out.

slice the date open and remove the pit

pitted dates, sliced bacon, and boursin in a pastry bag

I made the mistake of cutting my bacon into thirds. In hindsight, I should have cut the bacon into halves since it shrinks when cooked. As for the Boursin, you can let it soften to room temperature and put it in a pastry bag, or keep it cold and crumble it. Either way, the goal is to stuff some Boursin into each date.

piping cheese into the date

wrapping the bacon around the stuffed date

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: chana masala

Today, my baby puppy Kaweah turns 14 years old. And even though I call her my puppy, even though she acts like a puppy, even though so many people think she’s a puppy… she’s pretty old. So when she turns off her ears and doesn’t come when called (her hearing is perfectly fine, she can hear me open the closet door to her dog treats from across the house) or when she stumbles because her back legs are weak, we are extra patient and understanding with her the way we would be with our grandmas if they were still alive. I don’t generally make a big deal of birthdays, but this one is special, because it may be her last one.

a little salad, puppy biscuits on cheddar, and raw flank steak

kaweah started with her veggies first (good girl)

apples, peanut butter sauce, unsweetened whipped cream

such a patient pup

jeremy blew the candle out

birthday girl!!

We actually celebrated on Thursday, one day early, because our schedules are completely bonkers. The holidays really make me want to do the opposite of what is considered de rigueur. I can get away with some of it, but not the baking. Our local post office ladies ask Jeremy every November if I’ll be bringing cookies for the holidays. And I can’t not give cookies to my vet, because we love him so much. My ace #1 oncologist – he gets cookies for sure. We always gift cookies to the administrative staff in Jeremy’s department. I don’t mind the baking because this is an expression of gratitude. What I do mind is having heaps of sweets around me. Gah! Get them away! To balance out the craziness of holiday baking, I’ve been gravitating toward simple, but awesome savory dishes.

cayenne, garam masala, paprika, turmeric, coriander, cumin, cumin seeds

spices, salt, garlic, onion, lemon, tomatoes, ginger, jalapeño pepper, and chickpeas

This is a recipe that has been eating away at me for a few years – chana masala. My friend, Nicole, brought it to a potluck party in Seattle two summers ago and I loved it. It was a big party, and I never got around to asking for the recipe. By the time I remembered again (months later) I hit the interwebs which 80% of the time lead me to Deb.

grind the toasted cumin seeds

everything chopped, diced, grated, minced, ground, or juiced

**Jump for more butter**