A Summer Story (really A Kale Love Story)

This story begins on a mild Georgia night. Not just any night. Sunday Supper night.

One of the traditions I've loved being a part of since meeting my husband, Alex, is the Sunday Supper. This tradition began with Alex's grandmother. She would have her children and grandchildren gather for dinner at her house each Sunday evening. What better way is there to keep connected with family than to gather around a table and share a home-cooked meal? I looked forward to each culinary and connecting experience on Sundays back when we were first dating and since her passing, this sweet tradition begun by Alex's grandmother is carried on by his mom and aunts. Most Sundays, dinner is planned and aunts, uncles, and cousins gather to share a meal and their lives with one another.

I love this family's passion for food. My mother in law, Laura, is the queen of gluten free and unprocessed eating and I have learned so much from her. I love the way she's challenged me to really think about what I'm eating and what food's effects are. His aunt, Anne, is also a nutrition and healthy living expert. She is a trained Health Coach and a wealth of information on holistic health and living (check out her website here!) This is where kale comes into the picture.

On the fateful Georgia summer Sunday Supper night, Anne was preparing the salad. Not just any salad, a kale salad. And not just any kale salad, THIS kale salad. Sure, I'd had kale salad before. Most of what I remember about it was getting a killer jaw workout and trying to mentally process the somewhat bitter, overtly leafy flavor as I chewed, and chewed…and chewed.

So THIS salad was prepared before my eyes and I was intrigued by it's ingredients. Avocado, ginger, lime juice, sunflower seeds. I watched as she tossed the ingredients together in the biggest salad bowl I'd ever seen. The results were amazing. The citrus worked it's magic and seemed to wilt the leaves slightly, leaving a more chewable, though still sturdy, green. The avocado added a creaminess that the cheese-lover in me relished. Sunflower seeds added a light crunch and ginger brought the perfect summer brightness to it.

I went back for seconds, then thirds, then fourths. I made it two days later, and then the following week. I was hooked.

So without further ado:

Anne's Summer Kale Salad
Ingredients
2 large bunches of kale (about 8 cups)
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of 1 lemon
1 avocado
1 purple onion
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Directions
Cut central stalk out of the kale and chop into bite size pieces.
In a medium size bowl, mash avocado and mix in the ginger and the lemon and lime juice.
In a large bowl mix kale with avocado mixture and add sunflower seeds and onion.
Drizzle lightly with olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Toss to combine and enjoy!

Summer's Peach Cherry Berry Pie

I am absolutely in love with the fruit of this summer and decided to combine some that I had around the kitchen, because, why not? Peaches, cherries and blueberries get together in this delicious pie and are topped off with a crispy, buttery crumble.  

Not having a cherry picker, I consulted this gallery and chose the chopstick method.

 All the cut fruits chill out with some sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and a dash of salt.

Use a pastry cutter to mix the butter into the topping.

Squeezing gently makes the topping beautiful and crumbly.

I cheated and put a store bought crust in my pretty white pie dish.

Crumble-crowned pie. A parchment-lined pan will save the bottom of your oven.

75 minutes later- the hardest part is waiting an hour to cut into it!

Peach Cherry Berry Pie

INGREDIENTS
For the Filling:
3 ripe peaches
1 1/2 cups red cherries
1 cup blueberries
1/4 c white sugar
1/4 c light brown sugar
1 Tbsp corn starch
big pinch of salt
dash of cinnamon

For the Crumb Topping:
1 c flour
1 c light brown sugar
1/4 c cold butter

1 store bought pie crust


METHOD
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Peel peaches and cut in eighths- into wedges. Pit and halve cherries. Combine in a large bowl with blueberries, sugars, cornstarch, salt and cinnamon. Allow to macerate while preparing the crumb topping.

Combine flour and sugar in a bowl and using pastry cutter or two forks, cut in the cold butter until the butter is incorporated. The consistency should be that of wet sand.

Pour fruit filling and all the juices into the prepared pie crust. Using your hands to squeeze the topping into large clumps, drop crumble on top of the filling.

Place pie on parchment or foil lined pan and bake at 350 degrees for 60-80 minutes- until crumble is browned and fruit is bubbly. Allow to cool for at least an hour before cutting, serving and devouring.

Going Veg

Here begins a story that really began 4 weeks ago when my BFF decided to go vegan. She dove in head-first and hollered back the proverbial "come on in, the water's fine!" and here I am, three weeks into a six week journey as a vegan.

I must say that these last weeks have been a culinary joy and I haven't particularly missed eating animal products. It's been an adjustment, of course (reading every nutrition label and asking what's in stuff at restaurants), but really I feel that this experiment has made me a much more conscious eater. During this time I've also felt very inspired to try new things and be more creative in my cooking.

Some of the dishes that I've really enjoyed are listed and pictured below. Even if I go back to meat, cheese, and egg eating after these weeks are up, I know that I've found (and have yet to find) many new ingredients and recipes to add to my repertoire!

Pan seared polenta cakes on a bed of garlicky spinach and cherry tomatoes was a real summer treat.

Slow-roasting eggplant delivers silky smooth results. Placing the vegetables cut-side down over a sprig of fresh thyme adds brightness.

This Asian-inspired udon noodle bowl with snow peas, tofu and shiitake mushrooms was so delicious and satisfying!! A creamy, ginger and coconut milk base is spiced up with some chili sauce.

One of my favorites is taco night! Guacamole salad and black beans leave no room for meat and sour cream on these bad boys.