After reading Animal Vegetable Miracle last year, I've tried to buy and eat vegetables that were in season. This winter, I did not buy squash, or any tomatoes, or cucumbers, or… take your pick of summer veg that is sold in stores in mid-winter. Its been challenging, and at times, dinner might have been a tiny bit boring. But eating "in season" has also allowed us to focus on how good winter vegetables taste and how satisfying they can be on a chilly winter's night.
Spring is now here, in fact, we are edging into the heat of summer. Something, (probably cabbage loopers,) was eating on the kale leaves. I've heard that when the bugs move in, it means the season is over. So I harvested all of the remaining kale, and a few onions from the garden and made our favorite kale dish:
Potato + Kale = Love
Ingredients
- 2 lbs red potatoes
- 2 bunches kale
- scallions, shallots, or red onion
- 1 pkg feta
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt & pepper
- Boil potatoes in salted water until done (approx 20 minutes) Drain.
- Tear kale into large, bite sized pieces. Remove stems if they are particularly woody,
- Steam kale until tender (5-10 minutes)
- While kale and potatoes are cooking, chop some red onions or scallions
- Combine cooked potatoes, kale, and onions in a large bowl, then add
- One package feta cheese, broken into bits
- drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper to taste, then serve warm.
One of the great things about this dish is that you can adjust the flavors to suit you. I adore onions, so I put a lot of onion in mine. If you are restricting your fats, you can use less olive oil and less feta and still have a great dish. In fact, you could serve onions, olive oil and feta on the side and let everyone make a bowl to their own liking.
We had some nice Suxx wine left from a special bison dinner, and it went
beautifully with this dish.
A big thank you to Lorrie Lynn King, my kale-loving friend in Atlanta, who developed this dish and wrote about it on her blog.
So long dear kale. See you again in the winter of 2011.
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Cynthia McKenna is a psychotherapist specializing in anxiety, depression and healthy living. You can learn more about her work @ http://www.cynthiamckennacounseling.com. Cynthia blogs about organic gardening, cooking, and living in the Texas Hill Country.
