Smoothie #6

Today's snack smoothie to take a break from chores. Very orange, a nice mix of sweetness with earthy tones and tanginess.

Smoothie #6
1 mango, peeled, cut in chunks
1 carrot, peeled, cut in chunks
250 mL unsweetened almond milk
250 mL cranberry/pomegranate juice

Put mango and carrot chunks into blender with liquids. Blend until carrot is fully incorporated.

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What else can we do with mustard greens?

I brought some mustard greens home from the supermarket last week in the hopes of making something with them myself instead of only relying on the packaged pickled mustard greens I like to get at the Asian grocery and serve on white rice.

The ideas tried so far:
1. sauteed mustard greens with turkey kielbasa slices and onions, served over leftover colcannon
2. more mustard greens and the kielbasa/greens leftovers in a curried potato soup
3. raw mustard greens on sandwich of corned beef on rye
4. bell pepper, zucchini and shredded mustard greens stir fry with sweet soy sauce and fresh ginger

All these applications of mustard greens were delicious, and my husband was downright shocked at the difference in spiciness between the very mild and limp cooked greens and the raw greens on his sandwich, which were as peppery as nasturtiums.

In five minutes of poking around on the Internet, I've found recipes that treat the mustard green much like greens of other sorts:
1. just like collard greens with pot liquor
2. just like sauteed kale with garlic and chile flakes
3. just like bok choy, stir-fried and braised and served with soy sauce and sesame oil
4. as part of a mixed salad, especially baby greens

With their frilly edges and bright, spring-green color, the mustard greens available here are just begging me to use them more often with less cooking time. Perhaps blanched and simply dressed as a wilted salad, or tossed into a pot of beans at the last minute so they don't lose their peppery bite.

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Creating again in time for St. Pat's Day

I've had a short hiatus because I wasn't doing any recipe creation that was noteworthy for a few weeks. I experimented with some new recipes from the New York Times that turned out to be fantastic, the Hungarian casserole rakott krumpli and vegan enchiladas (but used a canned sauce I like, so can't comment on whether this chef's enchilada sauce is good). I did some home versions of recipes I liked from work. But nothing that I could call my own and write up here.

For St. Patrick's Day, I wanted to bring home some of the excitement that was going on in the kitchen at work as our chef and baker turned out Irish-inspired dishes for the holiday: soda bread, potato and mushroom soup with cabbage, and the most decadent colcannon ever topped with sausages. And cheese. That colcannon was delicious, but had crazy amounts of cream and meat. Waaaaay too rich for me to eat more than one bite.

So, it was back to the drawing board at home, going for something a little more in the traditional meatless variety of colcannon. I won't claim that this is a low-fat dish. In fact, if I were to make it again next year, I'd probably go whole hog and use more cream and (maybe) less butter.

Colcannon with Kale
serves 4 to 6
serve as a main dish with other brightly colored vegetables, as a side to a soup or Irish stew, as a colorful topping to a shepherd's pie

2 pounds red potatoes
2 medium-sized onions
1 pound bunch of kale
8 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup milk (dairy milk or unsweetened soy/almond/rice milk)
dash of mace
white pepper and salt to taste

Scrub potatoes well and cut into large chunks. Peeling is optional. Place in large pot, cover with water, and boil until tender (approximately 20 to 30 minutes). Wash the kale and strip the leaves off the tough stems. Cut the kale into ribbons or other small shapes. Saute the onions in 4 Tbsp of butter until tender, then add the kale and saute for 5 to 10 minutes until tender. When the potatoes are ready, drain them and let them dry a little in the colander or in the pot. Warm the milk, then mash together the potatoes with the milk, 4 Tbsp butter, mace, pepper and salt. Stir in the kale/onion mixture and serve hot.

The leftovers of this dish taste great browned in a pan as hash the next day.

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