The Must-Try Kale Salad Catch Up Post

Life's been happening at quite a clip around here. I'm learning to juggle two kids at two schools and the requisite participation and meetings at both. Sports, birthdays, field trips, yard work, sewing (two Nani Iro shirts to show soon), and an occasional home-cooked dinner are just some of what's going on. Did I mention the vintage, lavender sewing machine that's coming to live with me? Or, that I'm going to Quilt Market in Houston? Oh, and there's the story of my husband, the kidney stones, and the ER. I know you all know how it is. Life.

So, on a good day I actually make dinner. I have to do it early in the day or it doesn't get done. These picture were from a good food day: vegetable soup made by both big and little hands (C's not yet two-and-a-half); figs with feta, honey, and balsamic; kale salad with avocado and tomato; and a slice of sourdough with butter.

I know you won't believe me, but the kale salad is really delicious. Really.

Edit: I talked with the friend that shared this recipe with me and she reminded me that there are two more ingredients. Whoops! I left out fresh, minced garlic and nutritional yeast flakes. You sprinkle the yeast onto the kale before adding the dressing. Just add the garlic as you wish. It really is good.

The Must-Try Kale Salad Recipe:
Kale (One bunch or less, depending on how many and how hungry you are)
1 Avocado
1 Tomato
1 Lemon
Nutritional Yeat
Garlic
Olive Oil
Bragg's Amino Acids

Wash kale, coarsely chop, and put in bowl. I don't dry it because it doesn't seem to make a difference. Add a little olive oil and toss. Dice an avocado and a tomato and add to the kale. Juice a half of a lemon onto the salad and add a generous squeeze of Bragg's. Toss. Adjust the flavors. You might like more lemon or more Bragg's. My husband prefers traditional soy sauce, but I like the unique flavor of Bragg's. (Note: I googled Bragg's to find a link and fell into the whole soy controversy. For now, I'm going to ignore it and just be happy I'm eating kale.)

Soup & Bread

Two of my favorite things — yum!

It was a cold rainy day here yesterday, with snow in the mountains! That only happens once or twice a year. We stayed home and made bread, looked for rainbows, caught hail in our mouths, painted pictures, and watched videos. On rainy days without school, filling up the ten and a half hours that papa isn't home is always interesting (How do you do it Eren?). What do you do, especially when you have a little one that makes doing bigger kid things a little challenging? We have a list of things to do while he's napping, but that still leaves at least nine hours. And, someone always seems to have a bit of a cold, which makes me not want to take them out into the cold.

On a different note: I love it when people share their favorite cookbooks. The Soup & Bread book is one of mine (Patchwork Slaw with Curried Vinaigrette; Chicken with Pasta Soup; Oatmeal Molasses Bread). I love a cookbook with prose, and Crescent Dragonwagon is a great storyteller. I love reading about the life she and her husband created at Dairy Hollow House in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Awhile back I looked online to see if the Inn was still going and was sad to see that it is closed (now a writer's retreat) and that Crescent's husband had died — hit while bicycling.

I just checked and Amazon didn't have the book. I'm sure you can find it used.

Mushroom Madness: Cuppa

Mushroom Madness: Cuppa
Originally uploaded by Green Kitchen.

This mushroom mug was made by a local artist. Unfortunately, I've lost her card and don't remember her name.

The sun was too bright for a photo so I hung up this fabric that I got in the mail yesterday. D liked it so much we might end up with it as curtains in this unfinished room of our little house.

The muffin is an old favorite, oat bran with apples and prunes, from Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant. Here's the recipe with my small modifications.

Omenapyōrykāt

1 cup chopped peeled apples
1 cup chopped pitted prunes
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1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup yogurt (I used vanilla, but it calls for plain)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
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2 egg whites or 1 egg (optional)
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1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons freshly grated orange peel (I only do this sometimes)
2 cups oat bran (I substite half white flour, which helps hold the muffin together)
2 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line or butter muffin tins.

Cut apples and prunes into chunks. They recommend peeling, but it's ok with the peel. Set aside.

Whisk together maple syrup, yogurt, oil and egg. Combine the dry ingredients. Fold the wet mixture into the dry ingredients until just wet. Stir in the chopped apples and prunes.

Divide the batter among the muffin cups. The cups should be filled almost to the top because they don't rise much.

Bake for about 20 minutes until golden.