Fall is the perfect time to try something new in the kitchen. The farmer's market is bursting with veggies we never buy, eat, or try. There is no time like the present. The weather is crap, so inside is the place to be. I was at a local Portland store grabbing a quick lunch when I saw a bag of kale chips for $8.75... $8.75! Are you kidding me? Who has that kind of money? Sure they had crushed organic Oregon hazelnuts on them but really? Almost ten bucks? For a bag of healthy chips! No way. So last week at the farmer's market I bought some kale. Two kinds to be exact, since I was clueless on what variety to use. I tried both the original organic kale and Italian kale. Both were good, but the chips tasted best when I used a mix of both. The change in texture from chip to chip made my healthy snack more exciting. If you're up to try something new below is my recipe for Crispy Kale Chips!
Ingredients: Kale Olive Oil Marcona Almonds or Hazelnuts
Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or spray with PAM or olive oil spray.
2. With a knife or kitchen shears remove the leaves from the thick stems. (See tip) You can either keep the pieces long or tear them into bite size pieces.
3.Wash and thoroughly dry kale. Place the cut kale in a bowl and add in olive oil, sprinkle with seasoning salt, sea salt, and pepper. Mix kale and seasoning. 4. Put the kale on the baking sheet and bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 20 to 30 minutes. Flipping them half way through.
5. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with crushed marcona almonds or hazelnuts. Enjoy!
Cooking Tip: If you don't remove the stems they become very hard when cooked and will stab you in the mouth while you're eating and no one likes that.
Shopping Tip: Italian kale is flat and looks more like a collard green. Regular kale is ruffled like an 80's prom dress.
With the weather at home threatening rain and grey all March my sister Ellie and I left to snag some sun in Central America. Ambergris Caye is our sun-drenched island destination and the main town of San Pedro is where we called home. San Pedro is dotted with brightly painted houses and the beaches are full of men cleaning their catch, ladies selling the best tamales I've ever eaten, and children selling jewelry. Island living was easy. The toughest decision we had was where to eat. 300 steps from our beachfront cabana was Hurricane, a rum punch slinging ceviche joint. The rum punch was above average but the ceviche was out of this world. Needless to say I ate there 3 times in 5 days and was disappointed when they were closed on my last night. Luckily I got the recipe from the chef they day before. Beautiful Belize was the perfect getaway to escape the Portland drab and now I can enjoy the taste of the Caribbean all winter long.
Spicy Shrimp Ceviche
8 small servings, about 1/2 cup each
Active Time:
Total Time: 3
INGREDIENTS
POACHING LIQUID
2 quarts water
1/4 cup sea salt
CEVICHE
1 pound fresh raw shrimp (21-25 per pound), peeled and deveined
Juice of 2 lemons
Juice of 2 limes
Juice of 2 oranges
1 cup (1 med cucumber) peeled, diced, and seeded cucumber
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
2 serrano chiles, seeded and finely chopped
1 cup diced seeded tomato
1 avocado, chopped into small pieces
3 tablespoons roughly chopped cilantro leaves, save some extra leaves for garnish
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
PREPARATION
Combine water and salt in a large saucepan; bring to a boil over high heat. Add shrimp and immediately turn off the heat. Let the shrimp sit for about 3 minutes. Put the shrimp on a cutting board until cool enough to handle.
Chop the shrimp into half inch pieces and place in a medium nonreactive bowl (see Tip). Add lemon, lime and orange juice ( see note). Stir in cucumber, onion and chiles. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
Stir tomato, avocado, chopped cilantro, oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt into the shrimp mixture. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve with chips or flat bottom taco shells.
Kitchen Tip: A nonreactive bowl or pan—enamel-coated or glass—is necessary when cooking with acidic foods, such as lemon, to prevent the food from reacting with the pan. Reactive pans, such as aluminum and cast-iron, can impart an off color and/or off flavor.
Note: Only use fresh squeezed juice. No prepackaged juice or concentrate.
