Something Is Fishy

It seems to me almost every dinner in the winter is kale and potatoes.  I never get tired of it.  It comforts me in a profound way and I feel okay about it because of the piles of kale I'm consuming.  It makes posting meals boring though.  Oh well!

Dinner tonight: braised kale and mashed potatoes!
I treated us with glazed salmon and crispy caramelized onions to go with our kale and potatoes.  I love salmon with only salt and pepper, but I was craving intense flavor and this glaze is amazing.
 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or brown sugar)
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon finely grated ginger (we were out of ginger because Nick had just made an incredible ginger beet syrup so I just used a tablespoon of that)

Melt the syrup, honey and butter in a small saute pan over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat and whisk in the mustard, soy sauce, olive oil and ginger. Let cool.

Heat the oven to 400 F

Drizzle and brush your salmon with the glaze (you could probably even marinate  the fish if you wanted to).  Roast until the salmon is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork, 8 to 10 minutes.

 

Enjoy!

Squash n' Cheese

My comfort food is typical American comfort foods; potatoes, cheese, bread, sausage...  where I may differ is my deep love for braised greens, such as kale or chard.  Macaroni and cheese is just about as "comfort food" as a food can get.

I made a simple bechamel sauce; 2 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon brown rice flour, 1 cup milk, a grate or two of nutmeg, and salt to taste.
For the macaroni I used squash sliced thin.
I mixed the squash and bechamel together, then poured it into a buttered baking dish.

Grated sharp cheddar on top and into the oven for 30 minutes at 350.
Let it rest for five or ten minutes before you dig in.  Pile some braised kale next to your squash n' cheese.  Everything is beautiful and nothing hurts.

Kale!

I just can't turn down fresh produce.  How could I?  One of the great joys of living in Sonoma County, is our gardens.  Almost everyone I know is growing something (or trying to).  Walking around my neighborhood you can spot: lavender, mint, tomatoes, peas, and chard growing in tiny containers on front porches, or sometimes (literally) in cracks in the sidewalk.  Chelsea takes advantage of her bay windows and grows herbs and tomatoes in her San Francisco apartment.  Folks with more land tend to be more ambitious,  back yards you could easily waste a day in, perhaps eating from it the whole time.  Quince and sour cherry trees.  Berries and greens.  Even now as we prepare for the new season they are eating large delicious kale leaves and they are offering some to me!

Our friend Theresa has that beautiful garden, and I gladly accepted her kale.
I love kale.  I like to eat it just wilted with a little olive oil and lemon.  I would be happy to eat it just that way for dinner any night.  However,  this time I set some aside for something different.

Kale Chips!
Remove the stem and cut the leaves into bite size (chip size) pieces.  Toss the leaves with olive oil and some lemon juice.

Place the leaves in a single layer on a baking sheet (salt if you like) and pop in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes at 350 degrees, until crisp.

Kale chips are simple and taste good, and might be just the thing to have for lunch along side a sandwich.