The Green Fairy Returns

I find that kale salad is peace on the earth that is my body. I imagine my blood humming with pleasure whenever I eat kale salad.  I eat it so often that I had to change it up for variety.  One of my favorite variations on the theme - what shall I call it - Cilantro Ginger Kale Salad.

I have taken to making large salads.  They don’t last as long as you would think, because everyone eats them up so quickly.

Use one or 2 bunches of kale and 1 bunch of cilantro

Dressing:
1/2 inch square to 1 inch square of young ginger, chopped very fine
1 clove of garlic, chopped very fine or crushed through a garlic press
Juice of 1/2 lemon or 1 lime
1/4 c olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cayenne

It is important to remember that the proportions in the dressing should be adjusted to taste and to the size of the salad. If you are using a LOT of greens, you may need to add a little more olive oil and lemon. This salad is no fun if it is dry. Kale leaves need to be dressed and pressed into submission for eating.   When it is done right, it is a very satisfying salad, so don’t get caught up in trying to skimp on the olive oil.

Pour the dressing over the chopped greens and mix it in by squeezing. The squeezing softens the kale and distributes the dressing well.

Add tomatoes after mixing OR if your dressing is too lemony, add some chopped tomatoes before you mix by squeezing. This neutralizes the lemon taste somewhat and balances it out.

Remember: Green is gorgeous!

Veggie Love

We all hear that we must eat more vegetables, but most of us find them a boring prospect. For a long time now I have also heard that it is not good to eat heated oil. I ignored this possibility, blissfully enjoying my sauteed greens. I have cooked for years with oil, but am now finding ways to avoid doing so. I found a way to cook yummy veggies without heating oil (I was never big on plain old steamed veggies):

You can use a steamer, but I prefer the following method:

I use a large (12 inch is good) cast iron skillet. These are perfect for some kinds of high heat cooking, quick cooking, and beginner cooks, because they are very durable in high heat. (thorough info about cast iron pans I found a random lid that fit well.
For kale, broccoli, zucchini, green beans, sweet peas 1/4 onion sliced very thin adds a nice flavor.
For consistent results, I have found that it is best not to overfill the pan.

I get the empty pan good and hot, but not too hot where it starts smoking. Then I transfer all veg quickly into the hot pan. It appears to me that the pan cools a little from the addition of the veggies. After pouring a mere 2 tbsp water over the vegetables I quickly close the lid. The idea is to steam the veggies quickly. The pan needs to be hot enough that a small amount of water should turn to steam.

After about 1 minute, I open the pan, stir and add another tbsp water, close again and wait one more minute.

At this point the veggies are still bright green, but cooked enough to eat, and I transfer them to a large bowl, toss with olive oil and a good quality salt a little ground pepper, and serve.

I made up this method in my insular little kitchen world — would love to hear feedback from readers.