Spotted this week at the Co-op: all kinds of kale! Well, two kinds of kale anyway: the standard green curly kale we’ve all come to know and love, and lacinato kale- a smooth, darker-leafed kale also known as Tuscan Kale, Black Leaf Kale, or, more imaginatively, as Dinosaur Kale.

Lacinato kale has been a staple in traditional Italian cooking for centuries (it’s the dark green hiding out in classic minestrones), and it is described as being sweeter, less bitter, and more delicate than its rambunctious cousin curly kale.

For those of you who are tiring of hearty soups and healthy salads, we thought we’d offer a different kind of recipe for this occasionally benighted green, one close to our snacking hearts: chips.

Kale Chips

• 1 bunch fresh kale
• 3 tbs olive oil
• sea salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and dry the kale.

Cut the leaves off the stalk and into smaler chip-sized pieces (they will shrink a bit, so you don’t have to cut them too small).

Toss in olive oil, salt and pepper.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper and cover with kale. Bake for about 8-10 minutes (depending on your oven), checking halfway through since these have a tendency to burn very easily.

You’ll know the chips are ready when the edges begin to turn darker green.

You could add any seasoning to make your chips more interesting. Red pepper flakes instead of black pepper? Cumin and a squeeze of lime? A bit of japanese 5 spice blend and maybe a hit of ponzu? In that vein, sesame oil instead of olive oil? The possibilities are endless. Ahhhh, kale.

Recipe and kale chip image adapted from a daily something.

Sometimes our favorite recipes are those culled from pantry staples and feature hearty wintry vegetables. Like all good things, those go-to dishes in our arsenal always have an ingredient or two that make the dish zing, pow, sparkle, and mmmm.

In the case of this delectably easy, supremely cheap, and utterly delicious soup, the humble lentil meets dashing caramelized onion … and it’s love at first bite! (We know, we know, that was bad … We couldn’t resist.)

Red Lentil Soup with Lemon and Caramelized Onions
Serves 2 (amazingly enough)

• 1 small onion, sliced thin
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 3/4 cup red lentils
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup water
• pinch cayenne
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• salt
• pepper
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoon chopped parsley

To caramelize the onions, melt the butter over moderate heat.
Throw in the onion and cook until beginning to brown.
Sprinkle sugar evenly over onions and continue to cook until onions are brown, sweet, and sticky.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine lentils with water, stock, cayenne, turmeric, salt, and pepper.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until lentils are soft and beginning to break down.
Turn off heat, and stir in chopped parsley and lemon juice.
Ladle into bowls and serve with caramelized onions.

Recipe and image from Pink of Perfection.

Spotted this week at the Greene Hill Food Co-op: Broccoli! We’d be the first to agree that sometimes broccoli gets a bad rap. Often relegated to rubbery ranch dressing ignominy on crudite plates or boiled and steamed into boringness, humble broccoli doesn’t often get the cruciferous credit it deserves. High in vitamin C, dietary fiber, and containing multiple nutrients with potent anti-cancer properties, nobody can argue that broccoli is good for you… but can it be delicious too? We’re here to tell you: YES! This broccoli recipe is incredibly simple, requires few ingredients, and makes a vegetarian side that’s delicious enough to convert any carnivore. It also calls for using the whole head of the broccoli, even the stems. Which, in these recessionary times, is pretty great. Enjoy!

Lemony Roasted Broccoli

• 1 large bunch of broccoli, cleaned, trimmed and cut into florets and chunks of a similar size
• Zest of two lemons (lucky for you, the Co-op’s lemons are organic- very important since you’ll be using the skin) and the juice of one of them
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 3-4 Tbsps olive oil for roasting
• Salt and Pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Toss the broccoli with half the lemon zest, all of the garlic, salt, pepper, and the olive oil.

Place the broccoli florets on a heavy baking sheet large enough to hold them in a single layer.

Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, flipping once to ensure even roasting, until the pieces are crisp-tender and browned at the tips.

Remove the broccoli from the oven and toss with other half of the lemon zest and the juice from one lemon. Serve hot.

Recipe and images from here.

Oh my! Spotted this week at the Greene Hill Food Co-op: glorious duck eggs! What luck. You can pretty much do anything with a duck egg that you can do with a chicken egg, the biggest difference between the two is the size; duck eggs are slightly bigger all around, with a thicker, sturdier shell, and a larger, more saturated yolk. Duck eggs are more nutritionally rich than a chicken, yielding a bit more fat, which makes them wonderful for baking.

The yolks of duck eggs are also more vibrantly colored than those of chicken eggs, and the saturation of the color depends on what the ducks eat. Since the ducks that laid these beauties are pasture raised with access to a fresh running stream and fed only delicious non-gmo feed, the yolks are a rich meyer-lemon-setting-sun-70′s-couch yellow that makes us (almost) loathe to break them.

A duck egg is certainly a special treat, and they are delicious enough on their own to be treated simply- fried, poached, or scrambled, sure, but we decided to adapt one of our favorite pared down breakfast recipes (one that also does double duty as the perfect application for extra homemade tomato sauce), and considered ourselves a couple of lucky…yep, ducks.

Duck Eggs in Tomato Sauce

• 4 Duck Eggs
• Toasted Crusty Bread
• Parmesan

Tomato Sauce*

• 1 crushed garlic clove
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 28-ounce can whole plum tomatoes

In an ovenproof sauté pan over medium heat, cook a crushed garlic clove in a good amount of olive oil — three or four tablespoons — until it sizzles.

Add the two 28-ounce cans of whole plum tomatoes and crush with a potato masher. (Chunkiness is a matter of preference.)

When the foaming subsides and the oil rises to the surface (the sauce glistens), lower the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 45 minutes.

Get your gorgeous duck eggs. To keep yolks whole, crack each into a small bowl (working one at a time) and gently slide it into the hot sauce.

Transfer pan to preheated 400-degree oven until the whites set but the yolks are still runny — a nice sunny-side egg — about 5 minutes. Transfer the eggs (one per person) to toasted Tuscan bread, spooning extra sauce around the bread. Top with shaved Parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil. A sprinkle of torn basil is optional but nice. Serves four (or two very hungry) people.
*This recipe is delicious starting the sauce from scratch, but if you already have extra tomato sauce (don’t you always make waaaay too much?), then just heat that up in the pan until it’s bubbly hot and start at the step where you add the eggs. Yum.

Recipe adapted from here.

Spotted this week at the Greene Hill Food Co-op: gorgeous Jerusalem Artichokes! Despite their name, these nubby root vegetables aren’t related to the artichoke family, nor do they hail from Jerusalem. Also called sunchokes or sunroot, they’re actually part of the sunflower family. Many vegetable scholars (don’t you wish that was your job description?) suggest that the “Jerusalem” part comes from a corruption of the Italian name for sunflower- girasole. Whatever you call them, these delightful veggies can be eaten either raw or cooked. When shaved or julienned, they have a crisp texture similar to a water chestnut or jicama. When cooked, they have a rich earthy taste, and can be substituted for potatoes in many dishes- an exotic twist on a simple gratin, perhaps, or maybe mashed, creamed, and served with bitter greens? Yum. Like most good roots, these are pretty stellar just roasted with olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper, but if you’d like to get a little fancy, here’s a recipe we love:

Mario Batali’s Sunchokes/Jerusalem Artichokes With Walnut Gremolata

• 1/3 cup fresh Italian parsley
• 1/4 cup walnuts, toasted and finely chopped
• 2 tbs. slivered orange zest
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 pound firm sunchokes, scrubbed
• 2 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
• Maldon or other flaky sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper

Coarsely chop the parsley, and combine with walnuts, orange zest, and garlic in a small bowl, mixing well.

Using a Benriner (Japanese mandoline) or other vegetable slicer, thinly shave the sunchokes. Transfer to a bowl and drizzle with the olive oil.

Toss well to thoroughly coat the sunchokes. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with the gremolata, and serve. Serves 6.

Recipe and diagram from here, adapted from Molto Gusto, by Mario Batali and Mark Ladner

My, how the produce aisle at GHFC on Saturday was a sight for sore eyes.  With so many inviting ingredients available to us all now that the store is open it will be hard to decide on what to make for dinner. Here are some recipes using entirely GHFC ingredients.

My Family’s Mushroom Barley Soup
Perfectly hearty and aromatic on a cold day.  Check out the fantastic price on barley too!
Melt in large stew pan:

• ¼ stick butter

Add:

•     2 large carrots, chopped
•     2 large celery stalks, chopped
•   1 onion chopped
•     Optional parsnip, shallots and or garlic

Saute together for 10 minutes.

Add :

•     1 lb mushrooms, cut up
•     ½ c pearl barley, rinsed

Saute additional 10 minutes.

Add:

• 2 tbsp flour

Stir for 3-5 minutes.

Gradually add:

• 8c broth
• Some sprigs of rosemary and thyme (remove before serving)

Bring to boil, stirring frequently.
Simmer 40 minutes, uncovered.

Roasted Kabocha Squash

Kabocha squash has dry, sweet flesh.  Try using it in your favorite pumpkin bread or cake recipe or in a squash soup.  As with all winter squashes, it’s easily prepared: halve and seed it, place cut side down in a 375 degree oven until tender 30 minutes – 1 hour.  My favorite way to have it is roasted with a sweet and sour dressing.

• 1 kabocha squash- halved, seeded, and cut into 1-2″ cubes (you can leave the skin on, it’s tasty)
• Olive oil
• Maple syrup
• Juice from 1-2 limes
• Balsamic vinegar
• Red chile flakes
• Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 and toss the squash with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Roast, stirring occasionally for 30-45 minutes or until edges are nicely browned.

Whisk together olive oil, lime juice, maple syrup, a dash of balsamic and red pepper flakes.  Pour over warm squash before serving.

Spicy Squash Soup

Easy and delicious with any creamy winter squash- butternut, kabocha, hubbard, pumpkin, etc.

• 1 winter squash, halved, seeded, and baked at 375 for 45 minutes or until tender and cooked through- to make 2 1/2 c (approximately) of squash
• 1-2 jalapenos chopped
• 1 onion chopped
• 4 cups of vegetable stock
• 2 tbs maple syrup
• Juice from 1 lime
• Possible Garnishes: sour cream, yogurt, cilantro, parsley, more jalapeno, baked squash chunks

Saute onions and jalapeno until onions are translucent.  Meanwhile, scoop out baked squash  flesh and mash or puree.  Add to pot with vegetable stock.  Stir, bring to a boil, and simmer for 5 minutes.  Just before serving, add maple syrup and lime juice.  Add desired garnishes and enjoy!

Pesto Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti squash makes a sweeter, more vitamin filled, pasta.  Ridiculously simple and a  great way to enjoy the last of the season’s tomatoes and pesto.  Can be served hot, cold, or room temperature.

• 1 spaghetti squash, halved, seeded, and baked at 375 for 30 minutes or until strands are tender and release from skin easily
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, or 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1/4-1/2 c pesto
• parmesan cheese to taste
• salt and pepper to taste

Toss together all ingredients.

Spicy Collard Greens

Even if you tried collard greens in the past and didn’t like them, this recipe may change your opinion.  The key is that the greens are cut very small and cooked quickly.

• 1 bunch of collard greens, stems removed and cut crosswise into very thin strips
• 1-2 jalapenos chopped (seeded if desired)
• 1 onion (red or yellow) chopped
• 2-4 teaspoons minced ginger (I know it’s not a BC ingredient)
• olive oil

Heat olive oil on medium heat in a large saute pan.  Add peppers, onion, and ginger and cook until fragrant and peppers/onion soften some.  Toss in collard greens.  Continue to cook over medium high heat, stirring, just until greens turn bright green.  Season to taste with salt.