Curried Winter Greens

• 1 tsp oil
  
• 1 bunch chard (or kale), cleaned and chopped, stems removed
  
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1-2 tsps your favorite curry powder
  
• 4 ounces coconut milk
• 3 cups broth
• 2 eggs for poaching, optional

1. heat oil in wok
2. add onions and garlic, saute until fragrant
3. add curry powder, saute until fragrant
4. add greens, saute until wilted by 1/3-1/2
5. add broth and coconut milk, simmer until greens are tender
6. if poaching eggs, make 2 little wells in the curry, crack 1 egg into each and cover wok, letting simmer a few minutes until eggs are done
7. dive equally into 2 bowls and serve with naan.

I made a spicier, larger version of this the next day which included beet greens, carrot greens, green garlic, broccoli, purple cabbage and ginger; it was also delicious.

for Dave

Bacon Bourbon: an experiment










Several weeks later.....






"...it doesn't really taste like bacon..."

If repeating experiment:

1. use more bacon
2. leave actual bacon crumbles in bourbon
3. do not leave bacon fat on bourbon while flavor matures

In conclusion: this tasted more like bacon-fat than bacon-deliciousness, not our hypothesis when designing the experiment.

Next time follow above suggestions.



the horror


*Edit: Dave informs me this was "marinated" far too long, among other things. Next time, if there is a next time, we'll use his reference: http://www.theagitator.com/2008/08/16/how-to-baconify-your-bourbon/

travel

A little bit of awesome

A trail of rainbow clogs; left by Dutch faeries?

Coconut Kale

This was so good and so easy to make I have to share it, even if it disappeared before I remembered to get a picture.

• 1 tsp oil (any high heat)
• .50 onion, diced (I used a stalk of green garlic too)
• 1 bunch kale or chard, rinsed and roughly chopped (I used Dino Kale)
• .50 can coconut milk (I had "lite" on hand)

1. heat 1 tsp oil in a wok, add onion (& green garlic of you have it) and saute until tender
2. add kale and saute until it's wilted to about half its original volume
3. add .50 can coconut milk and simmer covered until kale is tender, stirring periodically, about 8 minutes

Baltimore anyone?

I'll be going to Baltimore pretty soon. I'll be there just a few days, and busy with work matters during most of the time.

But, if any of the internet that happens to stumble here can recommend any must-do Baltimore activities I'd be very appreciative.



It's becoming such a familiar sight

Red Cabbage

I recently read something about seared red cabbage, although I have no idea where it was. Bon Appetite? Some MSN article that popped up when I signed out of hotmail? No clue. *edit- it was the newsletter that comes with our CSA share.

At any rate, the words "seared cabbage" stuck in my head, and my little head of red cabbage didn't need to worry about languishing forever (to the point of complete wilt-down) in the veggie drawer.

• small head red cabbage, quartered and stem removed
• olive oil
• lemon juice
• lemon pepper
  
• cayenne pepper
• nutmeg
  
• 1/4 cup apple, finely diced
  
• walnuts, chopped
  
• cauliflower greens, chopped (optional, I just hate to throw them on the compost heap)

1. preheat oven to 350
   
2. drizzle cabbage quarters with fresh lemon juice, sprinkle with peppers and nutmeg
   
3. heat oil in cast iron skillet until almost smoking
4. carefully sear each cut side of the cabbage, working in batches if necessary
5. return all cabbage to the skillet, add greens, apple and walnuts around the cabbage
6. move to oven and bake 15-30 minutes, until cabbage reaches desired softness (really you could eat it right after searing. we ordered pizza, so I cooked it about 1/2 hour while we waited; it was on the soft side, but still very good)
7. broil for a minute to get the top slightly crunchy right before serving