Showcasing Kale ~ with 3 beautiful kale recipes.

Sautéd kale & broccoli -with toasted sprinkles.

Crazy delicious kale tropical salad.

Kale-broccoli-potatoe-pea soup.

Showcasing Kale

It would not be overstating to say - that I have indeed fallen in love with Kale. 

Now this is a plant that really holds some very good nutrition! Jam- packed with crazy mega-high doses of vitamin C, vitamin A and vitamin K and 1/4 of your daily needs for Manganese ... and many of the other important nutrients are also covered of course - like Vitamin B6, Potassium, Calcium and Cooper, which are present in about the 10% RDA range also. Omega-3, folate and Iron are available in nice amounts too.

It's high fibre, sulphur and chlorophyll content means it's great for cleansing your body, blood and liver. 

I could go on in more detail with those stats - but I think that should give you a good idea what a noteworthy plant-food kale is.

In the vegan, fitness or health industries - the phrase "hail kale" has been around for a while, earning this phrase because of it's healthy boost of nutrition it delivers.

Once you start preparing meals with it - you'll see that it really is so much more flexible than most people realise.

Please don't let the toughness of the foliage fool you - once you start preparing it, the texture changes very quickly- even when used raw.

When cooking - it can be used wherever leafy greens, cabbage or spinach would be used. And when shredded for salads, I recommend mixing all the ingredients gently with your hands - and as you do so .. you will see the kale, almost immediately - begin to soften before your eyes.

So, if you haven't really given kale much of a serious go (other than throwing it in those smoothies or the juicer) - here's a few little recipes I made since my last blog .. that should introduce you to it's versatility.

So go have some fun with healthy kale! 

Tip: Most of you have probably heard of the 'dirty dozen' - which are fruits and vegetables which have been found to hold the highest amounts pesticides - the list was actually extended to more than 12 items but still kept it's catchy title. Kale is on that list. So I highly recommend to buy this item organic.

Sautéd kale & broccoli -with toasted sprinkles.

*Kale finely shredded.
*Broccoli florets. 

*Preferred oil for cooking.

Sauté kale and broccoli in oil very briefly .. .don't overcook.
Serve with toasted sesame seeds and toasted almond flakes sprinkled on top.

Tip: Store a cup of toasted sesame seeds and a cup of toasted almond flakes in fridge so can be used
to sprinkle on other dishes. The flakes
-bake in oven and the sesame seeds cook over low heat in a dry pot- that you keep swirling around. Both toast quickly so can burn fast.

Crazy delicious kale tropical salad.

1/4 or 1/3 bunch of Kale finely shredded (thick spines removed)
1/3 head of romaine lettuce finely shredded (thick white spine removed)
small portion of parsley finely shredded
1 Tbl. desiccated coconut
3/4 cup mango cubed
1/2 cup avocado cubed
1 1/2 Tbl. chopped raw walnuts
1 Tbl. avocado oil or light olive oil
1.5 Tbl. pomegranate juice (or fav. juice)
1 Tbl. fresh lemon juice

Mix very gently (-preferably with hands)

then ready to serve

Kale-broccoli-potatoe-pea soup.

*2 medium sized broccoli chopped. 

*2 small potatoes peeled & chopped. 

*3 stalk kale broken into pieces (spine removed & discarded if you don't have a high speed blender). 

*3/4 cup peas. 

*1 tsp. Grated ginger. 

*5 -6 cups water. 

*1 Tbl. miso paste. 

*1 - 2 cloves garlic cut or crushed.

*Salt and pepper to taste. 

*1/4 tsp. chilli powder (optional)

*1/3 Tbl. arame - crushed into even small pieces (optional)

Simmer ingredients but add broccoli and kale later - and then peas and garlic even later again - as they cook faster and why destroy more nutrients by overcooking! I make a point of making sure the potatoes are well cooked - but trying to keep the other veggies only very lightly cooked. If you don't have a power blender you may have to cook ingredients a little longer to suit your blender's strength.

When it's cooked, if you're not using a power blender you have to wait for it to cool right down before blending - otherwise hot green soup will explode out of your blender.  
Blend but only adding enough of the cooking water to suit how thick or runny you want your soup. 
Serve topped with a dollap of vegan cashew sour cream or cashew mayonnaise (mine is homemade) and then add a sprinkle of chilli or cayenne powder… for those who don't like heat use paprika powder instead.

.   .   .   .   .

Remember to always ... serve Love at your table.

ღ

© Magdika Cecilia Pérez  

(for : serve Love at your table)

Discovering Shirataki noodles

On my journey as a self-taught gourmet vegan chef I have had a wonderful time experimenting and finding ingredients and meals sourced from around this beautiful planet.

And for my first blog entry I just had to choose this lovely yet simply elegant tasting noodle from Japan.

This treasure of a noodle is surprisingly not so well known by other cultures. 

A travesty I hope to play my part in amending.

You can find them at some Asian grocery stores and especially at your local Tokyo-mart. 

It also goes by the name of Konnyaku noodle.

Vegans, people watching their caloric intake or low carb dieters will love me for introducing this ingredient to their kitchen. 

Super low in calories (one serving of the vegetable konnyaku noodle shown in the photo below is 28 calories), very high in fibre (so it will get you going!) and virtually no bad carbs in this baby.

These noodles have an interesting jelly-like consistency and the texture is fun to create meals with. 

The jelly-like quality is thanks to the amazing Asian Yam that it is made with - this yam goes by a few different names depending what part of Asia you're in but in Japan they call it the Kojac yam.

The noodles usually come in a white or mushroom colour but different colours are around depending on what vegetables were used to make it.

My favourite at the moment are the green versions.  

Replace it where you would serve rice or noodles with a meal.

The noodles come packaged in a liquid. 

Prepare it by emptying the contents of the packet into a strainer - give it a nice rinse and leave to drain - I like to give the noodles an extra little squeeze to get rid of excess liquid as it seems to hold onto fluid.

Here's a fun little recipe I made with what ever I had in my kitchen last night. 

*Hint: I always keep a little cup of pre-prepared toasted sesame seeds in my fridge. So easy to make - takes 1 or 2 minutes. Can be made by baking in oven or I just prefer to pop 1 or 1/2 cup of raw sesame seeds  into a dry pan / pot on heated stove and keep swirling the pot and seeds around until it gets as toasted as I like. It toasts quite fast so be careful not to burn.

Shirataki noodles with stir-fried vegetables.

serves 1

1 x 200gram packet of vegetable Shirataki (or Konnyaku) noodles

oil for sautéing 

large bunch of Kale - finely shredded

1 cup of sliced mushrooms

3/4 - 1 cup tiny cauliflower florets

crushed fresh garlic to taste 

tamari (or soy) sauce to taste

chilli sauce to taste

toasted sesame seeds

Rinse and strain your noodles. Leave them in the strainer whilst you prepare your vegetables.

Sauté the veggies with just a little oil.

When it looks like it's nearly ready - add garlic to the pan and keep mixing for a minute.

Next add a little Tamari and chilli sauce - mix in well.

Give the noodles a little squeeze for excess liquid and pop them in a bowl.

Place your veggies next to them.

Garnish your veggies with some toasted sesame seeds.

Serve with extra tamari and a lovely cup of tea on the side.

A quick simple delightful meal that is a time saver - and great to serve to guests.

Remember to always ... serve Love at your table.

ღ

© Magdika Cecilia Pérez  

(for : serve Love at your table)