Category Archives: Vegetables

First Video: How to cook kale

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My very first attempt at creating a how-to video, so please be patient and forgiving!:) Cooking kale this way is so easy! And since many of you have asked for a lesson on how to cook kale in a frying pan, I knew I needed to create this video in order to share the kale love with all my foodie friends! I grew up with boiled and steamed kale, and hated every minute of the disgusting smell in our house. These are not your granny’s greens. No boiled greens in this house. Everyone I have ever made this for is surprised that kale can taste so good. The tricks are dry leaves (wash and dry) before throwing it in the pan, coconut oil (or oil of choice), salt, and garlic. Yep, that easy.  Watch this and leave any questions in the Comments section. I hope you try this amazingly simple way of preparing kale or ANY other greens (except lettuce) and open your heart to the possibility that you just might love kale too!

Encouraging Kale,

Organic Eater

As always, use as many organic ingredients as possible, especially since kale is on the Dirty Dozen list for pesticides. If you cannot find organic, be sure to wash them thoroughly with Vermont Soap’s Veggie cleaner. Good stuff!

Butternut Squash Soup and Concept Cooking

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I realized today that my beloved butternut squash soup recipe was not on the blog. I think it’s because after I learned how to make it, I never needed the recipe again. It’s so easy! And so forgiving, you can just add amounts of a few basic ingredients until you get it to your liking. I like to call it “concept cooking” rather than using a recipe. The 3 main parts are the vegetable, stock or broth, and milk of choice. Add seasonings (and apples for sweetness) and you have soup. Use this “concept” to experiment with all kinds of veggie soups like sweet potato, acorn squash, carrot, etc. But here’s a recipe if you would rather have it. This comes from my friend who used to blog at HomeCookedHealthy, but she no longer blogs, and was willing to share her recipe us.

1 med/large butternut squash  You can cook it whole in the oven or peel it and cut it up first to cook it. For me, it’s waaay easier to slit it and throw it in the oven whole, 375 for less than an hour, then scoop out the squash and throw away the skin and seeds. You can also cut it in half and bake in a shallow pan with skin side up, with a little water until soft. You can always bake it ahead of time and store it until ready to make soup. I often bake several squash and sweet potatoes at one time to prep them for cooking later. Another option is to cut it up and cook it on the stove top,  in the stock that’s in the recipe. The cooking time is less than baking it, but you have to spend a lot of time cutting the skin off and cutting the raw squash into pieces, and that is not easy. You will have to try it and figure out what works for you

2T organic or grassed butter (I always use more)

1 small/med onion, chopped

5 cups (app) chicken stock/broth (home made broth is so easy!) Or use less stock and add milk/cream along with stock. Play with this part to get it right for you. Remember “concept” not recipe! If the soup is too thick, add more stock.

1/2t nutmeg

1/4t stevia (or use apples to sweeten)

1/4t sea salt (I used more for mine)

1/4t pepper

1c milk Optional, but gives it the creaminess you may want. I have only used dairy, so I’m not sure how substitutes will work. I use organic or raw whole milk.

Optional: parm or roman cheese grated on top. Organic or grass fed, raw (unpasteurized) is best. Oh my yum! And a sprinkle of nutmeg on top looks pretty for guests!

In a large soup pot, saute onions in butter until soft. I add garlic and sage (sometimes) and s&p in mine. Add the cooked squash (or raw squash that’s been cubed). Add chopped apple if using. After squash (and apple) is soft, you can use a hand blender or put squash and onions (and apple) in a blender to puree, then return to pot. Stir in remaining ingredients and seasonings and continue heating until warm throughout. You may not need the stevia if you have apples in there.  You can also do this in a crock pot on low, after sautéing onions and pureeing all veggies. Eat or freeze in freezer safe jars. Enjoy!

Use pesticide free or organic ingredients as much as possible and reference my “good, better, best” list if you need help knowing what to use.

Encouraging Health,

Organic Eater

Spaghetti Squash Casserole

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So many of you Eaters “liked” and commented on the spaghetti squash casserole recipe I posted on Instagram and Facebook, that I had to include it as a blog post, so we can all reference it easily next time we need it. The recipe was written on the BellsBestBerries Blog post because they are the pesticide free CSA, who grew the spaghetti squash.

Here are my tips on this: it was actually better the second day, so don’t be afraid of cooking it early and then reheating it. I cooked it with aluminum foil on top, but I do not think I will next time. Some of the water from the squash probably needed to evaporate during cooking and that process may be easier if the wrap is left off. Also, I like my cheesy casserole dishes to be a bit crunchy on the edges, so removing tin foil might help that to happen. Just keep an eye on it while cooking if you don’t use the foil.  I used 1 small to med squash to fill a 9×13 pan with plenty of squash for all 4 of my family members to eat, as the main course of a meal. It would be fine to cook the squash the night before, so the “noodles” are prepped and ready to go when you want to bake this. Go to this site to get the recipe, but leave comments or questions here on this OE post, and I will try to help.

As always, use as many organic or pesticide free ingredients as possible!

Encouraging Health,

Organic Eater

Turnips have found purpose in my life

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Turnips

Turnips (Photo credit: Ula Gillion)

Everyone who is getting turnips in their CSA box can thank me. I know you had no use for those things before you saw this!:) Sorry turnips, but I got no love for ya. Well, until now, anyway. I’m not gonna say they’re my new favorite, but they can at least be eaten by my family now. And they do make a pretty good substitute for mashed potatoes (see Living Maxwell’s post on health risks of non-organic potatoes). And here’s a link to show you the health benefits of these root vegetables. Who knew they were a source of Vitamin C?!

You can do a “fauxtatoes” or “faux grits” mash of turnips instead of cauliflower or with your cauliflower! Same concept as cauliflower fauxtatoes recipe found on my blog, but boil your peeled turnips in milk instead of water. Now that I’m writing this out, I’m thinking I will do that for my cauliflower mash next time too! I don’t know why, but milk makes a big difference for the turnips. I have never tried anything but cow’s milk for this, so I have no idea if another milk choice will work as well, but please let me know if you try it! Boil peeled turnips in milk until soft, then pull out the turnips (save the cooked milk) and proceed with blending them, adding milk (the leftover milk from the boiling) and butter and salt and seasoning as needed. You can also do a mixture of turnips and cauliflower.  This can also substitute for “grits”. Not even gonna try to tell you they taste the same (for heaven’s sake, no! I could never deny my southernness that way), but they are a grain free substitute for my southern paleo friends, and they are quite tasty under a fried egg with a runny yolk! Keep in mind when doing any faux-tatoes or faux grits, seasoning is key and what you pair with it is important. In life, we rarely eat mashed potatoes or grits by themselves. Potatoes taste better with some green beans, meat, etc., and grits taste better with bacon and eggs.  So the same goes for eating turnips and cauliflower posing as taters and grits. They’re better with other stuff around them!

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UPDATE APRIL 2014: HERE IS ONE MORE RECIPE TO TRY: AN EASY CHEESY TURNIP CASSEROLE! I had to use plain yogurt instead of sour cream and it was delicious!

and PS: you know to eat the turnip greens, right?! So good for you! It has been suggested that you cut the greens off the roots when you get them home. Eat the greens quickly, but you can store the root of the turnips for a couple weeks if necessary.

I hope this post helps you find some love for the lowly turnip. Let me know if it does!

Encouraging Health, and always learning…

Organic Eater

Blackbean, kale, and sweet potato enchiladas

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BBenchiladaI posted this on Instagram today, and I was shocked when I realized this recipe has never been posted on my blog! I’ve made it several times in the last year and a half, and it’s one of our family favorites (OK, full disclosure: me and our 14yo daughter absolutely FLIP over these, son thinks they’re good, and hubs thinks they could be better if I added some meat). My precious daughter turned 14 today, and this enchilada recipe was her requested birthday meal, along with black bean brownies. Yes, I gave her an open door to unhealthy anything, and she chose black bean brownies all on her own. She really loves them that much (no one else in the family does, so I’m not making a hearty recommendation here). You can find that recipe on Dr. Axe blog if you’re interested in making those. But for the veggie enchiladas, here ya go…

What you need: (all organic if possible, especially the kale, which is often on the Dirty Dozen list for pesticides)

1 large sweet potato

1 can black beans, drained (makes 8 small enchiladas which feeds the 4 of us, but double if you need to) OR even better, use home cooked beans of equivalent amount. If buying canned, buy non BPA canned goods if possible. The BPA plastic coating in cans can be toxic. Another reason to use the bag of beans and cook them at home.

some kale, spinach, or chard greens to add to the beans (as much or as little as you like)

coconut oil, butter, or olive oil to sautee beans and greens in. Do not use highly processed vegetable oils like canola or corn oil, both of which are GMO.

garlic, cumin, and chili powder and s&p to flavor those beans and greens (your discretion for amounts of seasonings)

green enchilada sauce or salsa verde (trader joes salsa verde is what I use)

6-8 soft shells, I use Trader Joes corn shells that only have 2 ingredients and are GMO-free according to store policy. Or use another healthy (very few ingredients, real food type shell) that are usually only found in health food stores. Or try a homemade shells recipe and make your own grainfree shells! Do NOT use shelf stable flour (aka “frankenwheat”) tortillas that have a paragraph of ingredients and preservatives. Gross! Wheat is never really recommended on this blog, but if you have to, then use the traditional foods version of soaked and sprouted wheat. You can even find those in the freezer section of the health food stores (Food For Life brand, that makes Ezekiel bread).

1 jar salsa, I use Trader Joes Pineapple salsa because we love that hint of sweet from the pinapple in there!! It’s perfect in this recipe with all the other veggies. I think it’s actually the KEY to awesomeness in this recipe.

Cheddar cheese, preferably raw milk cheddar that is white, not fake colored orange cheese. Another good alternative if you can’t find raw or grassfed (at Trader Joes) is an organic white cheddar, or even a Cabot brand, because it’s hormone free and it’s white (not colored orange) and they have a range of sharpness available. Again, I’m gonna leave the amount up to you, but I use enough to totally cover my shells before baking! I always buy a block of cheese, and grate it myself because of the additives in bagged cheese. Read the ingredients list!

options: mushrooms (I rarely add), fresh cilantro (I always add), green onions (I usually add), peppers (I never add), hot sauce on top, avocado and tomatoes and sour cream on top! You could also put this on a bed of lettuce or other raw greens if you need even more greens in your diet!

A baking sheet (or pot if you boil the potatoes), a large frying pan, and a baking dish like an 8×8 Pyrex, or glass, etc. Do not use a non-stick metal baking dish (click if you don’t know why non-stick surfaces can be unhealthy cooking)

What to do: preheat to 350 first

Skin and chop and heat the sweet potato because you’re going to mash it. Options: boil the potato chunks, or lay pieces on a baking sheet and put in oven (you’re preheating to 350 anyway), while you’re doing everything else. Either way you heat it, mash it after it’s heated.

In a large frying pan (please don’t use non-stick pans) heat the oil, beans, garlic, seasoning, and greens on medium (and any options you’re adding, but save some cilantro for toppings if you’re using it in this). Cook until greens get wilted because they will cook further in next step.

In your glass or ceramic baking dish, pour some salas verde (green sauce) in the bottom and then start making your enchiladas: shell in hand, add mashed sweet potatoes down middle of shell. Add about 2 Tbs of the beans/greens mixture from the frying pan. Top with about a Tbs of salsa. Roll shell and put seam down into the salsa verde covered dish, one right next to the other. When you are finished with rolling the shells for that dish, cover each one with more salsa (or salsa verde if you rather), then top with cheese and fresh cilantro and bake until cheese looks done, maybe 20 mins.  We top with avocado, tomatoes, and sour cream or plain yogurt and the rest of the fresh cilantro! Ole!

I promise this gets easier and quicker after you try it once! Some ideas for making this as quick as possible: consider putting the bean/green mixure and potatoes in the crock pot on low, then add that mixture to shells and bake after you get home. Let me know if you try that, and it actually works!! You could always do your sweet potatoes and your bean/greens mixture the night before, and store it until you’re ready to make these. They’re going in the oven anyway, so it shouldn’t matter that it’s cold when you assemble them. I’m always looking for easier ways to make dinners, so if you figure out a tip here, please let us know!

Here are pictures of some of the Trader Joes ingredients I use for this: pineapple salsaTJshellsandsalsa

Keep this recipe in mind during CSA vegetable season (at least here in NC), because it’s a great way to use kale and sweet potatoes from your CSA box! Also, I think it would be easy to add ground beef or chicken or turkey (pastured/clean/organic meats) to this if you want to!

Fannetastic Food blog was the original inspiration for this recipe.

Please let me know if you try this yumminess!! I am eager to hear if any of you love it as much as we do. And now, on to the next January birthday (we have 7 of them this month!)……

Encouraging Health,

Organic Eater