A Very Veggie Breakfast

A quick reminder: the follower drive is still going on. Follow this blog and tell your friends to do so too!

I'm still in my "I want to eat veggies. Lots of veggies. Lots and lots of veggies. Especially green veggies..." stage and I've been making sautes and stir-fries for breakfast because the idea of sweet breakfast turns my stomach a little. In particular, I've been making some variation of this for breakfast almost daily, either using kale, chard, collards, or cabbage, depending on what I have in my refrigerator (aka, depending on what I got cheap at the growers market or the grocery store).

This is nice for breakfast because it's simple. I can start it after I walk the dog, even on days I'm feeling somewhat more rushed than I'd like in the mornings. I can steep my coffee (French press) while my food caramelizes, perhaps get my lunch ready to go on my weekdays, and even turn on my computer to check email and other things, all the while, giving my food an occasional quick stir so it doesn't burn.

As a post-Thanksgiving day breakfast, this is fun, light, and doesn't involve leftovers--which there will be plenty of, for many people, in the coming days (and weeks! So glad that's not me this year.). Plus, if you pair it with a piece of whole grain toast or other whole grain, then you will have plenty of stamina for shopping, cleaning, decorating, or whatever it is you do with your Black Friday. Usually, I would make tamales. This year, I work. But as I said, I've been eating this, or some variation of this, for several weeks and I find it a lovely way to start my day in a veggie-intense way that doesn't involve a smoothie (kinda cool for that this time of year, and the blender noise is obnoxious first thing in the morning).

In the variation of this depicted by the picture, I'm using Lacinato kale, which (apparently) has a long tradition in Italian cuisine. I'll have to remember that next time I buy some -- I definitely want something with tomatoes and Italian flavoring soon, probably also for breakfast. Lacinato kale is the same thing as dinosaur kale (my personal favorite name for it), Tuscan kale, and black kale among many other names. This is simply the kale that's looked best at both the growers market and the grocery store.

Sometimes I add mushrooms, because I really like them. I don't always want mushrooms though and so I'm not including it in the list of ingredients. When I do add mushrooms, I usually add 4-6 sliced (depending on the size) a couple of minutes after I add the onions, but before I add my greens. They add a lot of extra flavor though, so if you like mushrooms and have them on hand, I highly encourage you to use them.

This makes a great main dish breakfast for one or two, or could be used as a side dish for several. You could also use it for lunch or dinner, if you're so inclined (and I've been doing some of that too, just changing up what specifically I add).

I've also been craving, recently, baked beans on toast with stewed tomatoes. Maybe all these British shows E and I have been watching are rubbing off. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I don't usually have baked beans or stewed tomatoes on hand. Maybe though, I'll make that happen.

It's Good to Be Green (and orange!) Breakfast (or dinner)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped ginger
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, sliced
1 carrot, sliced in coins, or 1/4 cup chopped sweet potato
1 bunch kale, chopped
Salt (I use about 1/4 teaspoon, at most)
Red pepper flakes (I use about 1/4-1/2 teaspoon)
Red wine vinegar (if you don't have this on hand, use lemon juice)

One or more of the following:
1/4 cup raisins, optional
1 teaspoon curry powder, optional
2 tablespoons chopped or slivered, toasted almonds
2-4 tablespoons goat cheese
1/2 thinly sliced, firm apple such as Arkansas black or pink pearl 

Heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add ginger, onion, garlic, and carrot. Stir to coat with oil and then only stir occasionally (every 2-3 minutes, perhaps) until the onions and carrots just begin to caramelize (about 7-10 minutes total, depending on your pan).

Add the kale (or cabbage), salt, and red pepper flakes. Saute until the kale begins to wilt and then add the red wine vinegar.

Remove from heat when the kale is mostly wilted and stir in the raisins, curry powder, almonds, goat cheese, or apple (I wouldn't recommend using all of these at once--but perhaps two or three, with a specific flavor-idea in mind as you're doing it), if using. Serve hot.

A Little Medusa's What I Need (Garlicky Swiss Chard with Raisins)

Pan Muerto...well, kinda, not really

When I was a the Growers Market the other day, I couldn't resist taking pictures of a few of the more innovative Halloween-ish decorations. The bread coffins above were one of my favorites though and could turn into an easy Halloween decoration if you needed something last minute--or just something to help you get a little more in the spirit (I'md definitely in that category).

Also as regular readers know, the other day, I blogged about my little crocheted devil. I've also crocheted a tiny medusa, using the same yarns and the same book. She was a little more difficult to put together, mostly because of her snake hair and placing her head on her body. I think my medusa might be looking downward a bit much -- just look at this picture!

But, that's okay. She was a good project to work on during Knit at Nite and she went together quickly, which I appreciate in a project. It's nice, sometimes, to be able to sit down and finish the majority of a project during an evening knitting at a local bar with friends. Yes, really. As a friend I ran into on my way to the bar pointed out, "what a wild night." I think he realized how this sounded because he continued by telling me that he learned, when he lived in Norway, a woman wasn't a real woman until she could knit. Nice save, friend. Nice save.

Something about Medusa--probably her greenness and my vague sense of guilt about buying greens and then not eating them right away--did inspire me to cook up the chard I bought the other night though. This is a pretty simple recipe, perfect for a quick dish after a day at work. It's inspired from a favorite tapas that I first had when I was 13. If you're serving this to kids around Halloween, you could call it Medusa-hair (green snakey swiss chard with raisin eyes!).

This dish goes well with steamed brown rice drizzled with just a touch of tamari, or with roasted butternut squash. Or, if you're me and you don't have either of those on hand or easily prepared, you can also pair this with a nice bread (I used gluten-free, spread with a little bit of Tofutti cream cheese) and an heirloom apple, bought from my favorite farmers at the Growers Market, sliced.

Garlicky Swiss Chard with Raisins
Olive Oil (about 1 teaspoon)

3 medium cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced

1 bunch Swiss chard, thoroughly washed and chiffonaded 

Salt
Red pepper flakes, to taste (I used about 1/4 teaspoon)
1/4 cup raisins

Heat a small amount of oil in a pan over medium-low heat and add the garlic.

Uncaramelized garlic

Stir frequently, until the garlic has just begun to caramelize. It should only be a light golden color.

Caramelized Garlic

Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the Swiss chard and saute 4-5 minutes, until the chard begins to will.

Chard, just before I add it -- I don't remove the stems unless they seem particularly tough

 Add the salt and red pepper flakes, cook another minute. Add the raisins and cook 2 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve hot.

Garlicky Swiss Chard with Raisins

Sauteed Red Chard with Garlic Scapes and Raisins

Sauteed Red Chard with Raisins and Garlic Scapes

There are many varieties of chard--Swiss chard, "bright lights" or rainbow chard, and red chard are what I see here most often (this has to do with their broad popularity, I suspect, which makes grocery stores more likely to carry these varieties), though I've also seen silverbeet. Apparently, if you buy/grow a variety with a colored stem, you shouldn't eat the stem because it's "tough," but as long as the stems are narrow-ish I've never found this to be a problem. Also, throwing away the stems seems wasteful to me. A solution: slice thinner before you cook them and throw them in before the leaves, if you find you're struggling with how tough the stems are. A little extra cooking solves this problem for me.

The chard is supposedly coming in, by which I really mean that it's starting to not look sickly in the stores. The local chard at the farmers market is still prohibitively expensive, but in a week or two that won't be the case. Nonetheless, I picked up some organic red chard from my local food co-op and rode home with it in my backpack--sticking out of the top.

In Austin, MN (if you read my post on BBQ hummus), this would've warranted strange looks. In my town, however, this type of behavior is pretty much par for the course.

Garlic Scape, at the joint

I sliced it up (about 1/4-inch strips) and then cut my strips in half. In an attempt to replicate a tapas I particularly enjoy (fresh spinach with pine nuts and raisins, sauteed with garlic in olive oil), I sauteed my chard with those ingredients, minus pine nuts--which are expensive and which I don't really love. And technically, instead of garlic, I used garlic scapes because those are in season here and I have a dozen I bought at the farmers market this weekend. A garlic scape, if you're not familiar, are the flowering stalk of hardneck garlic--and completely edible (and very garlicky). I first encountered garlic scapes three or four years ago in a small town in the Southeast, where they were a prominent menu feature at a seasonal-foods-only restaurant.

Don't garlic scapes look a little like snakes?

If you don't have garlic scapes or their season has ended where you live, that's fine. Use regular fresh garlic, minced.

A tangle of garlic scapes on my kitchen table

I ate this as a main dish for just myself, but you could certainly use it as a side dish for 2-3 people (depending on how much they like veggies!).

Sauteed Red Chard with Garlic Scapes and Raisins
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large garlic scapes, chopped (or about 2 teaspoons fresh, minced garlic)
1 bunch red chard (5-6 large leaves with stalks), cut into 1/4-1/2-inch strips
2 tablespoons raisins or currants
Salt

Heat a saute pan over medium-high heat, then add your oil and coat the bottom of the pan. Add your garlic scapes and saute for one minute. Add the chard and saute until it just begins to wilt, about 3-4 minutes. Add the raisins and a sprinkle of salt, and saute another 2 minutes. Serve hot.