Gingered Greens

Gingered Rainbow Chard

I am fortunate enough to live close to a few natural foods markets.  One of the natural foods markets that I frequent has an onsite vegan restaurant, and the food is amazing.  My best friend and I used to make it a Sunday routine to meet there for brunch and then shop for groceries together afterwards. This was prior to us both having children. It was the best of both worlds for both of us, we both have a love of food and food shopping, and of course spending time together.  One of my favorite dishes at this natural foods market restaurant was a dish called gingered greens.  It hit all the right notes for me, tangy and soul satisfying all at the same time! We always tried to get the waiters to tell us what was in this dish, because we wanted to remake it at home. But every time we asked we'd get different answers, or worse no answer at all. Needless to say I've tried this dish several times with less than stellar results. This week when I went to my local farmers market, they had rainbow chard, and I thought, this is my chance to get it right! Maybe it took me going into this with a bit of confidence, or maybe it was just a stroke of luck, I don't know, but I think I struck gold with this one!

Ingredients:
4 cups of rainbow chard, chopped
1/2 teaspoon of garlic, grated
1/2 teaspoon of ginger grated
1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon of olive oil or ghee
2 tablespoons of cilantro chopped roughly
Sea Salt to taste

Directions:  Heat the oil along with the ginger and garlic for 20-30 seconds:

 Add in the chard, saute until the greens wilt, then add the apple cider vinegar:

Cook for another 5-7 minutes or until the greens are tender, season with a little sea salt, add in cilantro, transfer to a bowl and enjoy!

Wine Braised Kale

Braised Kale

Thank goodness that the Holidays are over. I feel like I've been on a fast moving train for the last 2 months! I don't know about you, but I love being home and settled into my routine. The Holidays always take me out of routine.  It's nice to get out of routine, but it's heaven to get back into routine also. While I've been away from you, I've been indulging in comfort foods, like stews in wine sauces! I love adding wine to sauces and stews. A wine sauce always makes me want to lick the plate clean! This recipe for Kale is so extremely yummy that if you're not a Kale lover, you may just become a kale lover overnight! Kale gets a bad rap, I think it's because most people don't know how to cook it. People always pull me aside in the grocery store and ask me how I cook it. They whisper the question as if my responding answer will contain the secrets of the earth! Maybe for them it does. If you are not eating kale because you haven't a clue how to make it, I hope that this recipe changes that!

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10-12 minutes

Ingredients:
1 bunch of Lancinto Kale washed and chopped finely
1/4 cup of shallots or brown onion finely chopped
1/4 cup or more of a good white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc)
1 large clove of garlic sliced thinly
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
1-2 Tablespoons of olive oil

Directions:
Heat olive oil add garlic and shallots and  cook until you can smell the garlic, (20 seconds), add in kale, and sauté until wilted. Add in white wine, sea salt, and pepper, bring to a simmer and lower the heat. Cook covered for 5-7 minutes. It's done when Kale is tender.