Sweet Potato and Swiss Chard Soup with Curried Coconut Milk

Adapted from: Stitch and Boots, serves 6-8
Date made: 3/20/2012

1 medium onion, diced
1 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes, chopped in 1-in pieces*
1 large bunch of kale, stems separated from leaves, each cut into 1-in pieces*
1 quart of water
1 pint of coconut milk
2 Tbsp canola oil
1″ piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. whole cumin seeds, ground or crushed
1 tsp. whole coriander seeds, ground or crushed
1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
1/2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
Salt, to taste
Cooked white rice, optional

In a soup pot on medium heat, saute the onions in the olive oil until they sweat, about 5-10 minutes.  Add Swiss chard stems, garlic, and ginger.
Cook for a couple of minutes with the onions, stirring frequently, then add the water to the pot and turn the heat up until it comes to a boil.
Lower heat to medium-low, add the sweet potatoes, coriander, cumin, pepper, and turmeric, and cover the pot.
Simmer until sweet potatoes are tender, about 15-20 minutes.  Then add Swiss chard leaves, stir well and cover.
Cook until the kale is well-cooked, about five minutes.  Serve with white rice.

Probably would flip-flop the quantities of water vs. coconut milk next time, but otherwise a pretty tasty and filling dish.

African-style Stewed Kale

Adapted from: Bon Appetit, serves 2
Date made: 3/19/2012


1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
3 green onions, diced*
1 Tbsp. whole cumin seeds, crushed or ground
1 Tbsp. whole coriander seeds, crushed or ground
1 large tomato, diced*
1 bunch of kale, stems removed and chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp. peanut butter
1 c. water
Salt and pepper, to taste
Cooked white rice

Heat unsalted butter in a large saute pan. Add onion and garlic powder and saute until soft. Stir in cumin and coriander, then tomatoes, kale, and water.

Cover and cook until kale is just tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in peanut butter, mix well, and saute for another 5-10 minutes.
Serve over white rice.

Swiss Chard and Sweet Potato Gratin

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen, serves 4-6 (entree) or 8-10 (side dish)
Date made: 3/12/2012


1/4 cup butter
1 small onion, diced
2 lbs Swiss chard, leaves and stems separated, cut into 1-inch pieces*
Pinch of ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups heavy cream or whole milk*
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tablespoons flour
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch thick rounds*
1/2 Tbsp. dried Italian parsley
1/2 Tbsp. dried ground thyme
Fine sea salt
Black pepper
1 1/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400°F, and grease a 9×13 baking dish. 

Saute onion in 2 tablespoons butter in a large pot over medium-low heat, stirring until softened. Add chard stems, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste.
Cook, stirring, until vegetables are tender but not browned, about 8 minutes
Increase heat to medium-high and add chard leaves.  Cook, while stirring, until all greens are wilted.

Combine cream or milk and garlic powder in small saucepan.
Bring to simmer and keep warm.
Melt two tablespoons butter in a medium heavy saucepan over medium heat.
Stir in flour, and whisk for one minute.  Slowly whisk in warm cream/milk and boil while whisking for one minute.  Season sauce with salt and pepper.

Spread half of sweet potatoes in the baking dish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, a quarter of the herbs and a 1/4 cup of the cheese.
Repeat with half of the greens mixture, and sprinkle salt, pepper, a quarter of the herbs and 1/4 cup of the cheese over it.
Pour half of the sauce over the first two layers then continue with the remaining sweet potatoes, more salt, pepper, herbs and cheese and then the remaining greens, salt, pepper and herbs.
Pour the remaining sauce over the top of the gratin, and sprinkle with the last 1/4 cup of cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 30 minutes.  Uncover and then bake for another 30 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the sweet potatoes are fork tender.
Broil for about 5 minutes to give the surface a golden color (optional), and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

I had sweet potatoes and swiss chard left from last week's Hollygrove box, so I gave Jason a list of 3 or 4 recipes to choose from to use the ingredients.  Luckily, we had all the ingredients for the one that he picked!  Taking advantage of what we had in our refrigerator, for the sauce I used 1 cup whole milk and 1/2 cup buttermilk (leftover from all the baking I've done the last couple weeks!).

I found that this recipe was a little labor intensive, like a lasagna, but it turned out super tasty.  Jason doesn't really like the sweetness of sweet potatoes, I think that the herbs and seasonings helped cancel that out since it was no sweeter than baked or roasted carrots.  I served it over some local brown rice to eat as an entree.

Curried Collard Greens and Potatoes

Adapted from Perennial, serves 4
Date made: 3/5/2012

2 tsp turmeric
4 green onions, chopped*
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
5 Tbsp canola oil
2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
4 c. vegetable broth
1 bunch collard greens, destemmed and chopped*
5 medium red potatoes, chopped*
1/2 tsp. chili powder
Cooked jasmine rice*

Add green onions, ginger, cayenne pepper, turmeric, chili powder and 1 Tbsp each of canola oil and water into a small food processor bowl, and process until the ingredients turn into an orange paste.
Heat the remaining 4 Tbsp canola oil in a large, deep pan over medium-low heat. Add the curry paste and saute until fragrant, about 10 min.
Add the sugar, salt, and the vegetable stock, mix well, and bring to a simmer. While maintaining a simmer over low heat, add the chopped collard greens, and simmer for 25 min.
Add the potatoes and cook for 10-15 min more, tasting as you go to make sure the collard greens are done.
Serve over jasmine rice.



Obviously, the dish that I made has a completely different flavor profile than the original recipe since I replaced the shallots with green onions and neglected to include the lemongrass and coconut milk.  This a was a classic case of "use what's in your fridge/pantry".  However, the dish turned out fine, though the flavors were rather muted.  I think it may have needed a little more cayenne pepper, ginger, and/or turmeric.  I definitely want to be better prepared with some lemongrass and coconut milk for next time, since the original recipe sounds amazing (the photography probably helps, too!).

Strawberry Scones

Taken from Confessions of a Tart, serves 6 to 8
Date made: 3/4/2012

1 c. strawberries, diced*
3 Tbsp. granulated sugar
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbsp. butter, softened and cut into cubes
2/3 c. buttermilk*

Sprinkle 1/2 Tbsp. of sugar over strawberries and set aside.
Preheat oven to 400°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Combine rest of the dry ingredients.  Mix in butter, making sure it's evenly combined with the flour.  Stir in strawberries, and then add buttermilk all at once.  Use spatula to gently stir dough until it holds together.
Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times to incorporate the dry ingredients (I actually had to add a little bit of buttermilk).
Be gentle so you don't break up the berries and don't overwork the dough.
Pat the dough into a circle about 3/4 to 1 inch thick.  If any berries peek out, push them into the dough.  Cut circle into 6 to 8 wedges, then transfer wedges to cookie sheet.
Leave at least 1/2 inch of space between each scone, and bake for 15 minutes.
Sprinkle with sugar and bake for 10-15 minutes more or until the surface of the scone is golden brown and springs back when you push it.  Make sure you don't let the scones bake for too long, otherwise they will dry up!

The picture should speak for itself... ate one with vanilla ice cream -- yummy!  Although the strawberries have been awesome by themselves, this is another great use of them via the recipe suggestions from Hollygrove!

"Caldo Verde"

Adapted from John Villa/Irene Sax, serves 4 to 6
Date made 3/3/2012

1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 large turnips, peeled and chopped
1/2 lb kale, julienned
1 c. vegetable broth
water
salt and pepper, to taste

In medium pot, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add onions and cook until they are tender and golden brown.  Add garlic, and cook for a 2 minutes more.
Add turnips and vegetable broth and enough water to cover the vegetables.  Bring the liquid to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer.
Cover and cook until the turnips are tender, about 15 minutes.
When the soup is cool enough to handle, puree it in a food processor or blender, and return to the pot.  Bring the soup back to a boil and add the kale.
Simmer for a few minutes until the kale is tender.  Season with salt and pepper and serve.


This recipe was suggested for this past week's Hollygrove box, and I wanted to save the potatoes for a another dish, so I figured I'd replace them with turnips.  It's still a root vegetable, it has a similar texture as the potato, and it's a low-carb alternative for anyone who is concerned about any of that.  Plus, it was included in this week's box, as well.  I excluded the chorizo since I'm going veg for Lent this year, hence the quotation marks.  However, for a vegetarian alternative, I think it was a pretty tasty soup!

Spinach and Mushroom Orzo

Taken from Kittencalskitchen, serves 8 as a side dish
Date made: 2/26/2012

3 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 lb shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced*
1/2 lb spinach, washed*
3 c. vegetable broth
1 1/2 c uncooked orzo pasta
1/3 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper, to taste

Heat about 1 Tbsp of olive oil in saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add onion and mushrooms and cook until tender and golden brown, about 5 minutes.
Add garlic and cayenne pepper and cook for 2 minutes more.
Add spinach and mix together.  Cook for 2 more minutes.
Add vegetable broth and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
While stirring, add orzo, and reduce heat to low.  Cover and simmer until orzo is tender, about 20 minutes.  Remove from heat, and season with salt and pepper.
Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the dish, and serve.

Irish Soda Bread

Taken from Baking with Julia, (recipe)
Date made: 2/26/2012

4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. buttermilk*

Preheat oven at 375°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowel, mix dry ingredients together.  Add buttermilk while stirring until ingredients come together.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough gently.
Form the dough in a round shape, about 6 inches in diameter.  With a sharp knife cut an "x" about half-way into the dough.
Place the dough onto the cookie sheet and place in the middle rack of the oven.  Bake for 50 minutes or until the bread has a golden brown surface/
Remove from the oven and allow it to cool completely on a wire rack before cutting.
Once completely cool, wrap in plastic wrap and store at room temperature.

You'll have to turn your head sideways because I can't figure out how to rotate the picture.

Anyway, I was watching an old episode of "Baking with Julia" with Marion Cunningham, who was baking scones and Irish soda bread.  This recipe looked SO EASY, so I had to try it!  And it really is super easy.  This bread is really yummy with Nutella, and apparently (according to Jason), quite tasty toasted as well.  I've made two loaves already, and I have some buttermilk that's about to go bad, so I'll most likely make a third soon.