Leaf Me Alone

Winter vegetables like spaghetti and butternut squash are like easy friends, the kind you can call up after months of not seeing them, and pick up exactly where you left off.  Like the easy friends, they are comfortable, don’t require a lot of thought, and you don’t feel overwhelmed after being around them.  Greens are like a different kind of friend, the friend that’s only easy to be around depending on your own mood.  After you haven’t seen that friend for a while, you can’t remember if you actually enjoyed being around them, and you anticipate your next meeting with a bit of trepidation.  However, greens are your good friend, the one that GIVES you energy, not the one that soaks it all up.  You simply have to view this friend in a different light. 
 

This week has been a Championship Paleo Zone Recipe Week for the Weir household.  We’ve had some delicious, way-beyond-our-normal-boundaries meals, and I’m excited to share them! If you are struggling with the variety aspect of your food choices from the previous week and a half, this post will kick things up a few notches.  First, you need to understand that greens – Collards, Kale, Beet, Dandelion, Chard, Bok Choy, and Mustard – are supernutritious choices to add into your daily diet.  They are loaded with Magnesium and Potassium, as well as antioxidant and anticancer properties.  Kale and Collards are the old standby.  There are a million recipes for these easy-to-find greens online, and the best way is the down-home way: broth, slow cooked, with onions, mustard seed and little pieces of ham or bacon.  When I was pregnant with my first son, a good family friend, Miss Katherine, cooked me up a 5 gallon bucket of greens every single week for a few months.  She insisted I eat them to keep me and the baby healthy, and it worked.  I developed a love for the soulful, full taste of Collards and Kale, and to this day it’s the only way I like them prepared. 

I picked up some Red Swiss Chard from The Common Market, and also some Mustard Greens.  I had a “Miss” with the Chard, which I was preparing for the first time in my life. It fortunately turned into a “Hit”  because of my main course that night.  I followed Rachael Ray’s recipe for Seared Red Chard  www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/seared-red-chard-recipe/index.html, which was simple and quick.  The benefit of searing, versus cooking, is the volume.  To meet your blocks, you can eat much less volume if it stays the same as its pre-cooked form.  The key to searing is to make sure the Chard is fully dry.  The nutmeg added a delicious balance to the Chard, but I found it labor-intensive to chew.  Funny how my jaw doesn’t get tired from yapping all day, but make it chew some Chard for 10 minutes, and it was lying on the ground breathless like a post WOD.  I didn’t love it.  I wanted to, because Rachael Ray is cute and funny, and because I wanted to be the person that says, “I love eating greens.  I eat them every day.”  But I didn’t.  I turned this Miss into a Hit! by smothering it with the West Indian Seasoning I made with the shrimp, and BOOM! - there was my winning greens recipe.  I found the recipe for Vadouvan Curry Shrimp in the latest Oprah magazine.  This French Indian mix was an explosion of exotic flavor:

½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground cardamom
½ tsp ground mustard
1/3 tsp turmeric
¼ tsp crushed red pepper
1 ½ tsp fresh curry leaves (I used ½ tsp ground curry)
½ tsp ground fenugreek
2 Tbsp Oil (I used olive)
4 shallots, sliced
6 garlic cloves, sliced
Kosher salt

Mix the dry spices together in a small bowl.  Saute the shallots and garlic over medium heat until soft, not golden, about 2 minutes.  Add 2 Tbsp water, cover and reduce heat, and cook about 10 minutes more, until golden brown and very soft.  Add the spice mixture and salt to taste, and cook a few minutes more.  Add chicken, shrimp or vegetables and simmer until serving.  All of the spices above can be found at The Common Market. 

Tonight, the greens venture at home will be Mustard Greens.  These are best prepared lightly wilted in a pan with olive oil, onions, garlic, salt and pepper.  I might try freshly grated nutmeg or a shot of fresh bacon bits with it.  I was supposed to cook these last night so that I could talk about them today, but I opted for another veggie, which turned out to be a KAPOW SUPER BOOM AMAZING PHENOMENAL choice.  Curious? Then I have to venture off-topic from greens, which I’m sure you won’t mind…

Cocoa-Toasted Cauliflower, from www.Theclothesmakethegirl.com.  She’s the writer of The Well-Fed Cookbook, recommended by Geoff.  This little blast of pure, unsweetened cocoa reminded me of my beloved dark chocolate that I am missing right now.  And, this recipe is acceptable even during a Whole30 challenge, which is the strictest of the strict.  Here’s the recipe.  Make it tonight.  Actually, stop what you're doing and make it right now.  It’s amazing.

1 head of cauliflower, broken into florets (if you use frozen, let it fully thaw first)
1 Tbsp Coconut Oil, melted
Salt to taste
Garlic Powder to taste
1 tsp Paprika
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa (Natural Zing Raw Organic Cocoa Powder from Common Market is what I used, recommended as the best from the store)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil.  Place the florets and a bowl and toss with the melted coconut oil until fully coated and the oil is evenly distributed.  Mix paprika and cocoa in a bowl, and sprinkle over cauliflower, toss until evenly distributed.  Put the cauliflower on the baking sheet, and sprinkle with fresh sea salt and garlic powder, to your taste, (we were moderate with both).  Bake until tender, and starting to get nice brown spots, about 25-30 minutes. Stir midway through cooking. 

The nutty combination with cauliflower was absolutely perfect, and the remainder is going to be lunch today. 

Ok, back to Greens for one final recipe.  This one sounds scary, but I assure you even the Kale-aphobic Chris enjoyed it.  This is a hydrating, cleansing concoction that I tried in Rehoboth Beach at a healthy carry-out.  They made it with Coconut Water, but I have been making it with plain water at home.  This will cover a 2 block snack. 

Green Powerhouse Smoothie

1 scoop Whey protein
16 oz water/ice
¼ c. fresh or frozen pineapple (equals 0.5 block Carb)
¼ green apple (equals 0.5 block Carb)
2 c. Fresh Kale (equals 1 block Carb)
Chunk of Fresh Ginger Root, with skin peeled off (½ inch to 1 inch chunk)
2 Tbsp Avocado

Place everything in blender and blend until kale is fully blended with no large bits.  This drinkable snack is loaded with anti-oxidants, and fresh ginger is a natural energy kick. 

So, if last week’s menu didn’t incorporate enough greens, I’ve just given you some options.  I’d love to hear feedback if you cook any of the above or if you have something unique that was a success.  This is prime-Greens season, so enjoy them while the produce sections are full.

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