We first had Spinach Chaat at Rasika Roi in Washington, DC. The first time we ate there, we were both dying to understand how you could batter and fry something as delicate as a spinach leaf. Spoiler alert – not only is it possible but it is also amazing.

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Rasika just came out with this cookbook, and while I haven’t bought it yet (but probably will soon!), I heard it has the recipe for their Spinach Chaat, which is their most popular dish.

According to Kalettes, these little puppies are the result of “traditional breeding techniques”. This sounds a little bit like the website of the breeder from which we obtained our Labradoodle. But stick with it – the site goes on to use words like “traditional hybridization” and “not genetic modification” and “non-GMO”.

So it seems legit. Which is good. Because Kale Sprouts are delicious and easy to make. You get to skip the hassle of removing all of the loose leaves from the outsides of the brussels sprouts. You get to skip having to wash big, bulky kale leaves. You get to go straight to nutty, fresh and sweet flavor.

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This past week had a first for me – I signed up for a CSA. I resisted for a long time because I had visions of seasonal vegetables languishing in my fridge. But we’ve been pretty good for the last few months about not letting our fresh veggies see too much of the inside of the crisper. This is largely because our wonderful nanny agreed to chop vegetables for me. It doesn’t sound like it would save much time but it really does. Once or twice a week, I ask her to wash and chop a variety of vegetables and when I get home from work it makes throwing together dinner in thirty minutes much easier.

Kale is one of those vegetables that never goes to waste in our house. Either I toss it into a pasta, crisp it into chips (which then get tossed on top of noodles) or mix it into a pot of lentils or soup. But until recently I had never had it raw. I thought it would be rubbery and bland – a stuck in my throat kind of experience. Then I had a raw kale salad at ABC Kitchen. Their kale salad was spicy and zingy and quite the opposite of a rubbery, bland, stuck in my throat kind of experience.

The amazing thing about the salad is that it was really simple but stuck clearly in my mind for the last few months begging to be re-created. The tender kale leaves are earthy and get a jolt from fresh mint and cilantro along with lemon and then a real kick from thin jalapeño matchsticks hiding in the leaves. Even Surya joined in on the raw kale noshing, which is a feat because recently she’s been outright rejecting anything green and leafy. I suspect it had a lot to do with the lemon.

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If you’re looking for dinner party menu inspiration, I served the kale salad with this savory, cheesy eggplant parmesan and creamy lemon spaghetti.

Kale chips have been everywhere. Every magazine and food blogger seems have to have shared a method, recipe and variation.  With each article and post, I rolled my eyes a little. Because we already love kale in my house. In my head I was thinking “I don’t need to transform it into a faux potato chip to get my family to eat it.”

We eat it with pasta loaded with veggie sausage and garlicky breadcrumbs.  We chop it and up toss into yellow lentils.  We warm up with a bowl of chewy bean and vegetable stone soup with bits of kale.  So why waste any of my kale making into crispy chips?

Because it gets really crunchy. And it has a deep, light flavor scored with the sesame seed oil I splashed over it and sesame seeds sprinkled on top with kosher salt. And and and it’s healthy for you.

I topped off a bowl of these Sesame Garlic Soba Noodles with a thick layer of Crispy Sesame Kale from Vegan YumYum.

There are lots of people who seem to love hating Rachel Ray and Sandra Lee types.  But isn’t a 30 Minute Meal or one that’s Semi-Homemade better than takeout?  I’m not talking about the type of fast and easy processed foods that got Ruhlman riled up.  I’m talking about cutting some “traditional” corners while still using fresh, healthy ingredients.

So here’s my confession.  When I make spinach, I usually make it “the way you are supposed to.”  I puree it to a smooth, creamy consistency and then add it to a masala that has been lovingly and carefully made.

I won’t stop making it that way.  But I did discover an easier way to create a satisfying spinach curry.  And it allows me to feed my family a fresh, healthy, Indian meal in a pinch.  And – well – that it’s quick and easy too is really okay…in my book.

Update:

After I published this post, I realized that when writing recipes and breaking them out into easy to follow steps, they sometimes look more complicated than they in fact are – and this recipe is SO easy, that I don’t want to overcomplicate. So here’s the summary of how to make it: Cook spinach. Remove. Fry cumin seeds. Add chickpeas, spices, salt, tomato paste, canned tomatoes and water. Cook for 10 minutes. Add spinach. Eat.

Spinach and Chickpeas – Channa Saag
~8 servings
Adapted from The Three Sisters Indian Cookbook

4 bundles spinach, washed leaves
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 28 ounce can of chickpeas
1 teaspoon dry ginger powder
1 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon fennel
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 teaspoon garam masala
2 tablespoon tomato puree
1 28 ounce can stewed/diced tomatoes
Salt to taste

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a tall stockpot. Add the spinach leaves and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook for about 5 minutes breaking down the spinach leaves until wilted and pulped but some liquid remains. Remove to a separate bowl.

2. Heat 1 more tablespoon of olive oil in the same stockpot. Add the cumin seeds and fry for 1-2 minutes until they sizzle.  Add the chickpeas and 2 teaspoons salt.

3. Remove from heat and add the ground spices.

4. Return to heat and mix in the tomato puree and canned tomatoes. Cook for 1-2 minutes and then add 3 cups water. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes.

5. Add the spinach with its liquid and cook for another 5-10 minutes on low heat.

6. Taste and adjust salt and chili as needed. Serve hot with naan, raita and rice.

Stone soups?  Don’t you remember that book from elementary school?  It’s the story about two hungry travelers who trick the villagers into donating ingredients to their “stone” soup.   A little bit of carrot.  A few potatoes.  A fistful of seasoning.  One bundle of leafy greens.  An onion.  A cupful of creamy beans.  Topped off with some crusty bread.  Stone soup.  Also known as, a clean out your fridge and pantry recipe.

One of the few upsides to winter (ok it’s really just fall) is that it gives me a good excuse to make a vat of warming stone soup.

Stone Soup
About 6 Servings

A beautiful whole habanero pepper adds smoky heat to this soup.  Perfect for blustery weather.  A leftover rind of parmesan cheese would be great thrown in with the broth in step 4.   I didn’t have any lurking in the freezer, so I sprinkled parmesan on top instead.  Also, I didn’t have any “good” leftover bread for making the croutons you see in the picture.  So I just used the white Pepperidge Farm bread that I keep on hand.  And it was a delicious topping.  For the beans, I used Rancho Gordo Mayacoba Beans.  They are white and creamy but hold their shape with some bite and chew.  Canellini beans or another white bean would be a good substitute.

1 yellow onion, diced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
2 medium size potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 Tofurkey sausage links, quartered (optional)
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 bunch kale, washed and chopped
1-2 cups white beans, (if dried beans soaked overnight)
3-4 cups vegetable broth (I prefer low sodium)
1 habanero pepper
Salt to taste

Breadcrumbs:
Olive oil
Cubed pieces of bread with crust cut off
Sprinkle of salt and grated parmesan cheese

1. In a large stockpot, heat about 1 tablespoon olive oil on medium heat.  Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft and glassy.  Don’t let the onions brown.
2. Add the carrots and potatoes and cook about 5-8 minutes until softened.  Add the tofurkey sausage and cook for 3-4 minutes if using.  Sprinkle in the Italian seasoning.
3. Add the  kale and cook for about 5 minutes or until wilted.
4. Add the broth and white beans.*  Add the habanero pepper.  Cover and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour or until the beans are soft.
5. Salt to taste.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve with toasted breadcrumbs or crusty bread.

The whole habanero will continue seeping a smoky, hot flavor into the soup while you store the leftovers, so if you want to limit the heat, remove the habanero before storing the leftovers.

*At this point, before adding the habanero pepper and salt, I removed some of the soup and pureed it for the baby.  She loved it!  I also freezed some in her ice cube trays for later.

To make the breadcrumbs:
1. Heat about a tablespoon or so of olive oil in a skillet.  Add the breadcrumbs in one layer and coat with the oil
2. Sprinkle with salt and parmesan cheese.
3. Toast until golden.  Splash with a little more olive oil if needed for extra crunch and sizzle.

After multiple failed Tofurkey attempts, I was skeptical when my brother told me about Tofurkey Sausages.  We’ve Rajat has been dicing them up and putting them in scrambled eggs for ages.  But never used them in a real main dish for dinner.  I found some beautiful, delicate tuscan kale (tuscan kale is as to regular kale as waifs are to cavemen) at the market, so when I saw this recipe from TheKitchn for Orecchiette with Sausage and Kale, I decided to take Tofurkey Sausages to the next level.

Vegetarian sausages are not pretty.  They do look like meat. I have no idea whether they taste like real sausage.  BUT they are full of protein and spiced nicely.  They make a hearty, chewy addition to regular old bowl of pasta.

Also, don’t skip out on the toasted garlic breadcrumbs.  They do a really good thing for an otherwise routine weeknight bowl of pasta.  They are chunky and crunchy and garlicky.  I made my own using stale bread in a mini food processor (see here for instructions on DIY).  My processor didn’t grind them to smooth, uniform crumbs like store bought crumbs but we loved the combination of big and small pieces (which you can see in the picture).

QUICK is king in my kitchen ever since Surya’s arrival in our life.  Some friends have been asking me how I’ve been managing to cook and blog.  The answer is that I steal little snippets of time between naps and during Daddy time.  Whether it’s cooking, taking pictures or writing up posts, I do it because otherwise there’s extra energy that builds up inside of me.  If I don’t cook, I start to feel a little edgy.  It makes me restless.  I guess you could say cooking keeps me in a good mood.  I also do it because it’s important to me that we have something FRESH on the table at least every other night (note: that’s a goal – not an always reality). Plus, what I do is nothing compared to the amazing feats that go on over at Smitten Kitchen.

So, on Monday I picked up a few items that I knew could (and hopefully would) get used up during the week – something green (spinach and kale), something starchy (soft baby yukon potatoes), a red bellpepper (haven’t used it yet but will scramble it with an egg over the weekend), mushrooms, a package of tofu, coconut milk, frozen peas (I can never have too many peas in the freezer!), canned tomatoes – you get the picture.

I also happened to buy a bag of CASHEWS.  Ever since I saw this recipe over at The Kitchn for Cashew Tomato Soup, I’ve been obsessed with using cashews to RICHEN up dishes and to add CRUNCH.  I still have plenty of cashews leftover (it’s amazing how a few cashews go a long way).  Any suggestions for what to use my leftover cashews for? That soup is still on my list.

Earlier in the week, I made an easy red curry using Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste, kale, potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, peas and tofu and threw a handful of cashews into the curry sauce.

The cashews softened up slightly so the result was a CHEWY CRUNCH in each bite.

Then on Wednesday, without having found much free time on my hands during the day, I realized it was already 7:30 in the evening and I had made no move towards dinner.  So, I decided to make up a quick, dry ALOO SAAG.  Easy enough.  But boring.  Nothing very sexy to it.  And that’s when I remembered the cashews.

Rajat was a little skeptical when he saw me powdering up the cashews.

“What’s that for”, he casually asked.

Translation (maybe. in my head at least.): “What on earth are you going to do with those?”

“Oh, it’s for the Aloo Saag.  For some creaminess.  And crunchiness.” (Said with a certain amount of duh-factor in my voice as though I had had it this way a million times before.)

“Oh.  Okay.”

Translation (maybe. in my head at least.): “What’s our back up?”

But in the end, he agreed. The cashews were a big success.

Two huge events have happened in my life within the last week.  First, I snuck away to have a baby.  Our beautiful baby girl, Surya, arrived last Thursday and we have been completely preoccupied with loving on her ever since.  Second, I’ve turned over my kitchen to my mother for the next three weeks.  Fortunately, I put my -pre-delivery “nesting” instincts to good use and wrote up a few posts before Surya arrived, so hopefully you won’t even notice that I’m gone.

Have you ever tried to describe the taste of a bean?  I’ve been asking around, and my 8 year old niece came up with the best answers so far.  Her first was “beany” and her second was “nothing.”  After giving this question some thought [yes, I’ve actually been sitting around thinking about this question, asking people their thoughts and searching on the internet for an appropriate description], I think her second response is close to accurate.  Is it true that beans and lentils have no taste on their own and are just conduits for the spices and flavors they are cooked with?  Or do they have a flavor by themselves and, if so, what flavor is that?

When I think of beans and lentils, I think of tastes like buttery, salty and savory, nutty and creamy.  But a bowl of unseasoned lentils is like a mouthful of chalk.