Summer Nights

This summer I’m trying to soak up every minute of sun, which leaves little time for cooking at the end of the day.  Weekends have been full of either work or play, and while I certainly can’t complain, I do feel farther away from the kitchen during the summer months.  Luckily, the produce this time of year is insane and this abundance of flavor helps pull together quick meals and snacks.  We’ve been eating a lot of tomato/basil/mozzarella sandwiches, grilled salmon burgers, and shrimp tacos around here (more on those later).  On nights when we're both home you can find us on our back porch while our dog, Parker, roams around chasing lightning bugs.  I live for nights like this where the air feels like bathwater, cicadas play their tune, and you look up and see a couple of stars (!!!) in the Chicago sky.  Life. Is. Good.

While I have my go-to meals for summer nights, I just discovered a simple kale and quinoa salad that has officially been added to my repertoire.  I’ve had my eye on it for quite some time.  For whatever reason I had an aversion to kale salads since when served raw, this leafy green is quite bitter.  I am a pro at putting kale on pizza, in a frittata, or sauteed and served in pasta.  But a salad was something I have been hesitant to try.  Every time I wander through the farmers market, I tend to buy kale from the same vendor.  So this time around, I bought it with the intention of conquering my fear of kale salads.  The hardest part of preparing this salad is cutting the kale into skinny ribbons, and let’s be honest, that’s not “hard” at all. The salad, when mixed with a mustard vinaigrette, is the perfect combination with whatever protein you choose or it could be served the next day with avocado for lunch.  One of the best things about kale salads: the refrigerator shelf life is WAY longer than a spinach, mixed greens, or arugula salad. Score! 

Kale and Quinoa Salad (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Salad

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa (or 1 1/2 cups cooked)

8 ounces kale (I used Premier kale, but any kind will do)

1/2 cup almonds, coarsely chopped, very well toasted and cooled

1/3 cup fresh figs, chopped a bit

2 to 3 scallions, thinly sliced

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan

Few gratings of fresh lemon zest

Dressing

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 teaspoons coarse Dijon mustard

Just shy of 1 teaspoon honey

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Rinse quinoa well in a small colander. This is essential to remove bitterness. Place quinoa and 1 1/2 cups water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer with a couple pinches of salt. Simmer at a very low temperature for 15 to 20 minutes, until tender. Drain any un-absorbed liquid from cooked quinoa. Spread quinoa on a plate to cool quickly.

Wash your kale and dry it well. Then, with a knife, remove the rib from each stalk, leaving long strips of kale leaves. Stack the leaves in small batches, roll them tightly the long way, and cut the roll crosswise into thin ribbons. Add the kale ribbons to a large salad bowl. Add remaining salad ingredients to kale and toss to mix.

Whisk dressing ingredients together in a small dish, and pour the dressing over the salad. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then dig in.

Simple Foods

Today, I’m going to write about hummus.  Hummus is one of those foods that is pretty simple to make but even simpler to buy.  So why make it?  It’s a staple in our house and without hummus our fridge feels empty.  It’s the equivalent of being out of coffee, milk, bananas...you get the idea.  For me there’s something so simple and gratifying about being able to create something that I physically need to survive. Dramatic, I know.  Hummus is also one of those things that’s very difficult to mess up.  It includes at the very least, 5 ingredients, which are thrown into a blender and then voila: hummus! I find myself drawn to simple recipes when I’m feeling anxious or upset.  These types of recipes ground me in a way that very few things can, besides a big hug or puppies.  So for my first post I chose to write about something simple, tasty, and filling.  I hope that through the evolution of this blog I continue to provide simple recipes that are the foundation of our home and can hopefully be a foundation of yours as well.  

Hummus

2 (15.5 oz) cans of chickpeas (garbanzo beans) no salt added

2 garlic cloves (crushed)

½ cup tahini

¼ cup water

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspon pepper

Place all ingredients, except for the water, in food processor/blender. Add water until desired consistency.  If you’re feeling adventurous you can add fresh herbs to give it more zing.  I like to add basil, thyme or dill to mine.