Kale & Roasted Raisin Jumble

Toasted fennel seeds, chewy roasted raisins, slightly charred red onion & of course the indispensable winter green, kale.

Now don’t go turning up your nose saying I’ve tried kale, I hate it & everything about it, or the infamous I’d cook that but my husband & kids will kick me out, because there is a secret to eating kale – actually, it’s a secret to harvesting kale. Kale harvested after a frost is much sweeter & more palatable than summertime kale. All it takes is a little chill & kale is transformed almost as much as a scrawny young girl after puberty – I’m not kidding. It’s probably best if I leave out the fact that it’s high in calcium, beta-carotene, lutein, vitamin C, vitamin K, sulforaphane, a molecule in all cruciferous & brassicas vegetables that is known for it’s anti-cancer properties & a plethora of various other carotinoids, at the risk that you’ll think I’m just trying to convince you to eat it. I’m not though, I promise. Skip the kale & their will be more for me.

Fennel seeds change from a muted green to a brilliant golden after being heated. Their licorice-like aroma will enhance salads, breads & cookies.

This recipe may seem like it has some tediously skip-able steps, like toasting the fennel or baking the raisins, but I assure you that they are there for a reason. Toasting the fennel seeds allows for a multi-sense experience. As the volatile oils are released, we are able to not only enjoy the flavor of the seeds, but also enjoy the aroma. The raisins are heated to further concentrate the sugar simple sugars, glucose & fructose, as heating is just a way of drawing out more water.

Maybe I'm bias because I'm sitting here eating this, but this picture does no justice to the flavor combinations in this dish.

Kale & Roasted Raisin Jumble

• 8 large leaves of kale, stemmed & chopped
• 2 red onions, sliced into 1/4 inch thick rings
• 1 cup of any grain, or pasta*
• 1/2 cup of walnuts
• 1/3 cup of raisins, roasted
• 4 Tbsp fennel seed, toasted
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp garlic powder (garlic salt)
• 1/4 tsp black pepper & salt to taste

*Here I used sprouted bulgur wheat, but quinoa, amaranth, barley, linguini, orecchiette, etc will do. Sprouted bulgur is cooked in the microwave with 1 cup of bulgur to 2 cups of water, covered well, for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to roast (or bake) at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Add onions to a skillet over medium heat & saute for about 10 minutes, until soft.  Add 1 Tbsp of olive oil, cover the onions for 2-3 minutes & allow them to brown without burning. Meanwhile, prepare what ever grain or pasta you’ve chosen to use. In a small baking dish mix the raisins & black pepper. Roast for 7 minutes, until the raisins swell slightly, then set them aside to cool.

Add chopped kale and 1 Tbsp of olive oil to the slightly charred onions and toss in the saute pan until the kale has wilted, but is still a vibrant green. Add the coriander & garlic powder. Continue to saute over low heat. Add the bulgur (or other grain) & walnuts, then salt to taste. Last, add the raisins & toss one more time.

Serve hot or refrigerate immediately. This will last refrigerated for about 5 days.

Enjoy.

Bread & Brown Buttered Hen of the Woods

It’s short & simple: the best ingredients yield the most impressive products. Now, enter foraged mushrooms, the epitome of good ingredients, into the equation & you’re bound to have a product that even the meek-mushroom-deniers will desire.

Hen of the Woods, Grifola frondosa, or Maitaki is a common mushroom in the Northeast.

The art (or sport) of foraging mushrooms has been seriously dismissed in some parts of this country, but it’s certainly exciting that there is a rising interest in the sport (we can call it a sport right?). Because mushrooms occur in the same, much sought after “secret spots” each year, mushroom knowledge is usually passed down between generations. Once someone in the family finds a spot, it’s to that spot they’ll return annually when the season for the mushrooms arrives.

This recipe is easy & can be duplicated with anything from fish to eggplant. The most important thing to keep in mind is that what you make your bread crumbs out of does mater. Like I said earlier, what you put in is what you get out. An old loaf of sourdough, buttery crackers, or a stale grainy baguette all work, but the secret is to mix whatever you use with a cup of walnuts (a trick that my mom taught me).

Looks like chicken, but it's not, I promise.

Bread & Brown Buttered Hen of the Woods

2 packages of your favorite whole wheat crackers*, 1/2 cup walnuts,  10, 2-3oz hen of the woods “filets”, 1 egg,  1/2 cup organic whole milk,  2 Tbsp butter** &  salt & pepper to taste

*You can use anything, Late July, Barbara’s Wheaties, Back to Nature, or even Ritz crackers. If you do use bread, be sure the loaf is at least 2 days old & has been baked so that it hardens (like toast).

**olive oil, grape seed oil, coconut oil, or ghee works well here too, they just should not be browned.

Beating lightly, combine egg & milk in a large bowl until homogenous. Add the “filets” & let them soak for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, pulse crackers & walnuts in a food processor until they become granulated, but not dusty. Dump half of the bread crumbs in a plastic bag & the other half on to a large plate.  In a skillet brown the butter over medium-high heat. Browning the butter (for more about brown butter check out the last post) will take about 3-4 minutes over high heat.

One by one coat the soaked filets in bread crumbs & add them to the pan (if needed, add more bread crumbs to the plate as you go). Adjust the heat to medium & let the breaded filets cook for 5-7 minutes until golden brown. Flip & repeat until both sides are golden & slightly crunchy. You may need to add more butter or oil if you notice the pan looks “dry”.

Serve over a bed of greens or as a grilled pizza topping. This recipe can also be used to bread any white fish or for eggplant. If you are using it to bread fish, soak the fish filets & prepare the bread crumbs the same way, but bake the fish (in a baking dish coated with olive oil) at 350 degrees F, for 35 minutes, or until flaky.

Have you ever foraged wild mushrooms before? If so, please share your experience & your suggestions for cooking/baking/pickling them!