Holm Family Cookbook

Here in California we already have fresh sweet corn showing up in grocery stores that has been grown in California and not Mexico. It hasn't hit the farmer's markets yet, so it must be coming up from Southern California. We've already had it a few times for dinner.

When it comes to cooking, I will take shortcuts to get the job done as quickly and efficiently as I can as long as it does not impact the flavor of the dish I am making. When I discovered this magic corn cooking trick I was elated because there is minimal cleanup, I don't have to spend a lot of time trying to get the silk off of the corn, and the overall prep and cook time is shorter. An extra bonus of the magic corn trick is that I don't boil all of the nutrients out of the corn.

Are you ready for this? Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat or an ear of corn out of the husk.

1. Remove a few of the outer husks that might be dirty.

2. Cut the bottoms off of the corn.

3. Place a moist paper towel on the bottom of the microwave or on top of the carousel and place the corn on the paper towel.

4. Use this guide for your cook time. Remember the cook time can vary for each microwave.

1 ear - 2 minutes

2 ears - 3 to 4 minutes

3 ears - 5 to 6 minutes

4 ears - 7 to 8 minutes

6 ears - 8 to 9 minutes

5. After cooking, let the corn sit about 4 or 5 minutes. It will continue to cook and will be cooler and easier to handle.

6. Pick the cooked corn up by the top (you might want to use an oven mitt if it is too hot to handle) and squeeze and lightly shake out the ear of corn. It should just slide out leaving the silk and all of the husks intact.

7. Just like magic, your corn is cleaned and cooked!

Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

~merry~

Our friends Ernie and Diane were heading to Costa Rica for 4 months to help out a congregation in the small town of Sarchi; so of course, any excuse for a party! We decided to try out some Costa Rican recipes to prepare their bellies for the adventure ahead. There aren’t many cookbooks featuring Costa Rican cuisine available, so I found a few recipes online and sent them to the guests for a potluck. After our ravioli-making day, we planned to have a tamale-making day, so on this occasion we made the standard pork tamales and Costa Rican tamales. What sets the Costa Rican tamale apart is the addition of potatoes and rice to the filling, they are wrapped in banana leaves instead of corn husks, and are boiled instead of steamed.

Arroz con leche, Costa Rican tamales and pork tamales fill the stovetop!

We searched high and low for banana leaves, an ingredient not often used by us Californian’s, and Diane finally found them in the freezer section at Ranch 99 Market.

A staple on the Costa Rican’s menu is Gallo Pinto (beans and rice). A couple who spent a number of years in Central America and the Caribbean brought a pot of these herbed black beans and rice, something they had eaten plenty of during their stay in the tropics. Another friend brought a delicious Ensalada Palmito, a light fresh salad of hearts of palm with a homemade mayonnaise dressing.

Ensalada Palmito with homemade mayonnaise

Also on the menu was Ensalada Rusa, a hearty salad of potato, beet and carrot (turned bright pink from the freshly roasted beets!), along with Tico Rice and for dessert Arroz con Leche, a sweet rice pudding. I made a batch of Picadillo, a vegetable chorizo mélange.

Picadillo with chorizo and chayote

This was the first time I had ever purchased a chayote, and couldn’t figure out why each chayote came in a little plastic bag. Good thing I looked it up on google, as you can have an allergic reaction to the skin, it’s best to wear gloves to peel.

We all shared in making the tamales, an all-afternoon affair, plus some preparation in advance. A number of us cooked huge pork butts (actually shoulders) the day before, low and slow, along with the Tico Rice and potatoes for Costa Rican tamales. Chef Bruce (you met Bruce previously in Nonni’s Ravioli blog!) taught us all how to make the masa using lard, homemade broth and cumin.

Spreading the masa in traditional tamales

We used the same masa for both varieties of tamales, making batch after batch after batch throughout the afternoon, as dozens of tamales were assembled and rolled!

Tanner and Bruce on the tamale line

Costa Rican Tamale Recipe

3 lbs pork shoulder roast

2 tbsp olive oil

coriander leaves (cilantro), salt, black pepper, cumin, oregano, achiote (I didn’t have this ingredient on the hill!)

8 cloves of garlic, peeled

½ lb sweet or hot peppers to taste

1 large onion

32 ounces chicken broth

2 ¼ lbs potatoes

2 lbs instant corn masa mix

2/3 lb lard

5 cups cooked Tico style rice

2 ¼ lbs banana leaves (corn husks can be substituted, or if desperate aluminum foil)

Rub the pork roast with olive oil and 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cumin, ½ teaspoon black pepper. In a deep roasting pan add the peppers, onion, garlic and chicken broth. Roast at 450 degrees for 20-30 minutes until the skin browns, then lower the temperature to 300 degrees and roast until very tender, 3-4 hours. Reserve the broth. When the meat is cool shred or chop finely.

Chopping the roasted pork

While the meat is simmering prepare the potatoes and rice.

Peel the potatoes chop into ½ inch cubes. Boil with salt, cilantro, and oregano to taste until soft, about 10 – 15 minutes.

Rice Tico style

3-5 sprigs cilantro

1 small or half a medium onion

½ small red or yellow sweet pepper

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

2 cups white rice

3 cups chicken broth or water

½ teaspoon salt

Chop cilantro, onion, and sweet pepper very fine. Add 1 tablespoon oil to a large pan and sauté the dry rice for 2 minutes over medium high flame then add the chopped onion, sweet pepper and cilantro and sauté another 2 minutes. Add water or chicken broth and salt, bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to simmer until rice is tender, 20-25 minutes.

Tamale fillings ready to roll: roasted pork, potatoes and tico rice

To prepare the masa, allow the meat broth to cool until it is just warm. To the dry masa add 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, and and mix dry. Then add the lard, mixing with hands or machine, while adding the warm broth. It should take about 2 1/2 cups to make a paste the consistency of mashed potatoes. Mix and add slowly, and if you over shoot on the broth and get it too thin, add a little more masa.

Wash the banana leaves then cut them into 15 inch squares. Spread 2 tablespoons of masa paste in the center, add 1 tablespoon each of potatoes, rice and meat.

Costa Rican tamale ingredients ready to wrap

Fold as shown and tie with cotton string, or strips of corn husks.

Little wrapped packages ready for the pot!

Cook the tamales in gently boiling water for about one hour. If you substitute corn husks, you will need to make slightly smaller tamales, pack the pot full and steam them rather than boiling them, because the husks won't hold together.

A plate packed with our Costa Rican cuisine!

They made it! Diane & Ernie in Grecia's central park, Diane and Linda shopping at the market in Sarchi Costa Rica!

Pura Vida!   Nancita the hungry gringita

The crispy potato roast with thinly sliced and seasoned potatoes

About four weeks ago I got a cough/cold thing that has just stuck with me. During the first couple of weeks I didn't have much energy, but I did spend several hours sitting in my big old leather chair going through magazines so I could toss them. I found some great recipes and hope to try them some time soon. One recipe that I found and have tried already was a crispy potato roast. In this recipe the potatoes are thinly sliced, seasoned, and arranged vertically in a baking dish. When cooked and ready to serve it is a very attractive dish and my photo doesn't do it justice.

The potatoes are ready to eat!

Crispy Potato Roast - Serves 8

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter, melted

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (a mandolin works best to slice)

1 shallot, thinly sliced (you can substitute with yellow or red onions)

Coarse salt (Kosher works great)

Pepper

1/8 teaspoon thyme

1 shake of cayenne pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine melted butter and oil. Brush the bottom of a round or oval 9-inch baking dish with the butter mixture.

Put the potatoes in a large bowl and season with salt, pepper, thyme, and cayenne pepper. Add the shallot slices.  Mix well and then add about half of the butter mixture. Mix the seasoned potatoes with the butter mixture.

Arrange the potato slices vertically in the baking dish. Brush on the remaining butter mixture. Sprinkle with salt. Bake for about 1 hour and half or until top is a nice golden brown and potatoes are soft.

Mix seasoned potatoes with butter and oil mixture

Arrange seasoned potatoes vertically in a baking dish that has been brushed with a butter and oil mixture

Happy Saturday!

~merry~

Beef tri-trip roast and garlicky oven roasted potatoes are easy to make

Last Sunday night I was sort of watching the Academy Awards and I needed to make dinner. I had seen a few of the movies nominated for awards and wanted to see if George Clooney would win Best Actor for the Descendants, which was my favorite movie. Since I can't see the TV from the kitchen, I wanted to prepare a dinner that would not take a lot of preparation and did not need to be stirred, turned, or watched frequently while cooking. I had a tri-tip roast that had passed the "buy by" date the day before, so tri-tip roast and oven roasted potatoes was an easy choice to make.

My family loves meat and potatoes, which can be one of the easiest dinners to prepare. Baked potatoes are probably the easiest way to prepare potatoes. The second easiest has to be oven roasted potatoes, which do not require peeling--only washing, cutting, and seasoning. At my house we all love garlic, so I decided to make my oven roasted potatoes garlicky.

To prepare my meats for roasting or grilling, I use a house seasoning mix that I found on Paula Deen's website. We had prime rib for Christmas that I seasoned with the house seasoning and my husband roasted on our gas grill. It was one of the best prime ribs ever.  I keep the house seasoning in a stainless steel canister in the kitchen counter and use it often. The recipe was a great find and I've provided it below.

The house seasoning I keep in a stainless steel container on my counter

House Seasoning

 Ingredients

1 cup salt

1/4 cup black pepper

1/4 cup garlic powder

Directions

Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Beef Tri-Tip Roast and Garlicky Oven Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients

Tri-tip roast (if tri-tips are not available in your area, just about any beef roast will work)

House seasoning (recipe above)

5 large russet potatoes or several small potatoes

1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil

1 or 2 cloves of garlic*

Kosher salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Rub the roast with plenty of the house seasoning.  Place the roast in the middle of baking pan. Wash and scrub the potatoes. Cut the potatoes lengthwise into quarters. Put the potatoes into a bowl and drizzle olive oil over the top of potatoes. Use a garlic press to squeeze garlic over the top of potatoes. Mix potatoes with your hands to coat with the olive oil and garlic. Sprinkle the potatoes with kosher salt. Place the potatoes in the baking pan around the roast.

Bake the roast for 15 minutes at 500 degrees F. Cooking at this temperature will give the roast a nice brown crust.  After 15 minutes, REDUCE the temperature to 350 degrees F.  Turn the potatoes over and place the roast and potatoes back into the oven. Bake for 30 or more minutes until a meat thermometer reads medium or 160 degrees F (I have a convection oven, so my meat takes less time to cook).  Remove the roast from the oven and let the roast sit for about 5 minutes before carving.

*If you don't like garlic, season the potatoes with salt and pepper or lemon pepper.

Use a garlic press to squeeze garlic on potatoes

Seasoned roast and potatoes ready for the oven

 Let the roast rest for 5 minutes before carving

Merry's been there, done that cooking tip:  When cooking the roast, be sure to set the timer for 15 minutes, especially if you are using a glass baking dish. The baking dish will crack if cooked much longer at 500 degrees.

~merry~

The other day we received an email from our cousin Lori who lives in Texas. Lori is a girl that was born and raised in California, and her job took her and her daughters to Texas. Her daughters met and married Texas boys (we all love their accents and their southern manners), and they had their own boys. Lori has lived in Texas for several years now, has five grandsons, and just loves Texas and being a grandmother (we are really not old enough to be grandmothers, are we?!?). So here's what she said in her email:

"It was Clint’s birthday dinner and he wanted Cajun Pasta.  I had to make some plain stuff for Jamie as I didn’t think Colby would like all the spices.  Clint took the picture so I could send it to you guys.  The Cajun pasta was from a recipe I got from Pioneer Women on the internet.  It sure smelled good when cooking.  Next time I need to cook it in the cast iron skillet.  I couldn’t get my non-stick pan hot enough to blacken the way I think it should of.  Everyone liked it so I probably will try it again." 

Here's the link to the recipe: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/09/cajun-chicken-pasta/

The Cajun Pasta that Lori made, the plain pasta is on the right

If you are not familiar with The Pioneer Woman, let me give you a quick rundown. Ree Drummond is a blogger that started out with stories about how she, a city girl, met  "Marlboro man" at a bar and they later fell in love, got married, had children, they live on a large ranch in Oklahoma, she cooks and takes lovely photos. She incorporated some of her stories, recipes, and photos into a beautiful cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks, Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl, which became a New York Times Best Seller. She later published, Black Heels to Tractor Wheels--A Love Story, that chronicles her early relationship with "Marlboro man."  She most recently wrote a children's book, Charlie the Ranch Dog. To get to her website: http://thepioneerwoman.com/

The Pioneer Woman has now has a cooking show on the FoodNetwork and a new episode airs tomorrow morning at 10:00 am/9:00 am central time.   

For more info about her show: http://www.foodnetwork.com/the-pioneer-woman/index.html

The cooking cowgirls meet the Pioneer Woman

Asian style green beans with sautéed garlic, soy sauce, and sesame oil

If you've been reading our blog for a while, you know that I serve a lot of green vegetables at my house. Another trend that you might notice is that the vegetables are not covered in butter, cream sauces, or cheese, although I sometimes do top the vegies with a small amount of parmesan cheese.  Olive oil and garlic are usually present in most of the vegetable recipes that I make.

One of my favorite vegetables is green beans and I love them cooked with bacon and butter, however, I usually only eat them that way when I am visiting the mid-west and eating at a Cracker Barrel restaurant (by the way, if you get the opportunity to eat at a Cracker Barrel, you MUST try the baked apple dumplin). OK, I've wiped the drool from my chin and I'm back to my green bean blog.

A green bean recipe that I make often and will eat hot and cold is Asian style green beans. I received this recipe several years ago at a Weight Watcher's meeting, so besides the recipe, I can also supply you with the nutritional info for the green beans. 

November is a good time to buy green beans to make this recipe as you can buy bags of green beans already cleaned and trimmed, which really helps reduce the prep time.

Asian Style Green Beans

1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame seed oil

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

6 garlic cloves, minced

In a large pot of boiling water, cook green beans for about 5 minutes until just tender.

While the green beans are cooking, combine soy sauce, oil, and sugar in a small bowl.

When the green beans are tender, remove from heat and drain.

Green beans cooked and drained

Spray a wok or large skillet with non-stick cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and stir frequently for about 1 minute until the garlic has begun to brown.  Add the green beans. Stir and turn until the beans are well coated with the garlic. 

Minced garlic

Sautéed garlic just starting to brown

Add the soy sauce mixture to the green beans. Continue to stir and turn for about 2 minutes until the liquid has begun to be absorbed by the green beans.

Nutrition info: 68 calories, 2.4g fat, 4g fiber

~merry~

A toast to the retiree

Six friends and I recently gathered at Holm Family cookbook recipe tester, Sue Mears', home in Incline Village on Lake Tahoe's north shore. All teachers, we were gathering to celebrate Sherri Vares’ retirement. Our usual routine during our get togethers is to have a light breakfast, go out for lunch and return home for cocktails, appetizers, dinner and dessert. This visit was no different.

We started with fresh berries, yogurt, cinnamon toast, coffee and juice. Some headed out for a morning walk around Incline Village – beautiful day! Next stop was the Hyatt Regency’s Lone Eagle Grille restaurant. It has a beautiful bar that looks out over Lake Tahoe. The mountain style décor in the dining room gives it a warm feeling.  We all were pleased with our choices, mine being a venison quesadilla. I just can’t pass up something different!

The beautiful view from Lone Eagle Grille's bar at the Hyatt Regency

In the late afternoon the group of four retired teachers and three working teachers loaded up snack bags and headed to the movie theater. The movie Bad Teachers was playing and we saw it only fitting to see the movie. On the drive up to Lake Tahoe I had heard a review on NPR and from the review it didn’t sound bad – I must not have listened very well – I guess I was distracted by the snow covered Sierras. Fortunately, we had some Mandarin Martinis waiting for us after the movie.

Mandarin Martinis were a welcome sight after watching the movie, "Bad Teachers"

Sue loves to cook, so she has guests bring breakfast, appetizers, and beverages and she does the rest. Linda Andrade brought breakfast, Stephanie Beard, Fran Rebello, Janet Berglund and I brought appetizers. For this meal, Fran Rebello, also one of our recipe testers, got us primed with her Mandarin Martinis. Stephanie Beard brought an appetizer she had tasted at Whole Foods – ricotta cheese, with sweet onion marmalade and crackers. I made a Prosciutto and Pear Pizza from a recipe I found one holiday season in Raley’s, Something Extra, magazine.

Sue made the entrée and salad; beef burgers on whole wheat buns and Orzo with Roasted Vegetable salad. She had prepared the beef burgers stuffed with lemon herb butter ahead of time. Before going to the movie she had roasted the vegetables for the salad. This strategic move allowed her to enjoy the appetizers and Mandarin Martinis! Sue’s husband, Al, was allowed to come home to grill the burgers and of course enjoy our company. We accompanied the meal with a Wente Riva Ranch Chardonnay and a Heritage Oak Zinfandel.

To end the evening we had Sue’s Blackberry Buttermilk Cake and Sherri’s Graham Cracker Brittle with ice cream. It was a delightful way to end the evening with some of my closest and dearest friends.

The recipe from the evening I would like to share, and believe me there were many delicious recipes, is the Orzo with Roasted Vegetables. Sue found this recipe in the Barefoot Contessa Parties cookbook and changed it a bit. I have also made it and left out the feta cheese adding one pound of cubed roasted chicken. For me it is the dressing, fresh basil and toasted pignolis that put it over the top!

This recipe is a slight variation of a wonderful summer dish invented by Sarah Leah Chase in her book, The Open House Cookbook.

Orzo with Roasted Vegetables

Ingredients

1 pound of asparagus cut into 1 inch pieces

2 red bell peppers, 1-inch diced

2 yellow bell peppers, 1-inch diced

1 red onion, peeled and 1-inch diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup good olive oil (I’ve used lemon olive oil with good results)

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 cup orzo or rice-shaped pasta  

For the dressing:

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)

1/3 cup good olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper  

To assemble:

1/4 cup pignolis (pine nuts), toasted

3/4 pound good feta, crumbled

15 fresh basil leaves, cut into julienne

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Toss the asparagus, bell peppers, onion, and garlic with the olive oil, salt, and pepper on a large sheet pan. Roast for 40 minutes, until browned, turning once with a spatula.

The toasted vegetables

Meanwhile, cook the orzo in boiling salted water for 7 to 9 minutes, until tender. Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl. Add the roasted vegetables to the pasta, scraping all the liquid and seasonings from the roasting pan into the pasta bowl.

Draining the orzo

For the dressing, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper and pour on the pasta and vegetables. Let cool to room temperature and add the pignolis, feta, and basil. Check the seasonings and serve at room temperature.

Cutting a chiffonade of basil

"Food is not about impressing people. It's about making them feel comfortable."

~Ina Garten, 'The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook'

And that my friend, is what Sue Mears does!

susie

The paternal side of our family hales from the Portuguese island of Faial in the Azores, and put down roots in the San Francisco Bay Area and Livermore Valley at least 5 generations ago.

Our dad, Wayne Calhoun, and his brother Ken. They grew up fishing on the Alameda Creek in Niles, and the Arroyo Mocho at the Calhoun Ranch on Mines Road in Livermore

Our grandmother died before any of the grandkids were born, and our dad and uncle didn’t pick up many Portuguese traditions other than linguica, so we have been researching and trying out new Portuguese recipes for the last few years.

Ruth Calhoun Brown, our 99 year old family matriach, with nieces Sylvia & Noel

After spending 10 years researching, testing, and publishing our Danish family cookbook, we were in need of a change! Our cousins all bring old and new recipes to our Calhoun family reunion, some Portuguese, some not.

This year I wanted to try a few vegetarian recipes out, along with a huge pot of pinto beans and linguica, all four burners were goin’! I had purchased a couple of Portuguese cookbooks a few years back, and this year found all the recipes in Portuguese Cooking – The Traditional Cuisine of Portugal by Carol Robertson. I made a Piri-Piri sauce in advance, Fragrant Rice, Peas Algarve Style (without the linguica), and everybody’s favorite, Tomato Acorda.

Portuguese Tomato Acorda (Tomato Soup) with Piri-Piri

Acorda is a rustic Portuguese soup that includes a piece of crusty bread at the bottom of the bowl. It turned out to be an unseasonably cool afternoon, so the soup really hit the spot! It’s a very simple and healthy recipe; you probably have the ingredients in your cupboard. I am definitely not a scientific cook, not always measuring, and I’m always adjusting recipes, especially if I don’t have an ingredient or two. For the acorda, I used less olive oil, and a lot more garlic than the recipe called for, so this is my adjusted version from the cookbook.

Tomato Acorda

Serves 8

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup chopped onions

4-6 cloves minced garlic, to taste

1 28-ounce, and 1 14.5 ounce cans whole tomatoes with their liquid

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano, or 1 teaspoon dried

2 bay leaves

¼ cup chopped flat leaf parsley

2 32 ounce boxes Vegetable Broth

Sliced whole wheat sourdough bread

4 cloves of garlic, peeled

In a large saucepan, heat the oil and lightly brown the onion and garlic. Add the tomatoes and their liquid, oregano, bay leaves and parsley. Break up the tomatoes (I use a potato masher) and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the vegetable stock and simmer, uncovered, for one hour. Stir occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Before serving, grill (for the best flavor), broil or toast slices of sourdough bread, rub a whole clove of garlic across the rough bread. Place the bread at the bottom of each soup bowl. Spoon soup over the bread. Drizzle with a bit of Piri-Piri sauce if you’re looking for a bit of added heat and flavor!

Piri-Piri

¼ cup fresh hot chili peppers

2 garlic cloves minced

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup olive oil

Coarsely chop the peppers, discarding the tops. Thoroughly wash hands, knife and cutting board afterwards. Combine peppers, salt, garlic, and oil in a glass bottle. Cover tightly, refrigerate. Use as needed.

Fragrant Rice

The aroma from the rice was incredible during the cooking process! Serves 6

1 ½ onions, chopped

1 tablespoon butter

1 inch of cinnamon stick

4 whole cloves

1 teaspoon salt

1 clove garlic, minced

½ teaspoon ginger powder

2 cups basmati rice (I used brown basmati rice) rinsed once and soaked for 5 minutes in water

3 ¾ cups boiling water

½ teaspoon turmeric

In a deep saucepan, sauté the onions in the butter. Add the cinnamon, cloves, salt, garlic and ginger. Gently fry for 1 minute.

Drain the rice and add it to the spices. Toss to coat with butter.

Measure 3 ¾ cups of boiling water into the rice mix. When it returns to boiling, add the turmeric, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Shut off the heat and leave rice covered for 5 more minutes before serving.

Saúde!   Nancy

The green bean and shrimp salad served at the disorganized potluck

A few weeks ago we had a potluck and wine tasting at the family party barn. I decided it was going to be a disorganized (–adjective 1. functioning without adequate order, systemization, or planning; uncoordinated 2. careless or undisciplined; sloppy) potluck with no coordination whatsoever. If anyone asked what they should bring, I told them to bring whatever was easiest for them or one of their favorite dishes. I really dislike it when I'm invited to a potluck and the host wants to know weeks or days in advance, exactly what it is I'm going to be bringing. I usually don't plan in advance and don't decide until the last minute, so needing to provide an answer weeks or days in advance can be daunting for me. As I expected, it turned out fine with plenty of very good food and quite a variety of it.

The only area that was maybe a little short was the dessert area. The dessert table at the party barn is usually overflowing, but this time there was probably just the right amount. There were brownies, a s'more pie, and Norwegian cookies.

The entree that was gone before eveyone made it through the line were the chicken and beef enchiladas made by Mary Chapeta. Lesson learned, put the enchiladas near the end of the line, not the very front of the line. Another Mexican themed entree that had people asking for the recipe was Teri Tith's chili relleno casserole.

Our friend Kim Bonde brought a baked potato bar along with a table to set it up on.

Kim Bonde's baked potato bar

Another one of my favorite dishes at the potluck was a green bean and shrimp salad that was brought by Lani Hernandez. I just love green beans. I love them hot and I love them cold. I could go into a lengthy commentary right now telling you about all of the different ways one can prepare green beans just like Bubba did in the movie Forrest Gump when Bubba told Forrest about all of the ways one can prepare shrimp. But, I'm going to spare you this time.

Lani provided me with the recipe for the green bean and shrimp salad--she either got it from familycircle.com or food.com, she can't remember which as the recipe is posted in both places. I'm posting it here for you. Lani said this salad is great served warm or cold. With summer approaching I'm sure I will be making this for a few events in the next few months.

Green Bean & Shrimp Salad - Serves 4

Ingredients

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon honey Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons snipped fresh chives

1 pound green beans, trimmed

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1-1/2 pounds large shrimp, shelled and deveined

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Snipped chives for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Vinaigrette: In a small bowl, whisk vinegar, mustard, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Gradually drizzle in 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, whisking continuously until dressing is emulsified. Add chives; set aside.

2. Green beans and shrimp: Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add beans and simmer for 5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and place in a large bowl. Toss with dressing; set aside.

3. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and shrimp. Season with salt and pepper and cook for about 2 minutes per side or until cooked through.

4. To serve, toss tomatoes with the beans. Place on a serving platter. Scatter shrimp and feta over the top. Garnish with snipped chives, if desired.

Quick, easy, and tasty asparagus

Asparagus is a green vegetable staple in my house. I like my asparagus so that it still has a bit of a crunch. When I was growing up we would eat boiled asparagus to the point where it was mushy and we would dip it in mayonnaise. Today the thought of that is almost nauseating.

As per Wikipedia, asparagus is very good for you and nutrition studies have shown asparagus is a low-calorie source of folate and potassium. Its stalks are high in antioxidants. Particularly green asparagus is a good source of vitamin C. Asparagus contains substances that act as a diuretic, neutralize ammonia that makes us tired, and protect small blood vessels from rupturing. Its fiber content makes it a laxative, too.

And speaking of diuretics, asparagus eaters are well aware that shortly after eating asparagus their urine will temporarily take on a whole new smell. A family friend once had a visitor from Japan staying with him. The Japanese visitor woke our friend up in the middle of the night and told him he needed immediate medical attention for a health issue he was experiencing. Turned out the after effects of consuming asparagus scared the bajebbers out of him and he was just fine.

A few years ago, my friend Kim catered my mother's and her twin brother's 80th birthday party and served asparagus. It was cooked to perfection. Since I discovered her method for cooking it, I have been cooking it that way ever since. It is so fast and easy, it will take more time to preheat your oven that it will take to prep and cook it!

Kim Bonde's Quick, Easy, and Tasty Asparagus

Ingredients

1 bunch of asparagus

1/2 to 1 teaspoon olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400F. Wash the asparagus. Trim off the tough bottoms (about 1" off the bottom). Rub olive oil on the asparagus. Place asparagus on a cookie sheet. Salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 7 minutes. If the asparagus is very thin, reduce cook time to about 5 minutes. If the asparagus is thick, increase cook time to 8 or 9 minutes. Remove asparagus to a serving platter. Lightly sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese. The asparagus is good served hot or cold.

Cutting bottoms off of washed asparagus. I use the rubber band as a guide.

Here's how I measure my olive oil

Washed and oiled asparagus

Cooked asparagus. Note the darker green color and sweat.

Cooked asparagus with Parmesan cheese and ready to eat

Spring has almost sprung. Eat some asparagus!  ~merry~

It is a sign of spring. I usually have asparagus from about April 1 to the middle of June.

~ Ross Faris

For the last few years, my daughters and I have seen pummelos at our local grocery store during the winter months and have marveled at the size of them. Last weekend I finally bought one and we were all pleasantly surprised by the sweet fragrance and taste of the fruit.

So what is a pummelo? According to essortment.com, the pummelo is a large exotic citrus fruit that is an ancestor of the grapefruit. It originated in Asia and is now grown in eastern countries, the Caribbean and United States. The pummelo tree can grow up to heights of 50 feet and produces very attractive white, fragrant flowers. When purchasing a pummelo, select only those that have a fragrant scent, is firm to the touch, and do not have any bruises. Pummelos can be safely stored in the refrigerator for about a week.

The pummelo is much sweeter than grapefruit and does not have that bitter taste that I find with most grapefruit. Even though the pummelo can reach 12 inches in diameter, the fruit inside is much smaller in diameter. Under the rind is a thick spongy pith. The spongy pith in my pummelos probably averaged 1 inch in thickness, but were much thicker in some areas.

To help illustrate the size of the pummelo, on the left of the pummelo is an orange, and on the right is a grapefruit

The inside of the pummelo. Notice the thick spongy pith between the rind and fruit.

A citrus salad I made with a pummelo and other citrus fruit

We really enjoyed the pummelo that we bought last week, so I bought another one this week and made a very refreshing citrus salad with a few other citrus fruits.

Pummelo Salad - Serves 6

Ingredients

1 pummelo

1 ruby red grapefruit

2 mandarin oranges

2 naval oranges

2 tangelos

(any combination of tangarines, mandarine, blood, naval oranges will do)

Dressing

Reserve excess juice from the fruit

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions

Peel the fruit. Cut the fruit in to bite size wedges. While cutting the fruit, reserve the excess juice from the fruit. Remove the membranes from between the pummelo segments. Put the reserved fruit juice, lemon juice, honey, and ground ginger into a small saucepan. On medium high heat, bring juice mixture to a boil. Reduce to low and simmer to reduce the liquid for about 7 to 10 minutes. Allow the dressing to cool. Once the dressing is cool, mix into the fruit salad and serve.

~merry~

On the news last week, the long awaited announcement on the Pacific Coast finally came - "a bountiful crab season is open" - woohoo!! Then I received my Chowhound email with a list of Go-To Spots for Dungeness Crab, that included a great list of Bay Area restaurants sporting crab on the menu - from Vietnamese to the classic crab steamed with butter to Chinese Salt & Pepper Crab served at the R & G Lounge in Chinatown. I’ve had the Salt & Pepper Crab on my “to eat” list since I saw it on Anthony Bourdain’s trip to San Francisco on No Reservations a couple of years back.

Below is the family recipe from our cookbook for crab dressing, to serve with freshly steamed crab. I'm getting ready to whip up a batch and get crackin'!

Crab and Dressing for a Crowd

Serves 15 to 20 as an appetizer

Our Uncle Richie would bring ice chests full of fresh crab to Christmas Eve gatherings and would be busy cracking them from lunch until dinner. This is the dressing he served with the crab. The recipe makes about 3 cups of dressing.

2 cups mayonnaise

1 cup ketchup

2 teaspoons Worcestershire

10 to 12 large, cleaned, cooked, and cracked Dungeness crab

In a mixing bowl, combine the mayonnaise, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce, and blend well. Serve the dressing in small bowls along with the crab.

"Is this enough crab??"

- Niece Nancy the Crab Nosher

Last week my friend Sheri and I were walking at lunchtime and she was telling me about the fun gourmet-cooking weekend she'd just had. One of her friends is an event planner at a spa and event center in the Napa Valley area and the event center hosts well-known chefs to teach cooking classes. Her friend has learned a lot from the classes and spent the weekend showing Sheri all kinds cooking tricks and introducing her to new seasonings and oils. Sheri was really excited about everything she learned and we discussed how much fun it would be fun to start a gourmet-cooking club to learn new cooking methods and to share our recipes and knowledge.

Then, on Thursday night my cousin Wendy, my aunt Patsy, and I went to a cooking club dinner where we had been invited to talk about the Holm Family Cookbook. This cooking club started out over 10 years ago with one neighbor inviting the neighbors over for soup. The neighbors enjoyed the evening so much, they decided to get together once a month for dinner. Currently there are eight members of the cooking club and they take turns hosting it at one another's homes. The host decides what the theme will be. Each member brings a dish to share and eight copies of the recipe that they made. Thursday night's theme was "favorite family recipes."  Needless to say, most of the dishes fell into the comfort food category. After everyone had eaten dinner and before dessert, each member took a turn telling the others about their recipe, e.g., where the recipe came from, special memories about the recipe or the person that they got recipe from, ingredients, etc.

We had a wonderful time that night and I was really envious of the great time these women have when they get together to share their food, stories, and companionship. It really reinforced my desire to start a cooking club.

A Wide Variety of Tasty Comfort Food Was Served at the Cooking Club Dinner

Settling in to eat Sue's Polish American Christmas Eve Mushroom Soup

Anna's Coffee Cake, foreground. Rhubarb Torte, back.

All of the food served at the cooking club dinner was great. Below is the recipe for one dish that we thought was really great because finding the very tasty spinach hidden under the potatoes was like finding a prize in a box of cereal.  Below the potato gratin recipe is a recipe for a refreshing (and fully loaded) punch that was served by the hostess.

Spinach, Bacon, and Potato Gratin

Ingredients

6 russet potatoes (about 3 lbs.) peeled and cut into quarters

6 slices bacon, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

2 large garlic cloves, minced

Pinch of red pepper flakes

1 lb baby spinach, rinsed and well dried

Salt and pepper

Freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 cup grated cheddar

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a 12-inch (1 1/2 quart) oval gratin dish.

In a large pot over high heat, cook the potatoes in a lightly salted boiling water until tender when pierced with a knife, about 25 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.

Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat, add bacon and cook until golden and the fat has been rendered, about 3 minutes. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add spinach and cook, turning with tongs until just beginning to wilt. Immediately remove the pan from the heat; season to taste with salt, pepper, and a few gratings of nutmeg. Transfer the spinach mixture to a fine-mesh sieve and let drain.

Slice the potatoes and arrange half of the slices in the prepared gratin dish. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread the spinach mixture evenly over the top of the potatoes. Top with the remaining potato slices, taking care to arrange them in an attractive pattern.

Sprinkle the cheeses evenly over the top. Place the gratin on a sturdy baking sheet and bake until golden and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Tips from Lisa: be careful with the salt because bacon can be quite salty and adding additional salt may make the dish over salted. Additionally, if a shallow gratin pan is unavailable or doubling recipe for a crowd, make double layers, one potato followed by spinach, then another potato and another spinach and top with potatoes. I've also broken up the cheese so there is a layer of cheese on top of second layer of potatoes and on the very top of gratin.

A Pitcher of Down Home Punch

Down Home Punch

Ingredients

1 small bottle (300 ml) of Ancient Age Bourbon

1 cup Triple Sec

1 cup Peach Schnapps

1 bottle Sweet and Sour

1 cup orange juice (if you want sweeter add more OJ) 

Directions

Put the ingredients in a pitcher with ice. Chill and serve in a pretty glass. To make it extra special you can garnish with an orange slice and cherry!!

Hey, anyone want to join a cooking club?

~merry~

If the divine creator has taken pains to give us delicious and exquisite things to eat, the least we can do is prepare them well and serve them with ceremony.

~Fernand Point

After the strangest California summer I can remember, our tomatoes are finally ripening, in September?! The three hot days that finally came (and went) ripened a variety of our tomatoes, at least enough for my favorite tomato panzanella salad. I caught it while watching the Food Network, with Giada De Laurentiis. My favorite part of the panzanella is the grilled whole wheat croutons, I make them all the time, and add a ton of fresh garlic. I keep them in a ziplock bag and they last for a month or so. I buy a large fresh loaf of whole wheat French bread from our Safeway bakery, and chop it up into cubes and grill.

Our family of wild turkeys also liked the whole wheat croutons!

Here is the entire recipe to enjoy while tomatoes are still rolling in.

Artichoke and Tomato Panzanella

Ingredients

1 (10-ounce) package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed (about 2 cups)

3 cups whole-wheat bread, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

3 large, red tomatoes, cut into wedges

1 cup pitted black olives, halved

3/4 cup chopped, fresh basil leaves (about 1 bunch)

2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning

Directions

Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Drizzle the bread and artichoke hearts with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the bread and artichokes until golden brown at the edges, about 6 minutes total, turning every 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the bread and artichokes from the grill and transfer to a large bowl.

Add the tomatoes, olives and basil to the bowl and toss to combine. In a small bowl stir together the 2/3 cup olive oil, white wine vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Drizzle the dressing over the salad. Toss to combine and serve immediately.

Mangia!

Nancy

It’s that time of year again, is your zucchini out of control?? With our very strange spring weather, we didn’t get our garden planted until late, so I’m making a preemptive strike, finding recipes before the zucchini ambushes our life! Cooking Light magazine got me inspired with a zucchini article in the current issue with some new uses: pickles, coleslaw and meatloaf – add 2 cups of zucchini to your beef meatloaf to moisten it up and make it healthy – the kids will never know! On their website you will find “6 Great Recipes for Zucchini” pictured is Zucchini Oven Chips, one even includes chocolate, or another story “Help, I’m Drowning in Zucchini!”

The recipe journal on 101 Cookbooks always has innovative healthy recipes, a few zucchini recipes include: Summer Vegetable Cianfotta, A Tasty Fritta, Spinach and Zucchini Soup, and My Special Zucchini Bread which includes some unique ingredients like poppy seeds and an optional tablespoon of curry powder.

I found a hilarious story about Italian nonnas and their differing opinions on how a zucchini should be cooked at The Italian Pantry, with a stuffed zucchini recipe.

That’s Fit has “10 Healthy Zucchini Recipes” including zucchini that is stuffed, grilled, roasted, encrusted, sautéed, creamed and a ratatouille-wanna-be.

Even the New York Times posted a Zucchini ‘Pasta’ recipe, where it’s not really pasta, but zucchini ribbons.

The zucchini recipe from the Holm Family Cookbook that I tested in preparation for the zucchini onslaught was my Aunt Joan and Uncle Frank’s Sweet and Sour Zucchini, you can keep them in the refrigerator for weeks, and are refreshingly delicious.

Sweet and Sour Zucchini

2 tablespoons dehydrated onions

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup salad oil

2/3 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped celery

5 uncooked zucchini (each about 7 inches long), very thinly sliced

Place the onions in a small bowl and add the cider vinegar. Let them stand for 30 minutes. Then whisk in the sugar, salt, pepper, oil, and vinegar.

In a large bowl, combine the bell pepper, celery, and zucchini. Pour the vinegar-onion

mixture over the vegetables and blend well. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight or for

at least 6 hours. Drain and serve cold. Serves 10

- Nancy, on Zucchini Patrol

"Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie."  -Jim Davis

Tomorrow is the official start of summer, which means…. potato salad season! Most families have their own adaptation (as do we!), but maybe you want to try something new, healthier, quicker or classic?! I’ve seen dozens of p-salad posts across the e-universe over the past couple of weeks, and here are a few I found that are worth checking out:

The recipe that got me started on this potato quest was “Garden Potato Salad,” posted on facebook by The Food Network, it was the addition of cucumber that caught my fancy.

If you are just starting out, Cooking Light is featuring 5 Potato Salad recipes, and one being “Potato Salad 101.”

Chow.com is sporting an article, “Perfect Potato Salad, Five Creative Takes on this Classic Side Dish” with a very unique “Marinated Purple Potatoes.”

I think we can trust Better Homes and Garden with a “Classic Potato Salad.”

Tyler Florence can introduce you to “The Ultimate Potato Salad.”

A food blogger that I enjoy following, Heidi, at 101 Cookbooks, has a great “Grilled Potato Salad Recipe.” Her game plan: throw as many of the salad ingredient as possible on the grill, whip up a simple vinaigrette, toss and enjoy.

Then I happened upon “The World’s Easiest Potato Salad” using fresh thyme leaves, this sounds like it is right up my alley.

I found an interesting twist at huggingthecoast.com, from the folks at Serious Eats, “Grilled Sweet Potato Salad.”

My family is partial to our grandmother’s potato salad. What made it unique was her homemade French dressing that she mixed in. Our cousin, Lori Neely South would help Granny make large batches of potato salad, the recipe was never written down, but Lori was familiar enough with the ingredients that she was able to figure out the ingredients for our Holm Family Cookbook. The recipe calls for five pounds of potatoes and serves a crowd of about twenty. For Easter and the Fourth of July, Granny always used twelve to fifteen pounds of potatoes.

An excerpt from Granny’s diary read: “July 4, 1971. Nice day. Up at 6 to make 14 lbs. salad. Dick over to lay fire sprinkler, etc. Rich took me over to put oilcloth on tables, etc. G & Ben not here. 90 of us, very good day, home about 9.”

4th of July at the Circle H Ranch, original painting by Tilli Calhoun

Granny’s Potato Salad

Serves about 20

French dressing

1 cup salad oil

4 tablespoons red wine vinegar

4 tablespoons lemon juice

4 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon Spice Islands paprika

1 teaspoon dry mustard

Salad

5 pounds red potatoes, cooked and peeled

Salt and pepper

5 stalks celery, finely chopped

1 red onion, finely chopped

Best Foods mayonnaise

Miracle Whip salad dressing

To make the dressing, combine the oil, vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, salt, paprika, and dry mustard in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Cover and shake well.

Thinly slice about 3 potatoes and put them in a mixing bowl. Add a dash of salt and pepper, sprinkle with the dressing, and mix well. Add approximately a 1/4 cup of the celery and 1/4 of the red onion; mix again. Add approximately 3 heaping tablespoons of the mayonnaise and 2 heaping tablespoons of the Miracle Whip salad dressing; mix again. Transfer this batch to a large mixing bowl. Repeat this same process until all the potatoes are used, being sure to mix the batches together as they are added to the larger mixing bowl.

Chill for 1 to 2 hours before serving.

This recipe and many more can be found in The Holm Family Cookbook. If you don’t have your own copy, you can purchase it right now at https://shop.wentevineyards.com/SHOP.AMS?LEVEL=BOT&PART=8713 " target="_blank">wentevineyards.com!

Enjoy our long-awaited summer!

Nancy

If you have read our cookbook you will know that our mother's side of the family is of Danish descent. Our father's side of the family is of Portuguese decent, but you would never know it by the surname, Calhoun. Both of our father's parents' families immigrated to California from the Azores Islands, which belong to Portugal. When our father's grandfather came to America (legend has it he jumped ship in the San Francisco Bay sometime in the 1800s), he changed his name from de Cuhna to Calhoun. I hate to admit it, but he may have done us a favor. Kids made fun of the last name Calhoun, I can only imagine what fun they would have had with de Cuhna.

The Calhoun Family at the 2010 reunion

Almost every year we have a Calhoun family reunion with a potluck. It used to be that every few years a Portuguese dish, such as soupas or linguisa, would show up at the reunion, but for the last few years we have tried to have a Portuguese theme for the food. This year our cousin Colin brought Portuguese beer, soda, cheese, fish, and sweet bread.  Our cousin Jeff brought a Portuguese sweet bread with purple yam filling and another sweet bread with a coconut filling. Both of these breads tasted great.

Canned fava beans

A tasty Portuguese beer

Portuguese soda

Octopus in hot sauce

Sweet bread with purple yam filling

For the second year in a row our cousin Chris brought a fava bean dish that was one of the most popular dishes. We eat these fava beans as an appetizer by spearing them with toothpicks.  Below is his recipe.

Marinated Fava Beans

Ingredients

4 to 6 cups fava beans

2 tablespoons salt

1 quart water

3 to 6 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

2/3 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 hot chili pepper (optional)

Directions

Boil the fava beans approximately 1 to 2 hours in salted water until tender. Drain the beans. In a large bowl mix the fava beans with the chopped garlic and chili pepper and set aside.  Mix the remaining ingredients to make a dressing. Pour the dressing over the beans, mix well, cover and refrigerate overnight. Mix well before serving.

NOTE: Our cousin Chris likes his recipe to have a bite, so he uses serrano peppers with the seeds.

Comer bem, beber bem, e viver bem!

To eat well, to drink well, is to live well!

~merry~

Trying to find vegetables that kids will eat can be a challenge. For years I tried to get my kids to eat sautéed zucchini to no avail. One time I served them zucchini with some spaghetti sauce on it and they loved it! Now they ask me to make the zucchini with spaghetti sauce and sometimes my oldest daughter makes it herself. 

Zucchini is low in calories, contains folate, potassium, manganese, and vitamin A, but don't tell the kids.

Kid Friendly Zucchini 

Ingredients

Cooking spray

4 medium zucchini

3 tablespoons bottled spaghetti sauce (more or less according to your taste)

1 tablespoon shredded parmesan

Directions

Thinly slice the zucchini (into disks). Spray a large sauté pan with cooking spray.  Sauté the zucchini on medium high heat until the zucchini starts to brown or softens.  Spoon on the spaghetti sauce and mix until the zucchini is coated. Top with the parmesan cheese and serve.

~merry~

Jicama is one of those vegetables that I buy with good intentions of using and then end up having to throw it away because I didn’t use it in time.  When I do use jicama, I usually just cut it up into strips or chips and serve it on a crudite platter or eat as a snack.

I recently had some jicama slaw as a side dish at a restaurant and decided to try some of my own.  After trying different jicama slaw recipes, I came up with this one. It is very colorful and has interesting flavors and textures. I like to add nuts and fruits to my salads and found that pistachio nut meats were a great addition. I think pepitas or sunflower seeds would work great too. (Trader Joe's carries a wide variety of nuts at very reasonable prices, so I recommend looking for your nuts there.) Small chunks of oranges would work well too. Just go crazy with it.

Jicama slaw

Nutty Jicama Slaw

Ingredients

2 cups red cabbage, very thinly sliced

1 cup of julienned carrots

¾ cup of jicama, peeled and julienned

1 to 2 tablespoons minced cilantro leaves

5 green onions (bulb and white part only) chopped

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

3 tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon honey

½ teaspoon chili powder

¼ cup pistachio nut meats (or other nuts, such as sunflower seeds, pepitas)

Instructions

In a medium salad bowl, mix all of the produce. In a small mixing bowl, whisk the olive oil, rice vinegar, juice, salt, pepper, honey, and chili powder. Mix the dressing into the greens. Add the nuts just before serving.

~merry~

My family’s consumption of leafy green vegetables is fairly limited. In an attempt to add more of a variety of leafy greens to our diet, I purchased some kale at Safeway. Not being familiar with all of the leafy greens, by the time I got home I forgot exactly which leafy green I had purchased and figured it was Swiss chard. So, I googled a Swiss chard recipe and cooked the kale according to the Swiss chard recipe. Afterwards, I discovered my mistake and found a kale recipe that was very similar to the Swiss chard recipe, so I was relieved that the recipe that I used was just fine. Fortunately, other than not knowing my leafy greens, it was not a huge mistake--no damage was done, and the kale turned out great.

I very rarely make a recipe without tweaking it (I omitted butter and salt, used less onion, and added pine nuts), so below is my version of the recipe that I used, which will work out fine for both Swiss chard and kale. ~merry~

Kale is rich in vitamins A, C, and K

Swiss Chard is rich in vitamins A, C, and K, potassium and iron

Sautéed Kale (or Swiss Chard) with Pine Nuts, makes 4 servings

Ingredients

1 bunch of kale (or Swiss chard)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/3 cup chopped red onion

½ cup white wine

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

Directions

Pull the kale (or Swiss chard) leaves off of the stems. Chop the stems into small pieces. Set chopped stems aside. Coarsely chop the leaves. Set the chopped stems aside.  In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Stir in the garlic and onion and cook for 1 minute.  Add the chopped stems and the white wine.  Simmer for about 5 minutes or until the stems begin to soften. Stir in the coarsely chopped leaves and cook until the leaves are wilted (or slightly softened for the kale). The leaves will be a dark green. Stir in the lemon juice, Parmesan cheese, and pine nuts. Serve. 

Sautéing the coarsely chopped kale

Ready to serve!

**Unlike the other pages of our blog, this page receives about 15 hits a day. If you do make this recipe, please come back and let us know how it was!**

Click here for another Swiss Chard recipe