Bright Orange Kale Carrot Ribbon Salad

Posted on February 17, 2016 by kaprise

My father likes to say that when things are touted as “health” food it’s because “it tastes so bad that people will only eat it if you tell them it’s good for them.” And while I laugh a bit about that – I think that’s pretty fair because in a race between kale and brownies, you bet your butt I’ll be choosing brownies nearly every time. Well, that is until now since I’ve discovered that this bright citrusy kale carrot salad is amazingly easy to prep and eat and it’s all kinds of yummy.

I read a while back that there is a divide amongst the kale aficionados about how kale should be consumed… whether it should be eaten raw or cooked. Personally, I find that raw kale is a a bit difficult on my stomach, so I blanch it quickly here. However, if you feel strongly for raw kale, please feel free to skip the blanching step. I also included a giant pile of ribboned carrots, because my father loves (I mean… LOVES) carrots. And since I had to convince him to partake in a kale salad, when he is a solidly “anti-kale” camper… I knew I had to include carrots. Which brings me to my next little story (before I get into the recipe). I have read and followed David Lebovitz’s namesake blog about food for as long as I can remember… so when it came to thinking about dressing carrots for a salad, I immediately referred myself to his post on how the French enjoy carrot salad and dressed my entire carroty kale salad in a likewise light and fresh way.

So… without any further asides, here is how I prepared my salad.

Bright Orange Kale Carrot Ribbon Salad (Kaprise Kitchen’s take on kale salad, with a little influence from David Lebovitz)

One bunch of dinosaur kale, thoroughly washed
4 large carrots
2 cara cara oranges (or whatever other sweet citrus you can get your hands on)
1/4 cup of roasted almonds, coarsely chopped
1 ripe avocado, sliced
1/2 of a fuji apple, chopped
salt/pepper to taste
1 tablespoon of good quality olive oil (less if you like)
1 tablespoon of hemp seed
1 tablespoon of chia seed

After thoroughly scrubbing the debris out of your kale, cut it into thin ribbons, discarding the fibrous stalks where they are too tough (My sister loves the crunchiness, so if you do as well, please feel free to keep them!)
In a pot of boiling water, gently toss the kale in and stir until the kale is just cooked. About 20-30 seconds. Immediately drain the kale and let it cool while you prepare the rest of the ingredients (Again, if you like raw kale, feel free to skip the first two steps)
Ribbon the carrots – you can use a julienne slicer, box grater, or any method you prefer. I use a vegetable peeler to get thin, long ribbons of carrots – which I prefer to other methods… but again – please choose a method you like most. Set aside the ribbons
Over a large bowl, supreme the cara cara oranges and squeeze the membrane and peel to extract the remaining juice into the large bowl. Set the orange segments aside. Alternatively you can use clementine segments instead of going through the mildly tedious process of segmenting your citrus… and to have enough citrus flavor, squeeze one fruit into the bowl (or a splash of juice will do)
Peel and slice the apple and avocado into chunks/slices, tossing with the orange juices to prevent browning.
Toss the drained kale and ribboned carrots with the orange juice dressed apple and avocado.
Drizzle a little olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste.
Top your salad with a healthy sprinkle of hemp and chia seed, and of course, my favorite, roasted almonds.
ENJOY! (I’ve nestled a little cheese turnover in the salad here, and I’ll post a recipe on that soon!)

How do YOU eat your vegetables? Do you eat your kale raw or cooked????

Mushroom and Artichoke Soup

Posted on January 26, 2014 by kaprise

I’ve been sick the last couple of days, the kind where you are just plain passed out on the couch and drooling. So when I finally managed to peel my tired and sick body off the couch, I wanted something hot and delicious. Luckily, I had a container filled with roasted mushrooms and some spare artichoke quarters languishing in a jar… so I thought… SOUP! Since I was fuzzy from sleeping 2 days straight, I put on some good music and chopped methodically while I simmered up this soup. Turns out, this is just what I needed.

Mushroom and Artichoke Soup (A little bit of this and that from the Kaprise Kitchen)

2 cups of roasted mushrooms (I made mine like this), finely chopped
1/2 cup of canned artichokes (the ones I had are marinated in oil and Italian spices, but plain should be just fine), finely chopped
1 medium sized yellow onion, finely diced
4 cloves of garlic, smashed and finely chopped
2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of olive oil
salt and pepper
pinch of cumin, paprika, and whatever other spices you want!
1 cup of water

If you haven’t already, finely chop all of the ingredients.
In a pot, heat the butter and olive oil
Gently stir in the onion, cooking until translucent and sweet. Add the garlic and cook for a few minutes.
Stir in the mushrooms and artichokes.
Add 1 cup of water and bring to a simmer
Season accordingly.
DONE!

Easy Peasy! This is easily made vegetarian by just using olive oil…. I ate mine with some seared scallops, but you can add or leave out protein as you see fit!

I hope you are all staying warm! It’s been freezing out here, and much to my dismay, my dog LOVES being outside in the snow and ice.

Itty Bitty One Bite Calzones (Kinda…)

Posted on June 22, 2013 by kaprise

You guys. I did a bad thing. I made these… and instead of sharing? I ate them all.

So. First, these aren’t calzones. Sorry if I roped you in based on that information. Misleading title huh? But I didn’t actually know what to call these little things because they aren’t dumplings, or calzones, or really anything. Instead – it’s just a crispy shell filled with mozzarella and tomato sauce… which is really what a calzone is, but baked. These babies are fried.

Anyway… before we get to the recipe, as always I have some rambling to do (you love my rambles, you do!). In college, I used to order a pizza, sit, and eat each and every single piece by myself while I studied. I could normally polish off the entire pizza in an hour, sometimes longer if I was actually studying. Well, one day my best friend Corinne caught me in the act and to this day, she won’t let me live it down. She thinks it’s hilarious that I used to regularly stuff down entire pies of pizza. Small confession: I definitely did this in my last year of law school.

Oh right… back to the calzone-things. There used to be a delivery place that would deliver amazing calzones at my undergrad. I don’t know if they still do and it’s been so long that the name escapes me… but Corinne and I used to eat calzones in the library, hung over, and working. I know… I’m painting such an attractive picture of my college years, aren’t I? So, I’ve been thinking about teeny ones, like one bite calzones for the longest time because everyone likes finger food. And, for me, I like more sauce and more cheese and less bread than a normal calzone offers. Originally, I thought about doing this little recipe in actual yeast raised pizza dough, but then I forgot to buy yeast. So then I was thinking pie crust, but I got lazy and decided on wonton wrappers. I always have a package or two of wonton wrappers in my freezer, so it worked out. I’m cleaning my fridge and making my food-dreams come true.

Right on. Here we go. So before we get started, I highly recommend using a splatter guard. It’s one of those mesh things that you pop over the top of frying pans to prevent oil splatters. I really debated on making these at all because frying anything “wet” like tomato sauce can be a HUGE problem and lead to really dangerous splattering oil. And then after I made them, I debated on posting them here, because I don’t like the idea that anyone makes something I recommend and gets hurt. However… I decided as I was cleaning that you are ALL adults and I am giving you the appropriate warning so there it is. BE CAREFUL!

Kaprise Kitchen’s Itty Bitty One Bite Faux Calzones

2 Mozzarella sticks
16 small circular wonton wrappers
1/4 cup of chunky tomato sauce*
1/4 cup of vegetable oil

*** I recommend using the chunkiest sauce you have so that you can eliminate the more fluid and liquid-y parts of your sauce. I made sauce from whole canned tomatoes a few days ago, so I used the chunks of tomatoes from that sauce only. The reason for this is that in case your wrapper leaks as you fry, the sauce won’t hit the oil and turn into a fountain of spluttering hot oil.

Cut the mozzarella sticks down the length and then into fourths. You should get 8 thin rectangles from each stick (16 total)
Lay out the wonton wrappers and place one mozzarella segment in the center of each
Using a small spoon, add a small dollop of sauce on each circle
Seal the circles with a dab of water and press firmly so that the wrappers are 100% sealed. You want to give yourself a little room as you seal these. The sauce and cheese will puff a bit as you cook so you should give them room to move around without breaking the seal of the wrapper.
In a pan, heat the oil and drop a piece of wrapper in to check the temperature. You want a gentle bubble of oil
Gently place each “calzone” into the oil, giving plenty of space
Fry on each side for about 1 minute, or until golden brown.
If cheese or sauce leaks from your wrappers and causes the oil to splutter, step back until the oil has stopped spluttering before removing the little calzone. Better to have burnt food than burnt body parts.

I hope you enjoy this recipe! I can see this being versatile and becoming as down to earth or as sophisticated as you want. This would even be good with a dollop of goat cheese and fig spread!!

Have a great weekend everyone!

xoxo-H

Listen When I Sing This Song (+ the BEST Baked Ziti)

Posted on June 9, 2013 by kaprise

Today… Today I was ravenous… After my run, I demolished an entire tray of sliced carrots and hummus. Then I ate a cheeseburger. Then I spent three hours thinking about how I was SO hungry. Clearly, my body was telling me to eat something! But then I got super, uber fixated on cheesy pasta. So. I made it.

The first time I had baked ziti was at my friend Deirdre’s house. Her mom asked me to come over to play, and I was SO excited. I shouldn’t have been so excited, the minute I arrived Deirdre and I were planted firmly at the kitchen table and told to work on Algebra together while Deirdre’s mother whipped up dinner. Despite being forced to do homework on my “play” date, I was thrilled because Deirdre’s mother made us this thing called “baked ziti.” I distinctly remember wolfing down more than my fair share. It was hot, cheesey, and absolutely amazing. I loved it.

I made baked ziti for years, and it has always been one of my favorites. I made it for my 16th birthday celebration, but I can’t remember having made it since (… seriously?!). Anyway, I read a couple recipes on my phone before running through the grocery and grabbing the ingredients. From start to finish it took me about an hour and 15 minutes, but it was an active 1 hour and 15 minutes. Either way, baked ziti is always worth the elbow grease!

Kaprise Kitchen’s So-Hungry-I-Can’t-Focus-On-Anything-But-Food Ziti (inspired by several different recipes online, and Deirdre’s mom)

28 oz can of whole tomatoes (you may choose to use more tomatoes if you like to keep extra sauce for rainy days. I did!!!)
1 bunch of basil
1 bunch of parsley
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons of chopped garlic
1 yellow onion, minced
2 tablespoons of olive oil
salt/pepper
1 pound of uncooked pasta
15 oz of full fat ricotta cheese
12 to 16 oz of full fat mozzarella, shredded (also. seriously. NEVER buy that preshredded stuff. It’s bad. VERY bad)

If your oven takes 10000000 years to preheat, now is the time to fire up that babd boy. 375 degrees F.
In a large pot, bring a large quantity (enough for 1 pound of pasta) to boil. Salt lightly.
In another large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat
Mince the onion (really more of a petit dice) and add to the olive oil.
While your onion is softening, peel and smash about 3-4 cloves of garlic. Chop finely and add to onions. Continue to cook gently, be sure not to let the garlic or onion brown. You just want them to be nice and translucent.
Add tomatoes to the garlic/onion. Break apart the whole tomatoes with a fork. Continue on medium/high heat
While your tomato mixture is heating up, your water should boil. Add your pasta and cook for 2 minutes less than al dente. Set a timer so you don’t forget!
As your tomatoes heat, finely chop your fresh basil and parsley. I added a very generous 1/4 cup of chopped herbs, but feel free to adjust based on your preferences.
Add the herbs to the tomatoes, cover and bring the tomato sauce to a boil. I don’t like to cook the heck out of the sauce, so just as it gets to a boil, I turn the heat off.
Now… your pasta timer should have beeped, so drain your pasta in a colander. Shake the excess water from the pasta and return to the pot.
In the pot, add the ricotta cheese and 1/2 of the shredded mozzarella (I added some more chopped herbs too) and 1/2 of the tomato sauce. Stir until the noodles are evenly coated.
Spread your pasta into a large casserole dish (or two separate ones like I did). Dot the top of the pasta with the remaining tomato sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella.
Pop into the over for 20 minutes, or until the cheese has bubbled a bit.
ENJOY!

Leftovers keep well for up to 4 days in a tightly sealed container. When reheating, add a little extra tomato sauce to the pan/plate/whatever to help the pasta perk up a bit.

I would have taken pictures, but I was so busy burning my tongue and wolfing this down that I didn’t. Also. Baked ziti photographs pretty terribly, so I doubt you’re missing much.

What did you eat for dinner?

Crisp Salad with Feta, Olives, and Basil

Posted on April 12, 2013 by kaprise

After eating soup and soft hot foods to help kill my cold, I was really craving something fresh, crispy, and refreshing. This salad satisfied my craving, and the remaining leaves of lettuce have been quickly gobbled up with zesty dressing. Since this isn’t much of a recipe, I’ll leave you with a list of the ingredients and a couple pretty pictures of my salad

Crisp Salad with Feta, Olives, and Basil

Iceberg lettuce
Feta cheese, crumbled
Sliced black olives
Shredded basil
Thinly sliced fennel
Sliced carrots
Coins of roasted sweet potato
Avocado
Cherry tomatos
Italian dressing

Spiced Pea Stew

Posted on March 13, 2013 by kaprise

I don’t really like the idea of pea soup. I find it is always a bit too creamy or sweet or weird. Anyway, it was raining yesterday and I felt like soup. I was going to make chicken-something-something soup with some leftover chicken I had in the freezer, but then I found two bags of sad little peas and immediately changed my mind.

This soup isn’t pretty… but it sure beats the hell out of those weird pea soup recipes you see. It’s chunky, spicy and just delicious.

Spice Pea Stew (Kaprise Kitchen Original)

3 cups of frozen peas, rinsed under cold water
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup of chopped beet greens (you can use spinach, kale, or any other green you would like)
3 stalks of celery, diced
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of paprika
1/2 teaspoon of spicy pepper flakes
3 tablespoons of butter (or olive oil)
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of cracked black pepper

In a heavy bottomed pan, melt butter over medium heat
Saute onions until soft and translucent
Add beet greens and continue to saute over medium heat until soft
Add in celery and peas
Smoosh (hehe… smush? squish?) the peas with the back of a ladle. I squish about 1/2 so that there is texture to my stew (Alternatively, you could blend 1/2 of the mixture with an immersion blender or other device for a smoother texture).
Add all of the spices (you may want to add in increments so that you can adjust accordingly). Taste, and adjust the seasonings as needed.
Just cover the vegetables in filtered water, cover and bring to a boil
Lower the temperature and simmer for 20 minutes
Serve and enjoy!

Hot Pink Vegetable Summer Rolls

Posted on March 7, 2013 by kaprise

This past weekend, I went to a sushi place with a friend where you fill out one of those little paper sheets… I bubbled the wrong one and I didn’t get to eat what I wanted! Which concerns me because I really wanted a cucumber roll and because I just finished a bubble-in bar exam…

Regardless, I had vegetable rolls on the brain so I whipped these up. I had a stroke of genius when I saw the bright red poaching liquid, and steeped my rice paper in the colored water to get these beautiful hot pink wrapped summer rolls. I experimented by brushing them wrappers with the poaching liquid instead of steeping them. The difference is the intensity of the color of the wrapper. If you prefer the darker wrapper, steep the wrappers.

I imagine that making these in all sorts of different colors for a themed party would be fun, or perhaps if you have children making these brightly colored rolls together might encourage them to consume more vegetables.

Party, children, or not… these are delicious and packed with fresh vegetables to get you ramped up for the spring!

Hot Pink Vegetable Summer Rolls (Kaprise Kitchen)

1 pound of beets
7 carrots
4 kirby cucumbers
1 bunch of cilantro
1 bunch of mint
1/2 pound of mung bean sprouts
rice paper wrappers

Wash, peel, and quarter the beets. In a saucepan, cover the beets with water and boil with a pinch of salt for 30 minutes, or until tender.
While your beets boil, wash all of your vegetables and let them drain on a paper towel covered baking sheet (or clean dish towel, if you are more environmentally friendly than I).
Cut the cucumber and carrots into batonnets
Once the beets have been boiled and cooled a bit, also cut those into batonnets, reserving the boiling liquid.
In a large bowl, pour the warm beet liquid (or simply warm water for non-colored summer rolls). Make sure your water isn’t too hot or the wrappers will get too soft and rip.
Gently dip the wrappers into the water, making sure to coat both sides with the water. The wrapper should absorb some water, but still be firm. The wrapper will continue to absorb water as you work, and soften. Remember, you can always dab a little more water if your wrapper is too sticky or too firm.
Place the wrapper on a cutting board (or smooth surface), add filling, roll… and enjoy!!

Crispy Quinoa Cakes (burger substitute)

Posted on February 4, 2013 by kaprise

The other day I was trying to convince myself that I did NOT need to eat my 3rd burger of the week… I was losing this self-argument, but in a lightbulb of genius I decided to make quinoa patties. I had been thinking about quinoa and black bean vegetarian patties for a few days, so I thought it only natural to use what I had in the house already. I pulled inspiration for these “cakes” or “patties” from here and here. Have you read Yummy Supper before? Excellent pictures, excellent inspiration, and the name is so adorable!! The other blog is a new find, and I’m excited to read more from it!

Crispy Quinoa Cakes (Inspired from Yummy Supper and EYS)

1 cup of uncooked quinoa
2 carrots
2 stalks of celery
1 small onion
1 small bunch of parsley
1 cup of cooked brussel sprouts
1 cup of shredded cheese (I used some random raspberry beer cheddar I had languishing in the fridge, but I imagine anything would be good in this! I’m going to try feta next time)
3 eggs whisked
Salt/Pepper to taste
1/2 cup of flour (optional)
1 cup of olive oil (maybe a little less)

Wash the quinoa and drain well (I find that unless you give the grains a good scrub you end up with a little sandiness so I’m sure to wash them really well and drain in a mesh sieve).
In a saucepan, bring the quinoa to a boil in 2 cups of water. Once the water boils, lower to a simmer and put a lid on it (bahaha… put a lid on it). And let it cook until fluffy (about 20 minutes).
While your quinoa is cooking, get started on the vegetables.
Dice the celery and onion. Put into a large mixing bowl.
Slice the brussel sprouts. I used pre-roasted brussel sprouts, but you could use frozen ones or whatever other green vegetable you have on hand. Add to the mixing bowl.
Chiffonade the parsley and add to the bowl
Grate the carrots, using the large holes on your grater, into the mixing bowl with the other vegetables.
Once your quinoa is done, add to the bowl and stir until evenly incorporated.
Add in the whisked eggs, shredded cheese, and salt/pepper.
Shape the mixture into patties. I used about 1/3 cup of the mixture for each cake (this makes about 16 cakes)
(OPTIONAL: You can dust the patties lightly in flour before frying them, it helps a little with cohesiveness, but I fried with and without flour… so it’s really up to you.)
In a frying pan (I used a non-stick one), heat the olive oil until a little bit of batter sizzles.
Taste the little sample batter and adjust your seasonings accordingly.
Fry the cakes in small batches, allowing them to brown before flipping them. I cooked mine for about 4 minutes on each side.
I let them drain on a cookie cooling rack.

I ate my quinoa cakes with seared scallops and packed the rest of the cakes in a large container with pieces of parchment paper in between layers. To reheat, I simply put them in a frying pan and reheated for a few minutes with a teaspoon of olive oil. These keep well in the fridge for up to a week, but I doubt they will last that long.

Let me know if you have any other questions! I think my recipe might be a little garbled, but I made these in a frantic and starved state (and I’m writing it in the middle of the night)!!

Bits and Pieces

Posted on January 5, 2012 by kaprise

I can’t remember if I mentioned it here, but my computer kerplunked in November last year, so I have gotten a Mac. My first one ever. It’s skinny, silver, and super pretty. And as thrilled as I am with my new little piece of technology, I’m still figuring out how to use it. As a pledged PC girl… Mac and I are still becoming friends. The point is, I did back up my computer, but I haven’t been able to access my back-up drive because it’s formatted only for PCs and I only have a Mac. So I’ve lost a million recipes I’ve written (during class) and all those pictures I haven’t shown you yet. I mean… I posted the embarrassing ones of my friends on facebook, but I just didn’t get around to sharing them with you in conjunction with my recipes.

But maybe that’s an amazing thing… All new things for this year. I like new! Speaking of new, I recently purchased a handheld mandolin so I could feed my obsession with shredded red cabbage salad. I made it first using my mother’s amazingly thin and sharp chef’s knife… but I’m terrified of sharpening my own knife (come on… all that shing and shang while to fling your blade up and down the sharpener… just seems like an accident waiting to happen) so chopping all that cabbage was a snore at my apartment. So I bought that little mandolin. I love it. LOVE it. I think it loves me back, though it first nipped the tips of my fingers off… but now we are friends.

Pink Slaw (Kaprise Kitchen)

The best part of this salad is how pretty it becomes after wilting a bit. The beautiful purple melts a little and turns the white sections of cabbage into bright pink slices.

One head of purple cabbage, medium/large
2 limes
1 small mandarin
1/3 cup of olive oil
1 tablespoon of mustard
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt

Quarter and core the cabbage
Thinly slice the cabbage. If you have a food processor, you can use the slice function. But if you’re like me and have a mini food processor, go ahead and use a knife. OR that zippy new mandolin.
Sprinkle shredded cabbage with salt
If you have purchase spray free fruit, zest one of the limes. Juice limes and mandarin for about 1/2 cup of juice
In a small jar, shake together juice, olive oil, and mustard until creamy.
Toss shredded cabbage with 1/2 of the dressing before adding more as to taste. (The amount of dressing you use is up to you… and somewhat related to how large or small your cabbage is)
Salad will keep in a well sealed container and refrigerated for about 4 or 5 days.

And, since I didn’t take pictures of my pink salad (I wolfed it down right out of the bowl), here are some pictures for the last couple weeks.

Smashed fingerlings, waiting to be crisped with bacon

My Christmas wreath that the grumpy old man at the Farmer’s Market sold to me…. that did not smell Christmassy at all!

Thanksgiving Turkey, slathered with thyme, lemon zest, and butter. 🙂 Pretty!

Endive Salad

Posted on December 8, 2011 by kaprise

The first time I read the word “endive” was out of a fancy cookbook that my mother had bought me as a gift. I was 13, maybe 14. It was Thanksgiving, and I wanted to make all of those fancy dishes. I wanted an elegant dinner filled with bubbly champagne and crystal and fancy food. It took a few trips before I found those little endives, and I proudly assembled my fancy salad. Then… I tasted a leaf and declared it “sour” and “gross” before proceeding to bake the stinkiest gruyere potato gratin (which I also deemed “gross”). My 14 year old self felt that the fancy food was a flop, but it’s been a decade since I cooked my first Thanksgiving, and I think my palate has matured with me too.

This year, I went for some last minute Thanksgiving bits with my mother and I spotted the tightly leafed buds once more. I purchased two of them and fixed a simple but beautiful salad. It was simple and elegant – the kind of pretty salad that my 14 year old self would have loved. This time, I garnished the salad with a bit of homemade pomegranate dressing (easy peasy recipe below)

Endive and Grapefruit Salad

2 Belgian Endives, thinly sliced
1 bunch of mint, leaves removed and thinly sliced
2 ruby red grapefruits, peeled and membrane removed (alternatively, you could supreme the citrus)

After thinly slicing the endive and mint, toss gently together with the grapefruit. I chose to peel the fruit out of the membrane and crumble the slices so the grapefruit was distributed. Alternatively, for the presentation conscious, you could supreme the grapefruit and place the slices in an endive leaf with mint garnish.
Keep chilled until ready to serve. Toss gently with dressing just before serving.

Pomegranate Dressing (Kaprise Kitchen)

1/2 cup of pomegranate seeds
2 spray free limes
1/2 teaspoon of dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon of good olive oil

In a small bowl, crush the pomegranate seeds until the juice is released.
In the same bowl, squeeze the limes until all of the juice is released (you may also zest a little of the limes into the dressing if you want a punchier lime taste)
Strain the liquid (to remove the pomegranate seeds and lime seeds) into a small jar
Add the mustard and oil, and shake until the dressing is well combined. Add more mustard if you like.

Kaprise!

Tag Archives: vegetarian