Weekday Quick Meal & Garden Pictures!

My weeks have been very busy lately, and I haven't quite been keeping up with my blog. I've been running, playing soccer, working on my garden, and just plain running around. This meal idea is actually from Tuesday night, and I'm just now getting around to posting it on Saturday. :) Hey, at least I'm posting it! It's very easy to make, fairly quick (about 20 minutes to make), and quite delicious.

This idea isn't entirely original, and it is partially stolen from a soup commercial and partially part of following the meal plan advocated by Alicia Silverstone in The Kind Diet. She says that at every meal, 1/2 your plate should be veggies, 1/4 whole grains, and 1/4 protein. I've been trying to include all three in each meal and making an effort to try new whole grains and to eat a variety of different foods.

So for this particular dinner, I cooked a can of Amy's Spicy Chili, some jasmine rice, and a bag of frozen Ranchero style vegetables. If you don't have Ranchero Style Vegetables, you can also just use a bag of mixed vegetables and add some spices (such as red pepper, cumin, and turmeric).

Tip: Start cooking your rice first because it will take the longest. (I used a rice cooker.) You then can wait about 8-15 before you need to start cooking your veggies and chili. Take that time to check your email, feed the dog, empty the dishwasher, whatever needs to be done around the house, or just sit down and enjoy a glass of wine or something!

My carnivore husband loved this meal, especially the vegan chili! He did, however, add some shredded cheddar cheese to his chili and make his dish not entirely vegan. But if that's your thing, go for it. I'm sure it was just as tasty.

Also, I promised you guys that I would post some pictures of my garden plot. So I took some for you. These were taken at night because it's been getting dark so early lately. I plan to take a few better ones after I mulch tomorrow.

Cantaloupe: I got both my cantaloupe plants on sale from the garden store at the end of the season for super cheap. They were half dead, and I didn't expect much from them, but I managed to nurse them back to health and Look! A cute little baby cantaloupe! Maybe it'll be big enough to eat before the frost hits us...

Kale: I planted this about a week and a half ago, and it's really shot up since then. I've heard that kale actually tastes best after the first frost. So this is one of my fall plants that I'm really looking forward to.

Carrots!: I love carrots!  I actually planted about five rows and two different varieties, so I'll have plenty to spare and share with friends. ( 4 rows and 2 varieties of kale, too.) I'm excited for when these babies are ready to harvest!

Strawberries?: I planted 8 of these plants with the hopes to have some next year since I didn't get my garden plot until pretty much the end of the summer. But lookie here, I have another strawberry fruit. In October! I hope they do this well next summer.

Blueberries: I also bought 9 blueberry bushes and 1 raspberry bush to be harvested next summer. They're hanging in there. The leaves have been changing colors due to the fall weather, but I've been told that as long as there are green branches, I will have lots of blueberries next year!

If you have any ideas for any over winter plants that I can add to my garden, let me know in the comments.  I'm new to this gardening business, and I'm just figuring out how much work and fun it can be.

Good Eats: Kale Chips

Today's Subject: Kale

Lots of people tout the nutritional benefits of kale. It's chock full of vitamin K, vitamin C, calcium, and lots more. But mostly, kale just looks healthy because it's leafy and green. So, maybe some of you are asking: What do I do with this kale? Don't feel alone. I asked that same question when I got a huge hunk of it in my CSA* share last month. In fact, the first time I got it, most of it went bad because I didn't know what to do with it. :(

Well, there are plenty of things that you can do with it: use it in salads, steam it, make chips out of it, etc. Today, I'm going to focus on the last one. Kale Chips! Maybe you've seen kale chips at the grocery store before in the natural foods section. Maybe you haven't. If you have, you've probably noticed that they come with a huge price tag for a tiny amount of product. Yes, these kale chips are delicious, but they are also very easy to make at home for a quarter of the price.

So now I'm going to share my super simple recipe for kale chips.

Ingredients you'll need:

-a big bunch of Kale (You can't make Kale Chips without the Kale!)
-2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (other oils would work, too, if you have a preference)
-sea salt (or regular will do)
-garlic powder

Optional Ingredients:

-Nutritional Yeast (a staple for vegans, can be found at health food stores near the vitamins and supplements)
-Crushed red pepper powder (if you prefer a spicier flavor)
-Cashews, soaked overnight, drained, then crushed into a fine powder in a food processor

First, you'll need to preheat your oven to 275 (Fahrenheit) and get out your baking trays. Next throughly wash and dry your kale. Remove the ribs and cut (or rip, if you're lazy like me) into 1 1/2 inch pieces (chip size).

See my fresh, leafy kale before I added oil, spices, and dehydrated it?

Once you have your pieces ready, dip both sides of each piece in the oil. Not too much oil, you're not frying them! The kale doesn't have to be soaked, just wet enough that the dry ingredients will stick to it. Then, lay the pieces as flat as possible on the baking tray. You can put them pretty close together, just don't let them touch unless you want one massive kale chip. Next, sprinkle with your salt, garlic powder, and whatever spices or optional ingredients you prefer. Flip them over and repeat the sprinkling. Then, stick them in the oven and set your timer for 8-10 minutes. After 8-10 minutes, flip your chips over (They will have shrunk significantly.) and put them back in for another 8-10 minutes.

Take them out and woila, delicious kale chips!

I know, I know, it's not the prettiest picture! But believe me, they really are amazing!  Also, I put a little too much olive oil on mine.  Don't do that!  They were still great, but I had to mop the excess oil up with paper towels like you do with a greasy piece of pizza!

Kale chips cool pretty quickly, so they're usually ready to eat in about a minute.

If you have extras, put them in an airtight container or Ziploc baggie (preferably with a piece of paper towel or something to absorb the moisture from the oil) and save them for later! They can probably keep for up to a week or two, but they most likely will be long gone before then because they're freakin' delicious!

*CSA= Community Supported Agriculture. Basically, you pay a set amount before the season starts and in return, you get fresh fruits, veggies, and herbs once a week until the season's over. (Generally, June-October.) I just joined one this year. I only got a half share, but it's still a lot of food for two people. It's a great way to start cooking healthier, fresher foods and learn some new recipes, too.

For more info about CSAs, check out this website .  It's called Local Harvest, and they also have a lot about farmer's markets and all kinds of hippie wonders!