Leslie Sarna

Pan Roasted Acorn Squash and Raw Kale Salad

I adore raw kale salads!  Here is the salad I made for the Napa Film Fest Dinner Party :)  It's hearty and very fitting for Thanksgiving and all of the Fall season for that matter.  

Acorn Squash and Kale Salad

Serves 6

What you'll need:

10-12 leaves of kale, washed well

1 acorn squash

36 marcona almonds

balsamic vinegar glaze

olive oil

What you'll do:

Wash, de-vein, and chop the kale into bite size pieces and place in a large bowl.  Sprinkle a pinch of salt over them and drizzle with about 2 tbsp. olive oil.  Get your hands in the bowl and massage the kale.  Do this for about a minute and it should reduce in size by about 1/3.  Set aside.

Thinly slice the acorn squash into rings and clean out the seeds in the center.  Heat up a frying pan and melt some butter in it.  Pan fry the squash rings on both sides until they are soft.  

To plate, place a squash ring on the plate, top with a pile of kale, add some marcona almonds to the plate and drizzle with some balsamic vinegar glaze.

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Cancer Fighting Kale Salad + Giveaway!

As some of you may know, October is breast cancer awareness month.  Veggie Dreamgirl has paired up with the fabulous organization Save the Ta-Tas to bring you information about cancer fighting foods.  In exchange they sent this fabulous t-shirt to giveaway to one of you!!  Cute huh?!

To enter just leave a comment below.     
 Bonus points for following me on facebook and twitter and super bonus points for tweeting and mentioning on facebook!

Save the Ta-Tas donates a percentage of all sales to cancer research.

Oh, the retail value of the shirt is $45 :)

Must be a US resident (sorry!) and contest ends this Sunday (9th) at midnight so make sure to tell your friends quickly!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Most people know that kale is super good for you, but I've found that they've been turned off after eating a cooked kale dish.  Let me tell you something... kale tastes way better raw than cooked!  Seriously... give it a try, I'm not lying.  This kale salad contains loads of cancer fighting foods and the fabulous thing is by not cooking the ingredients they retain all of their nutrients!  Here is some information about these ingredients that I got from Stanford University's website:

Kale: Kale is "rich in a variety of compounds that have been shown to slow cancer growth and development in a number of laboratory studies. Other larger human studies have shown that cruciferous vegetables can help to reduce the risk of lung, stomach, colorectal, prostate, and bladder cancers."

Tomatoes: "The anti-cancer compound in tomatoes, lycopene, has been shown to be especially potent in combating prostate cancer. This compound appears to be more easily absorbed if the tomatoes are eaten in processed form-either as tomato sauce, paste, or juice. In addition to preventing prostate cancer, lycopene may also protect against breast, lung, stomach, and pancreatic cancer."

Avocados: "Avocados are rich in a multiplicity of nutrients, including many potent anti-oxidants and phytochemicals as well as vitamins, minerals, fiber and monounsaturated healthy fats."

Almonds: "Nuts contain the antioxidants quercetin and campferol that may suppress the growth of cancers."

So not only does this salad taste awesome, but now you have a few new reasons to make it!

Cancer Fighting Kale Salad:

Serves 6

What you'll need:

1 bunch of kale (usually 8 or 9 stalks), washed well, stalks broken off and chopped

3 roma tomatoes, diced

2 avocados, diced

a couple handfuls of slivered almonds, toasted

dressing:

1 shallot, finely chopped

1 tbsp. kosher salt

1/3 cup white balsamic vinegar 

2 tbsp. agave nectar or honey

3/4 cup olive oil

What you'll do:

After you wash your kale well, pat it dry and cut the stalk off and discard.  Chop the leaves leaving them salad lettuce size pieces and place in a big salad bowl. (the leaves will reduce to about 1/3 of the size when you dress it)  Make the dressing.  Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.  Taste and vary as needed.  Pour the dressing over the kale leaves and massage with your hands.  Yup, you heard me correctly!  Get your hands in the kale and massage it like you would dough.  Do this for about a minute; you'll start to feel the kale soften.  Let the salad sit for anywhere from 7-20 minutes.  Toss in the tomatoes, almonds, and avocado and serve.

CONGRATULATIONS TO LINDSAY @THE LEAN GREEN BEAN YOU ARE THE WINNER!  PLEASE EMAIL ME YOUR ADDRESS!

Fajicos Say What?

Last night I had a few of my favorite bloggers over for a little blogging session.  I had a busy day (my amazing cousin Alison has been visiting, so I've been guiding through LA), so it meant standing in Trader Joe's 2 hours before they arrived at my house to decide what to make.  (I know you've been there too right??)  There were sooo many avocados that I just had to make some guacamole.  Kale also sounded really good so all of a sudden these soft taco/fajitas hybrids were born!  I would like to call the fajicos.  What do you think?  Well, I know they tasted yum, yum, yum and came together pretty quickly.

Vegetable Fajicos
Made 8 tacos

What you'll need:

8 mini soft tortillas (I used Trader Joe's new wheat and corn tortillas that I love!)

3 cups kale

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed 

1 medium onion, cut in half and sliced (so you have longish strips) Here is a tutorial

2 bell peppers, cut into slices to match the onions (I used 1 red and 1 yellow for nice color)

6 oz mushrooms, sliced (these were crimini or baby bellas)

dash of cumin

dash of chili powder

couple shakes of chili powder (definitely adjust all the spices to your favorite flavor profile)

guacamole (your recipe or here are mine: guacamole)

What you'll do:

Put all the kale in a medium bowl and massage with a sprinkle of kosher salt and a small drizzle of olive oil.  Get your hands really in there and massage for about 45 seconds.  Set aside.

In a large frying pan heat up a little olive oil and add the onions (except a couple pieces), peppers and mushrooms.  

While they are cooking, in a small pot, place 3 tablespoons butter and the pieces of onion that you held onto.  When they start to look a little softer, add the beans and stir.  Place heat on low and get back to your peppers.

When they have gotten a little shiny looking (1-2 minutes) add in the spices.  Remember, the longer you cook something the more the "heat" spices will develop.  So add a little now and taste right before you are going to serve to add any more. 

Assemble: Lay a tortilla out, place a few leaves of kale, then a spoonful of black beans, the vegetables, and top with a little guacamole.  There you have it!  Fajicos!

I hope you enjoy!

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Yummy Pasta Goodness!

Yes, yes I'll admit it, I do have a slight obsession with pasta. . . Being Italian I grew up eating it all the time.  No matter what, I always indulge myself with having pasta at least once a week.  I do believe in eating healthy, but I don't believe in depriving yourself of foods you love.  I believe almost everything is fine in moderation : )  This is a pasta I came up with the last bits of food I had left in my refrigerator before I leave for my trip to North Carolina to see my little sister graduate from college!  So excited!  But it makes a perfect Sunday night pasta!

Linguini with Cheesy Eggplant and Kale
Serves 2

What you'll need:

1/2 lb. linguini pasta

1/2 onion, halved and sliced

4 cloves of garlic, sliced

1 eggplant, cubed

1 bunch kale (about 8 leaves) chopped

about 1 cup ricotta cheese

a big handful of parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

some fresh basil chopped to garnish

What you'll do:

After you dice the eggplant, place it in a strainer and sprinkle with a pinch of salt.  Let sit.  Chop the kale and place it in a bowl.  Massage about a teaspoon of salt into it.  Let sit.  Cook the pasta according to the box instructions.  While you're waiting for the water to boil, in a large pan, drizzle some olive oil and add the onions.  After about a minute, add the eggplant and cook on medium low for about 5 minutes, tossing occasionally.  Add in the kale, stir, then add in the ricotta cheese and a few tablespoons of the pasta water.  Mix well.  When the pasta is al dente, drain and add right into the pan.  Toss well.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  And maybe a drizzle more of olive oil.  Serve in a bowl topped with some parmesan cheese and fresh basil.

Enjoy!

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Raw Kale Salad with Balsamic Glaze

Yay kale! Kale is one of my favorite vegetables.  That being said, I never ate it up to about 4 years ago.  The problem was the only way I had ever tried it was over cooked in soups or over steamed.  Kale can be very bitter when overcooked.  blah!  Then I tried raw kale.  What a revelation!  It's delicious!  In fact, I have a whole bunch of it that just sprouted in the garden.  In addition to tasting delish, it's super high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, and has a bunch of calcium too.  

So if you have kale issues, give this raw salad a try and then we'll talk ; )  It's perfect to accompany just about any meal.

Raw Kale Salad with Balsamic Glaze

Serves 6

What you'll need:

1 bunch of kale (usually 8 or 9 stalks), washed well and chopped

3 roma tomatoes, diced

2 avocados, diced

dressing:

1/8 cup purple onion, finely diced

1 tbsp. kosher salt

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar 

2 tbsp. agave nectar or honey

3/4 cup olive oil

What you'll do:

After you wash your kale well, pat it dry and cut the stalk off and discard.  Chop the leaves leaving them salad lettuce size pieces and place in a big salad bowl. (the leaves with reduce to about 1/3 of the size when you dress it)  Make the dressing.  Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.  Taste and vary as needed.  Pour the dressing over the kale leaves and massage with your hands.  Er! Yup, get your hands in the kale and massage it like you would dough.  Do this for about a minute; you'll start to feel the kale soften.  Let the salad sit for anywhere from 7-20 minutes.  Toss in the tomatoes and avocado and serve.

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Quinoa Vegetable Stack

I decided to have some of my friends over for dinner to celebrate my friend Tania's Birthday.  I asked Tania what she would like and she gave me a list of ingredients: quinoa, eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, and kale.  This is what I came up with:

I love challenges like this!  Forces you to be super creative.

Tania's Quinoa Vegetable Stack

Serves 4-6

What you'll need:

1 cup of quinoa, prepared as the package instructs

a handful of pine nuts, toasted

1 eggplant, sliced into discs and grilled

about 1 cup of ricotta cheese, homemade or store bought (I like Polly-O the best)

1 zucchini, sliced lengthwise and grilled

1 head of kale, rinsed really well and massaged with 1 tbsp. salt

tomato sauce, your recipe or mine

fresh basil leaves

What you'll do:

Make your tomato sauce.  Grill your eggplant and zucchini.  At the same time, make the quinoa according to the package directions, but add in a spoonful of tomato sauce and 2 cloves of chopped garlic. (quinoa always needs a little flavor help) After it's done cooking, stir in the handful of toasted pine nuts.

Lay out your plates on the counter and begin plating.  First, put a spoonful of quinoa in the center of the plate.  Next a disc of eggplant followed by a dollop of ricotta cheese.  Then fold each slice of zucchini in half and place on top of the cheese.  Lay another disc of eggplant on top and top with the kale and a basil leaf.  Now I serve them like this and have a bowl of tomato sauce on the table for guests to ladel on top.

** massaging kale: I love raw kale; it has such a lovely texture. As weird as it sounds, yes you massage the kale.  In detail, you'll wash the kale well, chop it and place it in a bowl.  Add in some salt and massage the kale until it shrinks to about a quarter of where it started from.  To finish, rinse and drain well. That's it.

Tools I used:

Grill Pan

Colander

Check out "Things I Love" for more fun stuff!