Every now and then the old health food bug hits. When Jim hears it, he
goes scuttling for the door so I was on my own for lunch.


I covered a quarter cup of lentils with water and brought that to a boil
while I prepped and chopped the first round of vegetables:


1/2 onion
1 carrot
4 kale leaves
kernels of 1 ear of corn cut off the cob.


I added them to the pot, lowered it to a simmer, and waited 40 minutes
while making sure everything was nicely covered with water and prepped
the 2nd round of vegetables:


a small can of Muir Glen organic tomato sauce
2 cloves of garlic put through a press
a minced green bell pepper.


Those got thrown in the pot and brought to a boil only long enough to
heat them through but without really cooking them.


The seasonings were the cool thing. I didn't know about Penzey's spices
back in the old days:


chipotle
dill
tarragon
cumin
celery salt
chili
more chopped raw garlic.


It made 2 big bowls. I ate both of them with toasted 7 grain bread from
the bakery. (I used to bake it myself, but I've fallen off the wagon.)
There was a little left over so I froze it.


--Lia

Julia wrote:

> Every now and then the old health food bug hits. When Jim hears it, he
> goes scuttling for the door so I was on my own for lunch.
>
> I covered a quarter cup of lentils with water and brought that to a boil
> while I prepped and chopped the first round of vegetables:
>
> 1/2 onion
> 1 carrot
> 4 kale leaves
> kernels of 1 ear of corn cut off the cob.
>
> I added them to the pot, lowered it to a simmer, and waited 40 minutes
> while making sure everything was nicely covered with water and prepped the
> 2nd round of vegetables:
>
> a small can of Muir Glen organic tomato sauce
> 2 cloves of garlic put through a press
> a minced green bell pepper.
>
> Those got thrown in the pot and brought to a boil only long enough to heat
> them through but without really cooking them.
>
> The seasonings were the cool thing. I didn't know about Penzey's spices
> back in the old days:
>
> chipotle
> dill
> tarragon
> cumin
> celery salt
> chili
> more chopped raw garlic.
>
> It made 2 big bowls. I ate both of them with toasted 7 grain bread from
> the bakery. (I used to bake it myself, but I've fallen off the wagon.)
> There was a little left over so I froze it.

Hmmm.... Kale, huh? I've been trying to figure out what to do with kale,
since it's going to be showing up at my house soon. Your soup sounds
interesting, though I'm not sure I'd combine the chili seasonings with dill
and tarragon. I'm also not crazy about hearty soups this time of year, but
I've saved your recipe for cooler weather.

In less than a week I'll start receiving my boxes of food from the CSA farm
I've joined. Kale is one of their crops. I went back and read some of this
newsgroup's discussions about kale, and I'm a bit worried about the
persistent assertions that kale is only good after a frost. Julia's posts
in the recent "Kale" thread reassured me somewhat, but it also brought forth
some questions:

Julia, in the earlier discussions you said that you eat kale raw, comparing
it to the use of cabbage in cole slaw. Do you dress it similarly to cole
slaw, or do you treat it differently?

Stir-frying sounds interesting; I might try with the first head of kale that
I get.

Much of the discussion about kale seems to center around its bitterness and
strong taste. I'm fairly well-acquainted with rapini (a.k.a. broccoli
raab), which also has those characteristics; would kale do well if it was
treated the same way that rapini gets treated? (A typical way to cook rapini
would be to brown Italian sausage, then add rapini, garlic, a little red
wine vinegar, and hot pepper flakes and cook until the rapini gets tender.)

It's also been mentioned that the stalks cook much more slowly than the
leaves, and some people have recommended simply throwing the stalks away.
I'm mindful of bok choy, and how the leaves cook much faster than the
stalks, but the stalks are a fantastic addition to stir-fries and other
Chinese dishes. Has anybody tried using the kale stalks in a similar way?

Bob

I've heard the assertions about bitter kale too, but I've never noticed
a difference in the taste no matter when I've bought it. I look for the
curly bluish green leaves and avoid any that are starting to look yellow
or that are so large that they're starting to uncurl. There may be
something to the idea that kale shouldn't be picked before frost; I
don't know. I'm looking at it from the buyer's point of view, not the
farmer's.


When eating kale raw as a variation on cole slaw from cabbage, I dress
it as I do cole slaw from cabbage. For me that means vinaigrette-type
dressings as opposed to mayonnaise ones. I make sure I slice it super
fine. While raw kale in slaw is fine, I prefer my kale cooked, at least
lightly.


Kale tastes closer to green cabbage than it does to broccoli raab.
Broccoli raab is a close relative too so the lack of bitter taste might
be due to newer varieties having had the bitterness bred out of them.
The sausage and red pepper flake recipe would work fine, though.


Yep, I've tried recipes using the kale rib. If I were in your shoes,
I'd go ahead and experiment so you can discover what the rest of us
already know: The rib in kale is like the hard core of a head of red or
green cabbage, that is, inedible and best thrown out. It is nothing
like the yummy white part of the bok choy. Still, I know what it is to
want to experiment so try this: Remove the green leaf and cook it
separately. Slice the rib in 1/8-1/4" slices and stir-fry. It might
remind you of a more fibrous broccoli stalk.


--Lia, only checking rfc on occasion and skipping most of the threads.
If you need me and I don't answer, try me at the address above and put
rfc in the subject line.


Bob Terwilliger wrote:

> Hmmm.... Kale, huh? I've been trying to figure out what to do with kale,
> since it's going to be showing up at my house soon. Your soup sounds
> interesting, though I'm not sure I'd combine the chili seasonings with dill
> and tarragon. I'm also not crazy about hearty soups this time of year, but
> I've saved your recipe for cooler weather.
>
> In less than a week I'll start receiving my boxes of food from the CSA farm
> I've joined. Kale is one of their crops. I went back and read some of this
> newsgroup's discussions about kale, and I'm a bit worried about the
> persistent assertions that kale is only good after a frost. Julia's posts
> in the recent "Kale" thread reassured me somewhat, but it also brought forth
> some questions:
>
> Julia, in the earlier discussions you said that you eat kale raw, comparing
> it to the use of cabbage in cole slaw. Do you dress it similarly to cole
> slaw, or do you treat it differently?
>
> Stir-frying sounds interesting; I might try with the first head of kale that
> I get.
>
> Much of the discussion about kale seems to center around its bitterness and
> strong taste. I'm fairly well-acquainted with rapini (a.k.a. broccoli
> raab), which also has those characteristics; would kale do well if it was
> treated the same way that rapini gets treated? (A typical way to cook rapini
> would be to brown Italian sausage, then add rapini, garlic, a little red
> wine vinegar, and hot pepper flakes and cook until the rapini gets tender.)
>
> It's also been mentioned that the stalks cook much more slowly than the
> leaves, and some people have recommended simply throwing the stalks away.
> I'm mindful of bok choy, and how the leaves cook much faster than the
> stalks, but the stalks are a fantastic addition to stir-fries and other
> Chinese dishes. Has anybody tried using the kale stalks in a similar way?
>
> Bob
>
>

On Tue, 30 May 2006 19:33:57 -0400, Julia Altshuler
> wrote:

>The seasonings were the cool thing. I didn't know about Penzey's spices
>back in the old days:
>
>
>chipotle
>dill
>tarragon
>cumin
>celery salt
>chili
>more chopped raw garlic.

I have a stupid question.

I keep seeing people mention Penzey's spices. Are these spices somehow
"special"? I mean, I can get all kinds of spices, fresh or dried, in
bottles or in bulk, and they all taste quite nice. I buy spices in the
grocery store or the Bulk Barn. Some fresh stuff is grown in my
garden.

Oh, and I didn't think dill and tarragon were spices. I thought they
were herbs.

What's different about Penzey's?

Jo Anne

"Jo Anne Slaven" > wrote in message
...
> On Tue, 30 May 2006 19:33:57 -0400, Julia Altshuler
> > wrote:
>
>>The seasonings were the cool thing. I didn't know about Penzey's spices
>>back in the old days:
>>
>>
>>chipotle
>>dill
>>tarragon
>>cumin
>>celery salt
>>chili
>>more chopped raw garlic.
>
> I have a stupid question.
>
> I keep seeing people mention Penzey's spices. Are these spices somehow
> "special"? I mean, I can get all kinds of spices, fresh or dried, in
> bottles or in bulk, and they all taste quite nice. I buy spices in the
> grocery store or the Bulk Barn. Some fresh stuff is grown in my
> garden.
>
> Oh, and I didn't think dill and tarragon were spices. I thought they
> were herbs.
>
> What's different about Penzey's?
>
> Jo Anne

To me Penzey's is a place that can get many spices in one place, whether it
be online or in one of their stores. Since they sell to a large amount of
people (I assume), they are probably more fresh (even though they are
dried), than other places.

I would like to find a reliable alternative to Penzey's online, but so far I
have not shopped yet to know whether there are others.
Dee Dee

On Fri, 2 Jun 2006 10:32:08 -0400, "Dee Randall"
> wrote:

>
>"Jo Anne Slaven" > wrote in message
.. .

>> I have a stupid question.
>>
>> I keep seeing people mention Penzey's spices. Are these spices somehow
>> "special"? I mean, I can get all kinds of spices, fresh or dried, in
>> bottles or in bulk, and they all taste quite nice. I buy spices in the
>> grocery store or the Bulk Barn. Some fresh stuff is grown in my
>> garden.
>>
>> Oh, and I didn't think dill and tarragon were spices. I thought they
>> were herbs.
>>
>> What's different about Penzey's?
>>
>> Jo Anne
>
>To me Penzey's is a place that can get many spices in one place, whether it
>be online or in one of their stores. Since they sell to a large amount of
>people (I assume), they are probably more fresh (even though they are
>dried), than other places.
>
>I would like to find a reliable alternative to Penzey's online, but so far I
>have not shopped yet to know whether there are others.
>Dee Dee

Thank you Dee.

It seems, then, that Penzey's isn't much different than me getting
stuff at the Bulk Barn. Many, many different herbs and spices there,
in little bins, and you only buy the amount you need. Which is handy
when you're getting expensive and seldom-used stuff like cardamom
pods.

"Jo Anne Slaven" > wrote in message
...
> On Fri, 2 Jun 2006 10:32:08 -0400, "Dee Randall"
> > wrote:
>
>>
>>"Jo Anne Slaven" > wrote in message
. ..
>
>>> I have a stupid question.
>>>
>>> I keep seeing people mention Penzey's spices. Are these spices somehow
>>> "special"? I mean, I can get all kinds of spices, fresh or dried, in
>>> bottles or in bulk, and they all taste quite nice. I buy spices in the
>>> grocery store or the Bulk Barn. Some fresh stuff is grown in my
>>> garden.
>>>
>>> Oh, and I didn't think dill and tarragon were spices. I thought they
>>> were herbs.
>>>
>>> What's different about Penzey's?
>>>
>>> Jo Anne
>>
>>To me Penzey's is a place that can get many spices in one place, whether
>>it
>>be online or in one of their stores. Since they sell to a large amount of
>>people (I assume), they are probably more fresh (even though they are
>>dried), than other places.
>>
>>I would like to find a reliable alternative to Penzey's online, but so far
>>I
>>have not shopped yet to know whether there are others.
>>Dee Dee
>
> Thank you Dee.
>
> It seems, then, that Penzey's isn't much different than me getting
> stuff at the Bulk Barn. Many, many different herbs and spices there,
> in little bins, and you only buy the amount you need. Which is handy
> when you're getting expensive and seldom-used stuff like cardamom
> pods.

Speaking of cardamom and other mid-eastern spices that I've been buying at
at mid-east grocery, the last few times I've been there they are not
up-to-'snuff.' IOW, not as fragrant as I'd like - even though they are in
packages. But, they ARE cheap, I can say that for them. But I'm cooling my
heels for now.
Dee Dee