Before I get into the recipe, can we talk about three things? First, how delicious are white grapefruits? If you’ve tried one, you understand me. If you haven’t had one. Please do. If you are protesting, saying grapefruits are too tart. Try a white one. They are a divine mix of tart and sweet.

You wanna know what else are divine? Dried cherries. Seriously. I feel decadent eating them. There’s really no logical explanation for that reaction, but it’s the truth. And throwing them on top of this salad was pure joy. That’s the truth.

Third… let’s have a little chat about kale. In the past few weeks I’ve had several people talk to me about how 1. they just don’t know what to do with kale. They have sauteed it but beyond that, they’re stuck. Or 2. it’s too bitter for them.

This salad is my response to both of those concerns.

This is a great option for a fresh way to eat kale. The curly leaf kale is best for this salad because the dressing clings to the curls. As you’ll see in the recipe, you massage the kale before dressing it. Massaging the kale with a pinch of salt helps to begin to break down the enzymes so it’s less bitter. You can do this not only when making a salad, but also when you are baking or sauteing kale.

Kale Salad with Grapefruit Tahini Dressing
serves 2 (or 4 as a side)

1 bunch kale – stems removed, roughly chopped
1/2 white grapefruit
1/3 cup dried cherries, roughly chopped
1 Tablespoon sesame seed

dressing:
1 Tablespoon tahini
1 Tablespoon grapefruit juice (1-2 segments of grapefruit squeezed)
1/2 teaspoon coconut liquid aminos (you could substitute soy sauce or tamari; if so, omit salt)
pinch salt

In a medium bowl, massage kale with a pinch of salt until it begins to soften.

In a small jar, combine dressing ingredients and shake until well combined.

Pour dressing over kale and toss to coat. Add grapefruit, cherries, and sesame seeds and gently toss to evenly distribute all the goodies.

Enjoy!

Abigail

This is one of those meals that just happened… and I’m so glad it did. I was reading through the most recent issue of Food & Wine a few nights ago and saw a recipe for a burger with diced dill pickles in it. My curiosity was peeked, and I’ve been itching to try out the flavor addition. That, added to the half a pound of beautiful ground beef from Winters Family Beef, and a little almond meal and Parmesan cheese left in their packages (and crying to be used), was the beginnings of a new fave.

You could eat this with a bun like you would a burger and fix it up just how you like it, but if you’re gonna do it lettuce wrap style, the sauce is a must. I served mine with some herb roasted carrot sticks.

Beef & Kale Burger Lettuce Wraps
serves 4

burgers:
1/2 lb beef
1/2 cup frozen kale
2 Tablespoon diced dill pickle
1 Tablespoon almond meal
2 Tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese (omit for dairy-free & paleo)
1 egg
salt & pepper

dressing:
1 Tablespoon vinegar (I used some of my onion scape vinegar)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon mayo
black pepper
pinch of cumin

hearts of romaine – leaves removed whole and washed (or buns for burgers)

In a bowl, combine all the ingredients for the burgers. Divide and form into 4 patties. Cook in a skillet with oil, a few minutes on each side, until cooked through.

While burgers are cooking, combine all the dressing ingredients in a small jar and shake until combined.

For lettuce wraps, crumble up a patty and fill a lettuce cup with some meat and drizzle a little dressing on top. Or make it into a burger with some lettuce and sauce on the bun.

Herb Roasted Carrot Sticks

Cut some carrots into sticks, toss with olive oil and herbs of choice (I used basil, chives, garlic, lemon zest, salt and pepper) and spread on a baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 30 minutes, stirring ocassionally.

Grapefruit Ginger Mint Spritzer
makes 4 oz servings

1 grapefruit, peeled
2 Tablespoons mint leaves
2 bottles ginger brew
crushed ice

In a blender, combine grapefruit and mint and blend until mint is completely blended. Place crushed ice in each glass. Pour grapefruit/mint mixture evenly into each glass and top off with ginger beer. Stir to combine. Garnish with a sprig of mint and a cute straw.

To make it a nice summer cocktail, add a splash of vodka or tequila.

Enjoy & have a great weekend!

Abigail

I made some muesli for an article I’m writing about easy breakfast foods. And while, yeah, muesli is a great breakfast option, I just can’t get into it. It’s a texture thing. It took me years to finally be able to eat mushy oatmeal and the fact that muesli is basically a cold version of oatmeal just makes it worse for me. So… there I was faced with the dilemma of having a jar full of muesli that I would potentially never eat when I saw a tweet about breakfast cookies.

Breakfast cookies!

For some reason the moment I read Shauna Niequist’s tweet about breakfast cookies, I just had to have them. So, naturally, I bought her newest book (which I finished in only a few days) so I could get the recipe. As I read through the ingredients I realized the majority of the ingredients were already in the muesli, so in theory I could just use it as a substitute. And it worked! And they were oh so delicious.

Muesli Breakfast Cookies
based originally on 101 Cookbook’s Nikki’s Healthy Cookies but featured in Shauna Niequist’s Bread & Wine (a must read for all you food lovers… AND the kindle edition is only $3.79 right now!)

Yields 6 cookies (or more depending on your scoop size)

1 cup muesli (my muesli is adapted from Joy the Baker’s recent recipe, except I just throw everything but the kitchen sink in)
1 ripe banana
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
1/3 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350˚.

In a small bowl, mash together the banana, coconut oil, and vanilla. Add muesli, salt, and baking powder. Mix until well combined.

Using a teaspoon or a large ice cream scoop, scoop cookies onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment. Gently press down and shape into a round cookie shape… the cookies don’t grow or change shape so you’ve got to do all the shaping work for them.

Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.

Variations: I love adding some nut butter to mine (it gives this creaminess to the cookies). If you want to do the same, go ahead and throw about a Tablespoon of your favorite nut butter in with the banana and coconut oil. Just be sure to add about 1/3 cup more muesli to absorb the added oil and moisture.

Also, the cookies pictured have some honey drizzled on top for added sweetness. I added the honey while they were cooling so by the time they were cooled, the honey had soaked into the cookie.

Final Note: For a crunchier cookie you can use an egg instead of the banana. But… you’ll need to add some kind of sweetener, because you no longer have the banana flavor to carry you. I have a theory that doubling the recipe and doing 1 banana and 1 egg would give you a nice and crunchy cookie with good flavor. That test just hasn’t happened yet.

Enjoy as a snack, for breakfast, or a nice healthier dessert option.

Abigail

A few weeks ago I found these gorgeous onion scapes at the farmers market and decided to use the tops of them to make an infused vinegar. My grandparents have a bottle of vinegar in the fridge that is stuffed full of peppers and they use it to put on top of cooked greens, among other things. This is my version of the pepper vinegar. It is great in salad dressings or used straight to flavor cooked greens – just the other night, I put some on top of some kale that I’d sauteed with caramelized onions. It adds a nice little tart kick to each bite.

And its as simple as stuffing a jar or bottle with bits of onion scape and filling the bottle up with your vinegar of choice. I used champagne vinegar. You could also use white, apple cider, or brown rice vinegar. Let sit for a few days before using so the flavors have time to release. Store in the fridge.

Enjoy,
Abigail