Toasted Sesame Kale + Coconut Bowl with Sauteed Mushrooms + Scallions

Another post I did for Sakara Life!

I get a lot of recipe inspiration from various social media outlets. When I started blogging in 2008 other food blogs were my main source, but since then, the world of social media has exploded, and so has my supply of mouth-watering images of food. Pinterest and Instagram have been absolute game changers. Want to quickly kill two hours while simultaneously increase your appetite and give your do-it yourself-esteem a slap in the face? Visit either of these websites. Besides the fact that they make my inner Martha Stewart shrivel when I see pictures of gorgeous closets I'll never fill, beautiful homes I'll never own, furniture I'll never reupholster, and holiday decorations I'll never make, they are a really great spot for meal ideas. My sister and I always say that food is the one luxury we can afford. So I may not ever get to dine in the same kitchen as these people, but I can eat the same meal - probably better if I'm behind the knife (toot toot).

Heidi Swanson's recipe for kale salad with toasted coconut is all over the blogosphere, and is delicious just as written. But when reading some comments on the Sakara Life instagram account, someone had asked for ideas on cooking with mushrooms. I'd recently made Heidi's recipe, and knew that sauteed creminis would make a perfect addition. Not to mention her recipe makes four servings, and I always end up eating half of it, which amounts to a few hundred calories in oil consumption, and a couple hundred more in coconut flakes. And while all of those calories come from healthy fats, my skinny jeans just might have a problem with eating this bowl on the daily. I knew I had to come up with a version of this hearty favorite that would allow me to keep wearing my favorite closet essentials.

All of the flavors remain the same here, just in reduced quantities. I kept the volume of kale on the larger side, because c'mon, it's kale. The coconut flakes were reduced, but made up for with coconut oil to bring out more of the coconut flavor, and because coconut oil is pretty much God's gift to earth. Hair conditioner, frizz fighter, tooth whitener, makeup remover, night cream, deodorant, sunscreen - and that's just the beauty benefits. When consumed, coconut oil helps to rev up the enzymes in the body that break down fats, along with knocking out the free radicals in our bodies that speed up aging and disease. Seriously, the uses for this magic tree nut are endless. The sesame oil works perfectly with the sauteed mushrooms to make this dish really meaty and filling. And to keep with the Asian influence, I substituted liquid aminos for the soy sauce, making this meal a great source of protein.

Toasted Sesame Kale + Coconut Bowl
Looking for some breakfast inspiration? 
Top with a fried egg, and call it a game changer

Serves 1

lacinato kale (around 10 stalks) 

2 heaping tablespoons coconut flakes

1/2 tablespoon coconut oil

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil, plus 1/2 teaspoon

1 tablespoon liquid aminos, plus 1/2 teaspoon

1/2 teaspoon olive oil

scallions, thinly sliced

cooked grain of your choice (farro, brown rice, quinoa)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Toss kale and coconut with 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil, 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon liquid aminos. Bake for 5 minutes, toss, and continue to bake for another 2 minutes.

Spoon kale and coconut mixture on top of cooked oat groats/farro/brown rice and toss with an additional 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil, 1/2 teaspoon liquid aminos, and 1/2 teaspoon olive oil. Top with sauteed mushrooms and sliced scallions.

Sauteed Mushrooms

6 cremini mushrooms, sliced thinly

1/4 tablespoon coconut oil

Heat oil in a medium pan over medium heat. Add mushrooms and saute for around 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until nicely browned. Do not salt.

Curried Kale + Brown Rice Bowl

**Another post I did for Sakara Life...enjoy!**

I'm always trying to recreate favorite dishes of mine - to make them more healthy, to save some money, or both. This particular bowl was inspired by one of my favorite Cambridge hotspots, Life Alive. It's one of the few restaurants I go to that I actually feel really good about eating anything on the menu. They're 100% vegetarian, have tons of vegan, gluten-free, macrobiotic, and raw options, and some really delicious fresh juices and smoothies. And although I make it a point to swing by whenever I'm in the area, I pretty much always order the same thing. I'm a creature of habit, what can I say? This curried kale and brown rice bowl is my take on their Swami Bowl. Packed with greens, seasoned with a sweet and spicy miso curry sauce, and topped with nutritional yeast, raisins, and almonds, this nutrient dense bowl screams flavor. And now that I've mastered it, I feel even better knowing exactly what I'm eating, and in what quantities. It also allows me to sneak in some more of the green stuff (insider info: I always order half the rice and double the kale - just as good. 

Curried Kale + Brown Rice Bowl 

1 serving cooked brown rice

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1-2 cups broccoli florets 

1/2 an onion, sliced

2-3 stalks kale, leaves removed

2 tablespoons tamari almonds, chopped

2 tablespoons raisins

Curry Miso Sauce

1/2 tablespoon curry powder

1 tablespoon white miso paste

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1/2 tablespoon bragg's

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

Whisk all of the curry miso sauce ingredients together, and set aside.

Heat a saute pan over medium heat. Add the carrots, broccoli, onion, and kale, season with salt, add about 1/4-1/2 cup water, and cover for a few minutes to steam the vegetables. When the onions are soft, and the broccoli is still bright green, uncover, and turn the heat to low. Add the brown rice and the curry miso sauce. Mix everything together on low heat until the flavors are evenly distributed. Top with the raisins and almonds, and an extra sprinkle of nutritional yeast. Serve with some sliced avocado for even more skin-loving superfoods.

Neopolitan Easter Pie

Did You Know? Easter Pie has many different names and even more recipes, depending on the section of Italy in question. In Naples it is known as "pastiera," and is made with ricotta cheese and whole grains of wheat to symbolize rebirth.

After a cold and rainy Saturday, the weather finally cleared up to allow for a beautiful Sunday lunch. After a late night of preparations Saturday, I got up early with my Mom and continued the endless mixing, chopping, and roasting. Things went pretty smoothly, and in the end, our kitchen table looked beautiful, and tasted even better. Which brings us to today, and the beginning of an Easter recap. Starting with dessert, I'll post a few other dishes my family enjoyed throughout the week.

Wanting to include a traditional Easter dish, I remembered this Neopolitan pie that was featured on The Martha Stewart Show a few years back. My family has always loved Italian foods, and this sounded like an interesting take on a ricotta pie, a dessert we can't get enough of. The idea of incorporating arborio rice brought about thoughts of a sweet risotto or a tapioca style pudding. Both of which would make for a wonderfully creamy filling between a flaky crust. I researched a few other takes on this classic Italian pie, and came up with something I know will be made again come next Spring.

I let the pie cool to room temperature, mainly for slicing reasons, but I'm sure this would be good both warm or cold. Unlike the cannoli-like filling of my previous ricotta pies, this Neopolitan style dessert was a lot less grainy. The pastry cream added such an intense vanilla richness, and the specks of beans do a great job at making any dessert look gourmet. I was never a fan of tapioca pudding, so what comes to my mind is more of a risotto style pie, sandwiched between a flaky, sugary crust, and dusted with a powder of confectioners sugar. I'd never had orange blossom water, but I read that it was pretty traditional, so I tossed some in. It added such delicate floral undertones, and just a hint of sweet orange flavor. In fact, the only thing that I had a bit of trouble with on this pie was the crust. It called for a sweet dough, combining quite a bit of flour with butter, sugar, and eggs. If I were to make it again, I'd definitely use my stand-by pate brisee. The sweet dough was terribly crumbly, and I ended up just pressing it into the bottom and up the sides of the cake pan. I knew it would fall apart if I tried to interlock the top ribbons of dough, so I made sort of a faux-lattice top. In the end, it looked wonderful, and confectioners sugar does a beautiful job at hiding any imperfections.

Neopolitan Easter Pie
Adapted from The Martha Stewart Show

1/2 cup arborio rice
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Pinch of salt
12 ounces whole-milk ricotta (about 1 1/2 cups)
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons orange blossom water
Pastry Cream (recipe follows)
Sweet Dough (recipe follows)
All-purpose flour, for work surface
1 large egg, lightly beaten, for egg wash

Place rice in a medium bowl. Add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Refrigerate overnight.

The next morning, drain rice, and transfer to a medium saucepan. Add milk, 1 cup water, butter, and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook until tender, about 1 hour. Drain, and spread on a baking sheet. Let cool, about 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir together ricotta and sugar. Add cooled wheat, pastry cream, and orange blossom water. Stir to combine.

Remove the larger piece of dough from refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, roll into a 16-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Fit into a 12-by-2-inch cake pan. Pour filling into the crust; set aside. On a lightly floured surface, roll out remaining piece of dough, 1/8-inch-thick. Cut into 3/4-inch lattice strips. Weave the lattice strips over the filling, pinching edges to seal. Crimp edges as desired.

Brush top of pie evenly with egg wash. Transfer to oven, and bake, rotating halfway through, until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Pastry Cream
3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons sugar
2 cups whole milk
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
Pinch of salt

Prepare an ice bath; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, flour, and sugar; set aside. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine milk, vanilla bean, and salt. Bring just to a boil.

Using a measuring cup or a ladle, slowly pour about 1 cup of the hot milk mixture into the egg-yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Pour mixture back into saucepan, and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until thick 1 to 2 minutes.

Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a medium bowl set over the ice bath. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until cool. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pastry cream. Transfer to refrigerator until cold, at least 1 hour, and up to overnight. Just before using, remove from refrigerator, and whisk to soften slightly.

Makes about 2 1/2 cups.

Sweet Dough
1 1/2 pounds (just under 5 cups) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 pinch of salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until fully incorporated after each addition.

Reduce speed to low, and beat in the dry ingredients. Turn the dough out onto a work surface. Divide dough, making sure one piece is slightly larger than the other. Place each piece of dough on a sheet of plastic wrap. Flatten, to form two discs. Wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour before using.