Grilled Kale

Last weekend, we barbecued with my dad -- and he had the idea to grill some kale along with our corn and veggie burgers. I have to admit, I was a little skeptical at first -- but he talked me into it. And I'm so glad he did! The kale turned out amazing.

It had that delicious smokiness from the grill, and was crisp on the edges while the rest of it was still nice and soft. We made sure not to cook it too long, so the kale wasn't bitter -- and it turned out with a perfectly rich, smoky flavor.

The preparation was simple -- we tossed everything in some olive oil, salt and pepper, and a little bit of cayenne pepper. First, we grilled some CSA carrots and spring onions with the chopped up pieces of kale stem; once those started to get nice and soft, I threw in the leafy part of the kale. I made sure to keep stirring up the veggies so that the kale didn't get charred on one side, but the whole cooking process only took about ten minutes.

You can see our farmers' market corn and black bean burgers in the background, but the grilled kale was definitely the star of this meal! Grilled kale is definitely a must for our future barbecues!

Asian Seitan Salad and Scallion Pancakes

Today Zelda had a playdate with her friend who is three weeks older than her -- so we brought over some lunch to share with the other parents. The last vegetables from our share for the week were a head of lettuce and the green part of the spring onions. I decided to make a salad topped with seitan made with Asian spices and a similarly-themed dressing -- plus scallion pancakes on the side.

The scallion pancakes were mostly the same as last time, but with a bit of whole wheat flour used in place of some of the all-purpose flour. I also had more spring onions, so I doubled the recipe to make two big scallion pancakes instead of one.

For the seitan, I used the seitan o'greatness recipe with modified spices. Instead of the listed spices, I used ginger, garlic, Chinese five-spice, and red pepper flakes; in place of Worcestershire sauce I used an additional two tablespoons of tamari. In retrospect, the tomato paste should also have been replaced. The tomato-y flavor that came through in the finished product detracted from the seitan's Asian feel. Still, the seitan turned out deliciously.

The dressing was also sauce for dipping the scallion pancakes, and was made of peanut oil, red wine vinegar, tamari, garlic, ginger, salt, and tonkatsu sauce.

Although there is no sauce in the picture, I did drizzle dressing over the salad -- and deposited a spoonful or two on the plate for dipping my scallion pancakes in. My neglecting to take a picture with the sauce can be chalked up to the two tiny humans and the World Cup game that were serving as serious distractions.

Scallion Pancake and Spicy Tofu with Mustard Greens

The only veggies left from this week's CSA share were mustard greens and three spring onions, so . . . that's what we used for dinner! Spring onions and scallions are very similar; the long green part tastes basically the same, but the spring onion has a much bulbier bulb at the bottom -- much more like an onion than the white part of a scallion. The long green part of the spring onion was used to make scallion pancakes, while I saved the onion-y bulbs for use with the mustard greens in the tofu stirfry.

When I'm cooking, I tend to just eyeball recipes -- not exactly helpful for sharing with others -- but I have a reasonable guess as to quantities. If nothing else, the relative amounts are true. In the future, I really should try measuring things out if I am going to be writing it down! For now, this is what I have.

Spicy Tofu with Mustard Greens

• 1 pound of tofu
• 6 tbsp peanut oil
• 3 tbsp tamari
• a splash of apple cider vinegar
• a splash of lime juice
• 2 tsp chinese five spice
• 2 tbsp red pepper flakes
• 1 bunch of mustard greens
• 3 spring onion bulbs

After pressing the tofu for at least half an hour, combine the peanut oil through the red pepper flakes in a bowl and allow the tofu to soak up the sauce-y goodness. The red pepper flakes will make the tofu spicy, so feel free to use more or less as desired. I like to use the container the tofu comes in for mixing up marinades, since it is exactly the right size -- and it gives the plastic carton another use before it heads to recycle land.

While the tofu is soaking, chop up the greens and the onions. After allowing the tofu to marinade for at least twenty minutes on each side (flipping the tofu makes sure that the top and bottom both get coated well), slice it into chunks for pan frying (and if you slice the tofu while it is still soaking, it allows the marinade to seep into the tofu even more). The leftover marinade can go right in the pan, and begin by sauteeing the onions in the mixture. Add the tofu next, flipping it to make sure it gets brown and a little crispy on both sides. Add the mustard greens last, as they don't need too much time before they are well-cooked.

Scallion Pancake

• 1 cup of flour
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 3 scallions or spring onions (excluding the bulbs), chopped
• peanut oil (or olive oil)
• salt

Put flour in a bowl, then slowly add the water in a steady stream. Continue to mix the flour and water while the water is being added, until it forms a ball of dough. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to sit for about thirty minutes.

Roll out the dough onto a floured surface, then brush with a small amount of oil. Cover the dough evenly with the scallions, then sprinkle a bit of salt over the entire thing. Carefully roll up the dough and scallions into a long cylinder. Once you have rolled it into a snake, tightly coil the roll like a cinnamon bun. This coil can now be rolled out into a fairly flat pancake. The pancake should be fried lightly on both sides, until each side is a golden brown; this takes about five minutes per side.