Garlicky Kale

Kale is one of the healthiest vegetables around although it has largely been overshadowed by broccoli and spinach in modern times. It is rich with essential nutrients such as calcium, lutein, iron, and Vitamins A, C, and K, as well as chlorophyll and fiber. In fact, kale has seven times the beta-carotene of broccoli and ten times more lutein! Researchers have also discovered that sulforaphane, a naturally occurring photochemical formed when kale is chopped or chewed, helps boost the body's detoxification enzymes, which help clear carcinogenic substances. In addition, it helps restore alkalinity in the typical American diet that is all too often overly acidic (too much sugar, too much red meat and not enough vegetables, etc).

Asides from its many health benefits, it also makes for a delicious side dish, particularly with other strong-flavored dishes, like garlic-thyme pollo al mattone (chicken cooked under a brick); in this version, the strong, slightly bitter flavor of kale pairs well with the garlic. There are many different varieties of kale, but this time, I used lacinato (or dinosaur) kale - a wonderful deep-green variety that I love.

Garlicky Kale From Alice Waters' Chez Panisse Café Cookbook Ingredients: • 2 pounds lacinato kale (also known as dinosaur kale or cavolo nero) • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil • salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste (kale already contains sodium so you won't need that much salt) • 4 or 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped • a pinch of red pepper flakes • a splash of red wine vinegar Directions: 1. Remove the stems from the kale. Wash and drain well, but do not dry. 2. Heat a large sauté pan, add the olive oil and enough kale to cover the bottom of the pan, and cook over high heat while stirring to rotate the leaves. Add more kale as the leaves wilt. When all of the kale has been added, season with salt, cover, and reduce the heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally; the cooking time will depend on the maturity of the kale. Young kale will be tender after 4 or 5 minutes. It may be necessary to add a splash of water if the leaves begin to scorch. When the leaves are tender, remove the lid and allow any excess water to cook away. 3. Push the kale to one side of the pan and add an extra drizzle of olive oil, the garlic, and a pinch of red pepper flakes to the bare spot. Just as you smell the aroma of the garlic, stir to combine it with the kale. 4. Turn off the heat, add a splash of vinegar, and correct the seasoning with salt and pepper as necessary. Serve warm or room temperature.

Garlic-Thyme Pollo Al Mattone (Chicken Cooked Under A Brick) With Onion Rings and Sautéed Broccoli and Cherry Tomatoes

Of all the ways you can cook chicken, this is my favorite recipe so far! It produces the perfect chicken with a moist and juicy meat on the inside and crispy skin on the outside. This Tuscan method of cooking chicken traditionally uses a whole young chicken, split down the back and flattened, and often, the chicken is brined or marinated overnight, but in this version, the technique has been simplified and adapted for boned chicken legs made in one day. However, if you feel like being extra ambitious, here are detailed instructions for preparing a whole young chicken for "pollo al mattone" (including some very helpful illustrations).

A few rules to keep in mind to get that crispy skin on the outside:
1. You'll need a large cast-iron skillet, or if you don't have one, a heavy stainless steel aluminum pan will work but not as well as the cast-iron skillet would. Non-stick pans won't work at all.
2. You want to have a clean brick, or if you don't have one, find something that's very heavy that you can use to press down on the chicken, like another heavy skillet. I improvised by using a rice cooker bowl with heavy objects inside to weigh it down.
3. You want to make sure you've cut up the chicken in such a way that it is flattened so that the skin will cook evenly.
4. Make sure the skin of the chicken is dry before cooking. Otherwise, the skin will basically steam and melt onto the pan, rather than become crispy.
5. The oil in the pan has to be hot before you put the chicken in.

Just remember: right pan, heavy brick, flat bird, dry skin, and hot pan.

Here I've flavored the chicken with extra-virgin olive oil, thyme, and garlic, and paired it with cherry tomatoes, broccoli and oven-baked onion rings. The onion rings could either be a side for a main course or eaten alone as a snack. Feel free to get creative -- chicken is one of those versatile meats that you can pair with all kinds of different flavors!

Some ideas for variations:
-Use different herbs, such as rosemary, sage, or tarragon
-Use different spices, such as paprika or dried chili peppers
-Add sweetness, such as honey or unrefined cane sugar
-Change the acidic component; instead of lemon, you could use orange, lime or a kind of vinegar, such as balsamic vinegar, Sherry vinegar, or red wine vinegar, depending on the other flavorings in the dish
-Create an Asian combination of flavors: how about honey, soy sauce, and five spice powder? or peanut oil, minced garlic, ginger, and scallions? or sesame oil, minced ginger, five spice powder, and scallions?
-Pair the dish with different sides (grilled, sauteed, or roasted vegetables go especially well with this dish): garlic mashed potatoes, garlicky kale (one of my favorite pairings), spinach, broccoli raab, Swiss chard, escarole, green beans, or olives are just a few options

Garlic-thyme Pollo Al Mattone (Chicken Cooked Under A Brick) With Broccoli, Cherry Tomatoes, and Onion Rings Adapted from Alice Waters' Chez Panisse Café Cookbook Pollo al mattone Ingredients: • 4 chicken legs (drumsticks and thighs attached) • ½ teaspoon salt • ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil • 1 branch thyme • 16 garlic cloves, peeled • 1 lemon, cut into wedges Directions: 1. Pour olive oil into a small saucepan. Press the garlic cloves through a garlic press and put the minced garlic into the pan, or alternatively, use a microplane zester to grate the cloves over the saucepan. Pull the tiny leaves off the thyme branch and drop them into the pan. Bring the oil to a simmer for about a minute - not too long, or the garlic will burn. Reduce the heat to low and stir the thyme and garlic very slowly until softened, about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, and strain the oil with a mesh strainer into a large cast-iron skillet or stainless steel aluminum skillet, reserving the garlic and thyme for the topping. 2. Bone the chicken legs, preferably with kitchen shears. (Don't throw away the bones! Reserve them to be used in homemade chicken stock.) Spread the legs out into large, flat pieces with the skin intact. Trim the excess fat and skin from the edges. At this point, you can rinse the legs, if that's your thing - there's actually an ongoing debate about whether or not you should rinse raw chicken before it's cooked, but I personally don't do it because 1) it can cross-contaminate your kitchen and 2) any bacteria should be destroyed if it's properly cooked. Whether or not you rinse the legs, pat thoroughly dry with a paper towel. Season both sides of each piece with salt and pepper. 3. Heat the large skillet over medium heat (not to worry, extra virgin olive oil smokes at approximately 375°F, although it depends on how the olive oil was produced). When the pan is hot, add the chicken legs in one layer, skin side down. Lay a piece of parchment paper or foil over the chicken. Then weight the chicken with another cast-iron pan, skillet, brick, or another heavy object that can cover the chicken and weigh it down sufficiently. Cook for about 15 minutes, occasionally checking the chicken to make sure that the skin is browning evenly. Adjust the heat if the legs are cooking too quickly. Remove the weight and parchment paper or foil. Turn the legs over, and cook for 5 minutes more, uncovered. Test doneness either with a paring knife, making sure that the juices are running clear, or with an internal meat thermometer (the internal temperature should be at least 165°F). The skin should be crispy and golden, and the flesh moist and tender. 4. Reserve the garlic-thyme infused olive oil for later use, such as: drizzling over the chicken or other dishes , cooking other dishes, or simply spreading it on a piece of bread. The oil will solidify a bit when refrigerated, but this does not affect the quality of the oil. 5. Arrange the chicken and the sides you have chosen (in this version: broccoli, cherry tomatoes, and fried onion rings) on a platter, and top with reserved garlic-thyme topping. Garnish with lemon wedges, if desired. 6. Optional: Add ½ cup dry white wine to the saute pan and using a spatula, scrape the excess fat from the bottom. Cook over high heat until the wine has reduced by more than half, continuing to scrape the fat until it has completely dissolved (this is called deglazing the pan). Add 1 cup chicken stock, season with salt and again reduce by half. Sautéed Broccoli and Cherry Tomatoes Ingredients: • 6 broccoli stalks, washed • 1 dry pint cherry tomatoes, washed • ½ teaspoon salt • ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper • 2½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil Directions: 1. Cut the stalk from the head of the broccoli, leaving an inch or two of stalk attached to the florets. Discard the rest of the stalks. Cut the larger individual florets in half through the base of the head with a knife, pulling the florets apart. Gather the two halves and cut into quarters. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half. 2. Sauté all the ingredients together in a sauté pan for about 10 minutes or until the broccoli becomes tender. Oven-baked onion rings Ingredients: • 1 yellow onion • 1 extra-large egg, beaten • 1 cup of hot brown rice cereal • ½ teaspoon salt Directions: 1. Cut edges off onion, and remove the outer layer. Slice the onion into ¼ to ½ inch sections (width can be increased or decreased depending upon how large you want your rings to be). Separate the sliced sections into rings. 2. Fill a small bowl, just large enough for onion rings to fit in, with the beaten eggs. Pour the hot brown rice cereal and salt onto a small dish or into another small bowl. Stir the hot brown rice cereal and salt together so that the salt is evenly dispersed through the cereal. One by one, coat each ring in egg, shake off any excess egg, and then dip the ring into the brown rice cereal, making sure it is thoroughly coated. 3. Bake the rings on a cookie sheet sprayed with nonstick extra-virgin olive oil spray in a 375°F oven for 20-25 minutes, flipping rings over about halfway through.

Homemade Chicken Stock

Homemade chicken stock is far more flavorful than the canned chicken stock you buy at the grocery store, and chefs say that the key to a great soup is homemade stock. It's also a great way to use up the leftover parts of a chicken, instead of throwing them away. You can store homemade chicken stock in fridge for 3-4 days (possibly 5-7 days if you store it in an airtight container and bring it to a boil prior to using/consuming) and in the freezer for up to 3 months, and it can be used in a variety of ways: to braise meats, to create stews, to sauté vegetables, or reduced to create glazes or sauces.

If, however, you're in a pinch and don't have the time to make homemade chicken stock (this version will take you about 4 hours), I recommend Imagine's Organic Free-range Chicken Broth. It's one of the best store-bought organic free-range chicken broths that I've tried and a far cry from most store-bought chicken broths, which tend to be nothing more than salty water.

Homemade Chicken Stock Adapted from Alice Waters' Chez Panisse Café Cookbook Ingredients: • 5 pounds of chicken parts, preferably with some meat left on them • 3½ quarts cold water • 1 large carrot, peeled and quartered • 1 large onion, peeled and quartered • 2 celery stalks, washed and quartered • 2 parsley sprigs • 1 thyme sprig • 1 bay leaf • ½ teaspoon black peppercorns • ½ teaspoon salt • 1 tomato, washed and halved (optional) Directions: 1. (optional) Roast the chicken parts in a 450°F oven until nicely caramelized, about 30 minutes. 2. Put the chicken parts in a large stainless steel stockpot and cover it with 3½ quarts cold water. Bring it to a boil over high heat, and once the stock comes to a full boil, reduce the heat to a low simmer. 3. Add the carrot, onion, celery stalks, salt, black peppercorns, and tomato. Add the parsley and thyme sprigs and a bay leaf, in a sachet if possible (you can create a sachet by bundling the herbs inside a cheesecloth and tying the bundle up with kitchen string). Simmer gently for about 3 hours. 4. Skim off any grease that floats to the top. Strain the broth through a colander lined with cheesecloth or a fine-mesh sieve. If you are not using the broth immediately, allow it to cool completely, then promptly refrigerate or freeze. (Storing it while it is still warm will cause it to ferment.) After a few hours in the refrigerator or the next day, skim off any of the fat that has solidified on top of the broth.

Avocado, Roasted Beet, and Grapefruit Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

This was a healthy, delicious salad with a nice balance of flavors - the slight sweetness from the roasted beets, the bitter, tangy, and sweet taste of the grapefruit, the sour taste from the lemon and tangerine juices, slight bitterness from the mixed greens, the sharp flavor of the raw shallots (that taste like the love child of onion and garlic), and the sea salt. I also love the balance of textures - the soft texture of the beets, the crunchy shallots or the brown rice cake crumbs, and the creamy, buttery texture and taste of the avocado, also known as a "butter pear", which pairs very well with the other ingredients in the salad. Having grown up in California, where the avocado is commonly grown, I love avocado - it goes in my salads, or is made into a spread that I've put on brown rice cakes (you can spread it on toast too) or into guacamole, one of my favorite dips. In this salad, I used Hass avocadoes, which have a more subtle taste than some of the other avocadoes.

I peeled and cut the beets into approximately 1 inch cubes, before roasting them, since I had purchased large beets and figured that the beets would roast much faster this way. Roasting the beets causes it to caramelized all over from the intense heat, resulting in beets that are sweeter than the raw version (which are already naturally sweet). I do tend to have a sweet tooth, and I loved the sweetness of the roasted beets.

Obviously, you don't want to wear anything white when preparing this salad. The beets definitely stained the other vegetables in the salad and a small section of my cutting board. That said, the fuchsia juice from the raw beets didn’t stain my fingers the way cooked beet juice is known to do and washed off fairly easily - so there's no need to worry about wearing disposable gloves. It will however stain your pee... so don't freak out if your pee turns pink - no, you're not internally bleeding and it's not one of Aunt Flo's monthly visits either (if you're a lady)!

Avocado, Roasted Beet, and Grapefruit Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette Adapted from Alice Waters' Chez Panisse Café Cookbook Ingredients: • 6 medium or 3 large red or golden beets • salt and pepper • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar • extra virgin olive oil • 1 large shallot, diced fine • 1 grapefruit, skin and pith removed • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar • 1 tablespoon lemon juice • 1 tablespoon tangerine juice • ¼ teaspoon chopped lemon zest • ¼ teaspoon chopped tangerine zest • 2 firm ripe avocados • 5 oz mixed greens • parsley • 1 brown rice cake, crumbled Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Peel and cut the beets into cubes. Arrange the beets in a single layer on a roasting pan. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar (optional), and toss, making sure the beets are evenly covered. Roast the beets for about 45 min, until they are soft and caramelized all over. 2. Meanwhile, for the vinaigrette, mix together white wine vinegar (optional), tangerine juice, lemon juice, shallot, parsley, tangerine zest and lemon zest, and whisk in the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. 3. Cut the avocados in half, removing the skin and seeds. Slice the avocado lengthwise into ¼-inch sections, and scoop out the flesh with a large spoon. Peel the grapefruit, removing the skin and pith. Next, carefully peel off the thin skin of each grapefruit segment, making sure the segment stays intact. 4. Toss the beets gently with the vinaigrette. Arrange the beets on a plate with some mixed greens, the sliced avocado, and grapefruit segments. You can use pretty much any kind of mixed greens. I used a 5 oz package of Earthbound Farm's organic baby mixed greens that came pre-washed and contained some or all of the following greens: organic baby lettuces (red and green romaine, red and green oak leaf, lollo rosa, tango), organic red and green chard, organic mizuna, organic arugula, organic frisée, and organic radicchio. Drizzle the salad with the vinaigrette. Top with crumbled brown rice cakes as "croutons" - like so: