Kale in my Smoothie

At one of our recent potlucks, the topic of smoothies came up. A friend of mine mentioned that he tried a kale smoothie and how he did not like it (to put it mildly).  He was attempting to be healthy but it did not end too well. He had an almost green juice with kale, spinach and a bunch of other nice healthy greens, but it did not meet his expectations. Poor thing.

I mentioned to him that I also am not quite ready to make the green juice plunge yet. I know greens are really healthy for me, but I prefer munching on my veggies. I must be part rabbit. However, I do love kale. In addition to that, in spite of my affinity for greens, I feel that I still do not get enough veggies daily. I did find a yummy way to sneak (i.e. hide) it in my smoothie and happily shared secret with him.

Just a brief background, I started switching to smoothies because I wanted a more natural booster in the morning. Also, coffee on an empty stomach is starting to give me some issues and my chai mix can be loaded with sugar. A smoothie seems to be a good alternative. Plus, I get nutrients which I don’t normally get in my cup of java. 

Here’s what I shared with my friend. As far as I know, he has not tried it yet, but I love it. Hope you enjoy!

Mad Gourmet’s Avocado-Banana-Kale Smoothie

Serves 1

Ingredients

• 1/2 medium avocado
• 1 banana (sliced, preferably frozen)
• 1 cup of milk (I use almond milk)
• 1 cup of kale
• 1 tsp of honey or agave (if you want it vegan)
• 4 ice cubes
• Chia seeds (optional, for garnish or to add to the blend)

Directions

• Place milk, ice and frozen banana in a blender. Chop. (I have an older blender, so I do this in batches)
• Add kale and avocado and chop.
• Stir until smooth.
• Pour into a glass, garnish with chia seeds. Serve immediately.

Verdict

I love this smoothie in the morning. The almond milk gives me the protein boost, Avocado for the healthy fats, banana for the potassium and other vitamins, and kale for more vitamins and fiber. I can hardly taste the kale but that distinct texture is still there and frankly, the texture contrast makes the smoothie more interesting (although it’s not that smooth).

Half of my serving for later... 'gater!

I have just recently been using local honey to help with my seasonal allergies. I can vouch that this works (for me - look ma, no sneezes). However, if you want to have a truly vegan meal, agave is my choice of sweetener. For an added Omega-3 boost, I would sprinkle some chia seeds on top or blend it with the smoothie.

Sometimes, I would vary the milk and use coconut milk or a blend. This is primarily because I feel a bit guilty about using too much almonds given the drought situation in California. I figure routinely switching my almond milk up helps in its own (little) way. I do love almond milk though.

Also, to minimize my dishwashing and help with the drought, I use my measuring cup as my smoothie bowl. Don't worry, it gets washed in hot water in the dishwasher.

Lastly, I admit that I still like a solid breakfast. Since I am in a rush in the morning, I would have half of my smoothie almost first thing (after my lemon water, which I do have first thing). Around mid-morning, when things more or less settle down, I’ll have a small serving of oatmeal (usually overnight oats) with nuts and fruits or a small (often healthy) muffin. This routine works for me and keeps my energy up in the morning. Added bonus: I have another smoothie for the next day (it also keeps well in the fridge). 

I almost… almost replaced my coffee with this routine. Now, it's my just my occasional afternoon java boost.

Misua Soup with Meatballs, California style

Blogger’s Note: Apologies for the long absence. I’ve been meaning to write this for a while now but my intermediate hula classes, some travel, and life was taking up most of my time. However, I am determined… yes, determined to write my soup post before the weather become warmer. So here goes…

I finally found a blog-worthy recipe and had time to write! Hooray! It was about time since the weather is getting warmer and I still want to write about soup. I feel that my year needs a soup post or two.

I was finally able to make a successful Maddification of one of my favorite soups. I actually saved this one for last because I thought this would be the easiest (and I obviously overestimated my cooking abilities). I really should have started with this.

I found a really good base in PinoyCookingRecipes.com for Misua Soup with Meatballs. Misua are very delicate wheat noodles used in the Philippines mostly for soup. You can find these in Asian grocery stores. There really is no good substitute for misua in our regular grocery stores, unless you find one with an extensive Asian section. You may be able to substitute pho noodles, but its not quite the same.

The soup contains pork-based meatballs and noodles: fairly straight forward. However, part of my goals was to make misua soup healthier. The base recipe has very little veggies and of course, I wanted to add nice veggies in it. The misua that my grandmother used to make usually has patola but I could not find it here in California (in spite of the huge Filipino community). I could not even find it in the Filipino store. Also, when I lookup what patola is, the translation is zucchini. I don’t think that is correct… the consistency is not the same. Even though it’s back in season, I refuse to add zucchini. I feel that it is a cop out.

Because of my dilemma, I decided to healtify the meatballs instead. Mushrooms were the most obvious choice to add because since they have a consistency similar to meat. It's filled with Vitamin D and we can always use more of that. I chose some nice portabella mushrooms to add to the pork.

Looking at the fridge, I was inspired to add kale. It would give the meatballs an additional nutritional boost and texture. It would not be made in California without kale, right?

The last unintended upgrade was to use shallots instead of onions. We thought we had onions, but did not find it. By using shallots, we have more antioxidants. iron and potassium. They also have a milder flavor than onions.

Here’s what I have. As always, let me know what you think.

Misua soup with Meatballs, California-style

Based on Misua Soup With Meatballs in PinoyCookingRecipes.com

Ingredients

Meatballs:

• 3/4 lb of ground pork
• About 1 cup of kale, minced
• 1/4 cup portabella mushrooms, minced
• 1/4 cup scallions, minced
• 1 egg
• Salt and pepper to taste
• flour for dredging
• cooking oil for frying 

Noodles, broth and garnish:

• 3 cups of water
• 100 grams misua noodles (Half the package)
• 1/2 tsp fish sauce
• green onions, sliced for garnish

Directions: 

1. Combine pork, kale and mushrooms, and 1/8 cup of the shallots and eggs. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Shape into 2" balls and roll in flour.
3. Fry until brown. Set aside the meatballs. 
4. Remove excess oil from the pan. Leave at least 1 Tbsp of cooking oil.
5. Saute garlic and remaining onion. 
6. Add the water and let it boil.
7. Add the fried meatballs, fish sauce and misua noodles.
8. Cook for until noodles are soft (about 5 minutes). 
9. Serve hot and garnish with green onions, and enjoy! 

Verdict

I really love this soup. Even with the Maddifications, the original flavor, I think, was not really sacrificed. It still reminded me of the misua soup that my grandmother made. The fact that it is healthier is a big bonus! Maybe I can add zucchini next time… in the meatballs.

The green onions also added a good layer of flavor. But perhaps because of my exposure to Vietnamese soups, I added some lime and yes, Sriracha. That took it up another notch!

One tip though: Because misua is extremely delicate, I would suggest only cooking the noodles that you will be enjoying. When stored, the noodles do not maintain the same consistency and can be a bit (ahem) unappetizing. I think this explains why my grandma kept the broth and meatballs in the refrigerator... and why some of the meatballs disappeared (Hey, I also had several cousins living with us).

Hope you try this and enjoy.

P.S. I did the meaty part of the writing in the Philippines while I was visiting my Dad. I had more time then, because we spent a lot of time just hanging out at home. Perhaps, I was inspired... even though I was just writing on my smart phone.

Spanakopita with Kale (Kale-o-kopita)

Spanakopita has always been one of my favorite Greek dishes. Unfortunately, since I have developed a sensitivity to spinach (of all things, right?), I can no longer have a traditional spanakopita. However, making spanakopita with alternate ingredients has been in my bucket list of cooking.

Served with a quick Greek-style salad

Kale actually gave the ultimate substitute. It gives me the green look of spinach and great nutritional value. It is also good that I love kale and it has become one of our staples, particularly the curly kale. In fact, if I eat more kale! My hair may turn curly and green.

The docs also gave me specific orders to avoid feta cheese (ugh), something about it being a soft cheese. As a result, I have another challenge in my hands. I can have cream cheese, so that gives me a start, but it would not give me that distinct feta taste.

Since I have some of the basics, I have been sleeping with and meditating on the cookbook that we bought at our favorite Greek Festival in Oakland. I also have been researching recipes on the web. It is classic me: I went into my usual analysis-paralysis.

Then I procrastinated since I did not want to bake in the summer: 90 degree temperatures, you know. But now that it's winter, I don't mind a hot oven (in fact, I welcome it). It is time to pursue it.

Preparing the parcels

I decided that Christmas week would be the perfect time to try this recipe out. I have a lot of time and I can get what I have been visualizing into reality. Besides, I should complete my goals before year-end.

And to make it more difficult for me, I decided to use the parcel technique that I learned from Giada and initially used in my baklava. I figured this will make my kale-o-kopita more portable.

This time I was well-prepared for working with phyllo. I have a small kitchen, so I cleared my counter space. I needed to hang the cook book from a hanger to create more room!

Here's what I have so far. Please note, this was only tested once... let me know what you think.

Mad Gourmet’s Cheesy Kale Phyllo Parchments (or Kale-o-kopita)

Based on several Spanakopita recipes from Kali Orexi!

A collection of recipes by the Philoptochos Society of the Ascension Cathedral

In Oakland, California

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of kale, about 10 cups of kale
• 1 leek (about a cup)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 8 oz cream cheese (I used light)
• 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese
• 2 tsp of Italian seasoning, divided
• 15 sheets of phyllo
• About a stick of butter, melted
• 1/2 cup of olive oil

Directions: 

1. Cut kale in fine pieces and squeeze the water out. Set aside.
2. Cook leeks in olive oil until tender. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add kale, cream cheese and Parmesian cheese to the leeks (I microwaved the cream cheese for about 30 seconds to soften before adding to the mixture). Mix well. Set aside.
4. Melt butter and let cool. Mix olive oil in the butter.
5. On a dry work surface place 1 sheet of phyllo. Using a pastry brush and the remaining melted butter, lightly cover the entire sheet of phyllo with melted butter and olive oil.
6. Cover the first sheet with a second sheet of phyllo and brush with melted butter mixture. Continue until there is a stack of 5 sheets of phyllo.
7. Cut the stacked phyllo rectangle into 4 equal pieces (Cut lengthwise into 2 pieces and widthwise into 2 pieces. This will end up into a rectangular shape).
8. Carefully press each cut piece of phyllo into greased muffin tin cups. Press 2 tablespoons of the kale mixture into each of the phyllo cups.
9. Gather the ends of each of the phyllo squares and tuck to make a sachet shape.
10. Continue shaping the remaining sachets in the other mini-muffin tin.
11. Bake until the edges of the phyllo are golden, about 30 to 35 minutes.

Verdict

Yummy! Looks just like spanakopita!

One bite brought my husband and I back to Greece, strolling through Plaka or exploring the alleys and streets in Mykonos or just relaxing in Santorini. It was great.

Although, I thought it can use a bit more tweaking, my husband thought it is perfect as it is. I think it can use more Italian seasoning to make the cream cheese taste more like feta, maybe another half teaspoon or a full one. I could try to use fresh herbs too, but that would require more.

My other dilemma when I was planning this was what to do with the extra phyllo. I remember the last time I used phyllo, when I made bastilla, I ended up with a bunch of extras. This time by accident, I bought a packet that has two separate phyllo rolls (YES!) which means I will can have another phyllo adventure mid-January.

Bonus! Phyllo cups!

I still ended up with had some extra phyllo, about six sheets. So, I made myself some phyllo cups! It’s cheaper than buying a packet. Then, I can use it to get a pre-taste of my creation or for some cheesy sundried tomato scrambled egg cups the next morning.

In my curiousity, I asked Google translate what kale is in Greek. Google says that Kale in Greek is λάχανο or lachano. So, does this make this Lachanokopita?

Kali orexi!