page's power breakfast smoothie

One more post from Page! When we were in Montana she made smoothies for breakfast and everyone LOVED them. This was only a little suprising since she packs them with all kinds of things: almond butter, kale, flax seeds, etc. It was a delicious and nutritious way to start the day and the kids were asking for seconds.

Page uses frozen fruits and frozen kale to make a really thick and cold smoothie but you can certainly substitute fresh fruits or kale for frozen if you have them on hand - just use enough frozen ingredients to keep the smoothie cold.  Page also added nutritional reasons for all her ingredients in parentheses below. Thank you, Page!

PAGE'S POWER BREAKFAST SMOOTHIE

(makes 4 generous servings)

2 11 ounce Vita Coca coconut waters (hydration)

1 large banana, peeled (potassium)

two heaping tablespoons almond butter (protein and fiber)

2 heaping cups frozen raspberries, blueberries, or cherries, preferably a mix (dark fruits are full of antioxidents)

1 heaping cup frozen peaches or mango

1 1/2 cups frozen kale

2 tablespoons whole or ground flax seeds (Omega 3's - some people say ground flas seed is better for absorption but they get at least partially ground in the blender)

2 tablespoons chia seeds (Omega 3's)

1 pack of frozen acai puree, optional (I use Sambazon which is available at whole foods in 100gram smoothis packages)

Combine all the ingredients in the blender and puree. Serve immediately.

page's kale salad

My friend Page is a great cook and she made another winning dish while we were away together on our ski trip...inspired by a kale salad she had at a party she set out to duplicate it and then added one of her favorite fruits, pomelo. The crunch of toasted almonds and the citrusy zing of the pomelo and lemon vinaigrette are perfect with the fresh kale. Page served this salad with our dinner but it also makes a great lunch with bread and cheese. Since the kale stands up well to the dressing, you can even make it for dinner and enjoy any leftovers the next day.

Page likes to use dinosaur kale, also known as tuscan kale, nero di Toscana, or lacinato kale. The salad is best if the kale is thinly sliced into small bite size pieces. When I made this salad (for the photo above) dinosaur kale was sold out at my local market so I bought a curly leaf variety and it was delicious anyway...if you use a kale variety with a tough rib in the leaf femove it before chopping the kale.

PAGE'S KALE SALAD

1 bunch dinosaur kale (can substitute other varieties)

Juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup roughly chopped dry roasted almonds or marcona almonds

1/3 cup finely grated parmasan (use a microplaner if you have one)

1 pomelo, peeled, all membranes removed and sections broken into small pieces

FOR THE VINAIGRETTE

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Combine all vinaigrette ingredients in a jar and shake thoroughly to emulsify.

Combine the kale, lemon juice, and salt in a bowl and let marinate for 30 minutes, massaging the leaves with fingertips to soften. When ready to serve add vinaigrette, almonds, parmesan, and pomelo and toss to combine. Season with sea salt and pepper to taste.

fall salad with salmon, grapes and radishes

This salad is another delicious meal we enjoyed while visiting my friend Page and her family. The moist rich salmon paired beautifully with the sharp flavors of daikon and radishes and the sweet juicy grapes. Now that it is grape season there are lots of varieties to choose from...Page had found "gold'n'sweet green grapes" at her local farmers market but I think any seedless grapes would be nice in this salad.

Page had also bought lots of beautiful baby greens...again, any you like will work. Top the greens with thinly sliced daikon radish, peeled and seeded cucumber slices, radish slices, grapes, and flaked roasted salmon. We made a white wine vinaigrette with a little extra mustard to finish it off.

conchiglie with delicata squash, bacon, leeks and escarole

This past weekend we visited our dear friends Page and Adrian for our annual trip to the Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival. After spending a fun day in Rhinebeck we went and spent the night at their house in Connecticut. Page had bought tons of gorgeous vegetables as the farmer's market in anticipation of our visit. While the kids spent hours outside looking for salamanders (they claim to have found 18!) Page and Lauren and I spent time hanging out and cooking together...something we love. This pasta includes some of my favorite fall produce: delicata squash, leeks, and escarole. It was delicious!

When using leeks be sure to wash them really thoroughly. Thinly slice into rounds and submerge in a bowl of cold water. Agitate the leeks to loosen any sand. Lift out of the water into a colander and repeat with fresh water until there is no residue in the bowl.

We used conchiglie which is a snail shaped pasta for the dish but you can substitute rigatoni or penne. We doubled the recipe below since there were 12 of us in all.

CONCHIGLIE WITH DELICATA SQUASH, BACON, LEEKS AND ESCAROLE

3 small or 2 large delicata squash, cut into 1/2 inch thick rings, seeds removed

Extra virgin olive oil

1/2 pound bacon, cut into 1/2 inch wide strips

2 large leeks, thinly sliced and washed (see note above)

1/2 head of escarole, washed and thinly sliced

1/2 pound fresh ricotta

1 pound conchiglie

Preheat over to 400°. Put a large pot of water on to boil for the pasta. 

Toss delicata rings with olive oil and salt and pepper. Arrange on a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown on both sides (you will need to turn the rings halfway through cooking) and tender. When squash is cool enough to handle cut rings into bitesize pieces. (You can return the squash to the oven to keep it warm if you finish this step before the rest of the dish is ready.)

In the meanwhile saute the bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Trasfer to a plate, reserving the fat. Cook leeks in bacon fat until very wilted and begining to carmelize. Add escarole and continue cooking until very soft. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed.

Cook the pasta until al dente while sauteeing the greens. Drain it in a colander and return to the pot. Stir in ricotta until pasta is well coated. Add greens, squash, and bacon and stir. Serve immediately.