Author Archives: Amy

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About Amy

I develop information to help people make medical decisions. When I'm not working on Web sites, videos, and books, I cook, knit, obsess about food, read, run, and think about the next meal.

Lacinato kale and tangerine salad + spicy pork stir fry

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Menu

Lacinato kale and tangerine salad
Spicy pork and cilantro stir fry
Steamed brown basmati rice
Sliced papaya

It feels like Spring is almost here. After a string of grey days, the sun is out and it’s light out until after 7. I went for a quick run and was energized by all the smiley people out for walks. Then, with renewed energy and a growling belly, I got to work. 

Kale is always on those lists of healthy food you probably don’t eat but should. I never did until I was introduced to it by my friend Rob, who made a salad of thin-sliced raw lacinato kale, lemon juice, and ricota salata. Simple and so good. Then a week later I had an elegant vegan version with citrus at Shojin, that again changed my opinion of kale (the nice people and enthusiastic vibe at Shojin could make anything taste good).

I ended up with 5 lbs of the best clementines I’ve ever had in my life (Whole Foods shopping frenzy), and found a bunch of some very fresh looking kale. So here’s my take on raw kale salad: 

Lacinato kale and tangerine salad:
1/2 lb (approx) lacinato kale
5 TBS fresh squeezed tangerine juice (from 2-3 tangerines)
2 tangerines, peeled, broken in half and thinly sliced
1/2 clove minced garlic
pinch salt
1 TBS good tasting olive oil
2-3 TBS sliced or slivered almonds, toasted

Wash kale, cut out the center rib, and then stack leaves and cut crosswise into half-inch strips.

Make dressing: in small bowl, add garlic and pinch of salt, and with a pestle or the round side of a lemon zester, mash garlic to a paste. Add tangerine juice and olive oil and stir with a fork to blend it. Add salt and pepper to taste. If the tangerines are not very sweet, consider adding a touch of sugar or honey.

Put dressing in the bottom of bowl, add kale, and toss. Top with almonds and tangerine slices, and lots of freshly ground pepper.

Now for the rest of dinner. I found this lovely recipe in the Chez Pim archives for Pad Krapow Moo–spicy stir-fried pork with holy basil.

I’ve always been intimidated by Thai cooking, but this seemed do-able. Except for the key ingredient: holy basil. Pim had it growing in her garden when she wrote that entry. I’ve got nothing growing in my thawing garden, and the basil I bought a couple days ago is looking sad. So here’s my adaptation of the spicy pork stir fry:

6 cloves finely chopped garlic
2-3 Thai bird chilies, seeds removed and thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper cut into small strips
1 lb ground pork
2 tsp canola oil
3 TBS fish sauce
2TBS soy sauce
4 green onions, white and green parts thinly sliced
1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro

Heat large stir fry pan over medium high heat. Add oil and then add garlic and chilies, stir for about a minute and add pork, breaking it up with a large spoon.

Continue stirring the pork and breaking into pieces as it cooks.

When it’s almost fully cooked, add fish sauce, soy sauce, peppers, and onions. Stir until the peppers are cooked to your liking.

Take off the heat and stir in the cilantro. Serve with steamed rice. Serves 4 hungry people.

Huevos migas rancheros

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I sigh with longing whenever a California friend tells me about a homestyle Mexican meal from some no-atmosphere place in an LA strip mall with handmade tortillas and chile rellenos. My friend Stacey got tired of my whining about the Mexican food desert in Massachusetts and generously sent me Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen last fall. 

I dove right in, making sauces, beans,  and tacos for some rather festive Saturday night dinner parties. Many of these dishes were built from Bayless’s Essential Quick-Cooked Tomato-Chipotle Sauce, which he also recommends as a base for chilaquiles (sauce + tortilla chips+ cheese=yum) and huevos rancheros. I didn’t make either, thinking they were too casual for a dinner party.

So I had huevos rancheros on the brain. I also had stashed in the freezer some extra batches of the sauce that I made after a Costco frenzy left me with pounds of fresh tomatoes.

When I saw a recipe for migas (eggs, chorizo, tortilla chips) with a tomato chipotle coulis in the Smitten Kitchen archives, it seemed like the perfect addition to a plate of refried beans.

With my friends Iggy and Cooper hanging out in the kitchen, a cold Pacifico on the counter, and streaming KCRW providing the soundtrack, I started with the quick refried beans:

2 tsp canola oil, or any neutral tasting oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 15-oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium-sized skillet or saucepan, heat the oil on medium heat, and add onions. Cook until softened, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes until soft. Add beans, 3 TBS water, and cumin, and cook at medium heat, 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding more water if needed. Add salt and pepper to taste. Beans should get soft enough that you can mash them with the back of a wooden spoon.

Next I heated up the tomato-chipotle sauce. If you don’t have Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen, make the tomato-chipotle sauce from Smitten Kitchen. The migas part comes together quickly:

Migas, adapted from Smitten Kitchen:

6 corn tortillas, cut into 6-8 wedges
8 eggs, lightly beaten
2-3 chopped pickled guindilla peppers or jalapenos (optional)
3 TBS chopped cilantro
grated jack cheese or queso fresco for garnish (optional)

In a large skillet, add canola or other neutral oil so there’s about a half inch of oil in the pan. Saute the tortilla wedges in batches until they are golden brown, and then put on a paper towels to drain. Salt the chips.

This next part goes fast, so it’s best to have the bowls ready: Put a scoop of refried beans at the bottom of each bowl, and add the tomato sauce around the edges of the beans.

Heat a nonstick skillet on medium heat, add a pat of butter or a swig of olive oil, and add eggs and chips. Break up chips and gently scramble the eggs, adding salt and taking care to not overcook the eggs. When nearly done, spoon the eggs over the prepared bowls of beans, and top with peppers (if using), cilantro, and cheese. Add freshly ground pepper and salt to taste.