My Kale Soup

We got kale in our veg box this week; fresh, whole kale leaves, still on the stalk. This is notable because, so far, I haven't been able to find whole kale leaves at the grocery store. For some reason it comes in plastic bags, pre-shredded (which is fine). But, with the stalks (ugh).

I was so excited to see fresh kale that I had to make kale soup. Immediately.

This recipe is my version of what Grandad used to make:

Ingredients

extra-virgin olive oil, 1 small sweet onion (chopped), kosher or sea salt, 1 large carrot (sliced diagonally), 1 small/medium potato (chopped), 2 spicy Italian sausages, 1 (15 oz.) can garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed), 1 (28 oz.) can plum tomatoes, 4 cups chicken broth, 3 tbs. Worcestershire Sauce, 1/4 tsp. Thyme, 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes, large bunch of flat leaf parsley (chopped), large bunch of kale

Directions

Pour some olive oil into a warm pan. Turn the heat to medium high. Throw in onions and cover, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown. Then, add the carrots and potatoes. Stir, cover, and cook. Once they begin to soften, add salt to taste.

While the onions are cooking, cook the sausages in a separate pan until they begin to brown and can retain their shape. They should be 3/4 cooked. Pull them from the pan and slice them. Then, stir the sausage pieces into the onion, carrot, potato mix. Cover.

When the sausage is cooked, add the garbanzo beans, tomatoes, chicken broth, Worcestershire, thyme, parsley, and red pepper. Stir. Bring to a boil and let simmer.

When you're nearly ready to serve, tear the crinkley edges off of the kale leaves and drop them into the pot (discard stalks). Stop occasionally to poke the leaves under the surface of the soup. Allow to boil for a few minutes. Don't over-cook the kale. 

If needed, add more Worcestershire Sauce and red pepper flakes (I usually do).

I like to serve this soup in big rustic bowls because it reminds me of eating it with Grandad, on rainy Cape Cod days.

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The Veg Box

We live in the "Garden of England". Meaning, we are literally surrounded by the farms that grow England's produce. But, as ridiculous as it sounds, we haven't been taking advantage.

Enter Nethergong Nurseries. They deliver a box of fresh (picked Wednesday, delivered Friday), local (within 10 miles) produce, right to your door.

You pick the size of the box, and the frequency of the deliveries. You can also ask them to add fresh fruit, free range eggs, and locally made cheeses. Everything is in-season.

We just got our first box this morning. It had red and yellow onions, Picasso potatoes, carrots, kale, leeks, spring onions, purple sprouting broccoli, tomatoes (the first of the season!), and romanesco cauliflower. Our special additions were braeburn apples and conference pears.

The last picture is of the romanesco cauliflower. Resembling a sea creature, they are a beautiful example of the Fibonacci Sequence in nature. I can't wait to see what they taste like.

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Strawberry Pies

 

 

The new crop of local strawberries just arrived in stores. So, I felt the need to make some mini-strawberry pies. I used pre-made gluten free pie crust dough, and made the filling with chopped strawberries, sugar, and a spritz of lime juice. 

My whole house smelled like the Strawberry Shortcake doll I had when I was little. After they cooled, I served them with whipped cream. They tasted amazing.

 

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The Game Fair

We went to the Game Fair today. Technically, it's called the "Kent Game & Equine Festival", but everyone just calls it the "Game Fair". 

It had every British necessity: vintage engines, guns, shooting dogs, demonstrations, enough tweed to ensconce yourself from head to toe, piles of meat pies, and (of course) a tea tent. 

I loved it.

 

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Daffodils

March is (apparently) daffodil season in the UK. Great forests of them have popped up everywhere. Though, I'm not sure why.

It could be because daffodils are the national flower of Wales and they are traditionally worn on St. David's day (a Welsh national holiday on the 1st of March). Or, it could be because of the "Great Daffodil Appeal" in March, when everyone wears a daffodil pin to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care. Then again, it could just be the weather.

Whatever it is, they're a spectacular springtime sight.

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The Goal Post

For some reason, the other day, I felt an overwhelming urge to make tabouli. But, not just any tabouli. Tabouli like I remembered having at The Goal Post Sandwich Shop.

Now. Because I'm gluten free, I couldn't make it exactly the same (obviously). But, I knew that using quinoa instead of whatever grain normally goes in tabouli wouldn't make much difference. The key ingredient is actually the parsley; Goal Post tabouli always tasted more like parsley than anything else.

Once I had a fair approximation of the tabouli, I decided to take the experiment a step further. Enter the Veggie Rider. One of my favorite sandwiches of all time: a pita pocket lined with cheese and mayo, crammed full of tabouli, then toasted to perfection.

The bad news: the gluten free pita pockets didn't have the requisite flexibility to handle the job. The good news: the sandwich / pile of sandwich ingredients tasted amazing.

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Cardiff Bay

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Gwlad! GWLAD!

"Gwlad" is the Welsh word for land or country, and the first words in the chorus of the Welsh national anthem. Hearing it live is a powerful experience. Especially when the team goes on to win the entire Six Nations Tournament, in a Grand Slam (didn't lose one game) victory.

The streets outside the Millennium Stadium before the game were madness. In fact, they were pretty much like the streets outside any American [insert sport here] match. People were painted, dressed in every thinkable combination of symbols (daffodils, leeks, dragons, etc.) and colors, and drinking. Heavily. The atmosphere was amazing.

There were lines two blocks long and four people wide waiting for pints. And, "like Guinness in Ireland, Brains is the beer of the nation."

This was my first live rugby game. It's fair to say I'm hooked.

 

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Sheep. Everywhere. And pigs.

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The Atlantic(ish), from the other side:

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Croeso i Cymru

We're in Wales (Cymru, in Welsh) this weekend to watch Wales play France in their last match of the Six Nations Tournament. Stay tuned. It's bound to be interesting... 

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For the Road

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Simple: Salad & Salmon

Last night, I made one of our favourite salmon recipes. Favourite because it tastes amazing and because it only takes about ten minutes to make:

1) Mix a tablespoon of melted butter + three tablespoons of gluten free soy sauce + one tablespoon of brown sugar + a couple splashes of water; 2) Rinse your salmon, then put it in the mixture to marinate; 3) Pop it under the broiler, skin side up; 4) Baste occasionally; 5) Flip it when the skin gets crispy and it's about 3/4 cooked; 6) Watch carefully and pull it when it's just barely not raw in the middle.

I paired ours with a simple salad and some quinoa. And, I would have taken a picture of the finished product, but we devoured it within minutes of putting it on a plate.

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All Signs Point to Spring

The birds are singing, everything is blooming, and the grass is an appropriate shade of neon green. It's spring, and not a moment too soon. British summertime officially (surprisingly) begins in only two weeks.

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