Saturday, March 9, 2013

Kale Chips

It's a snowy day in my neighborhood. 

It's been snowing since early morning, and though it's the kind of heavy, spring snow that doesn't really build up on the roads, it's wet and windy enough that no one particularly wants to go out in it. It's a good excuse to get some things done indoors and take a break from all the hectic activity that has become our lives lately.

As always, when I have time at home, I tend to spend much of it in my kitchen. There's often no rhyme or reason for what I decide to spend my time on. Usually it's just whatever interests me or sounds good that day. But even I think today's agenda was a bit unusual.

We started with a big weekend breakfast.  Nothing unusual here. Eggs fried in butter and coconut oil (I just got an order in from Tropical Traditions yesterday), bacon, and shredded potatoes cooked in coconut oil and bacon fat. Just the thing to keep everyone nice and warm.


Somewhere along the line, I decided to start making Kombucha again. Isn't that what one does? Just wake up one snowy morning and say to oneself 'I think I'll start making Kombucha again, and I think I should start, like, today. And instead of doing the sensible thing and ordering a culture, or getting one from a friend, I think I'll try 'growing' one from a bottle of the storebought stuff.'


I did have a jar with some long neglected cultures, but upon investigation I decided they should probably go to the compost.

So I bought a bottle of unflavored Kombucha from the store, brewed up some tea and set it in a cabinet to see what happens.






The weatherman had been warning us for days to expect a big storm, so we made sure to put out a bowl to catch the falling snow.  It wasn't long before we had more than enough for Snow Cream.


In between all these things, I made some a batch of Kale Chips. (I also made some Parmesan Crisps, but that's a tale for another day). 

Future kale chips
Kale Chips

1 bunch kale (any kind will do)
2 Tablespoons olive or/and melted coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon salt


Rinse the kale well. Cut out the stems and thickest veins, and tear the larger leaves into pieces.

Allow the leaves to dry thoroughly.

Heat oven to 250 degrees. Drizzle with olive oil. Rub it in to make sure the leaves are coated. Sprinkle with salt, and spread on cookie sheets, being careful not to overcrowd.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until crisp and dry, stirring once or twice during cooking.


Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Baked Apple Pork Chops

This is another of those recipes I didn't make for years because I believed  butter was bad for you. I still don't make it often, but right now I have a large bag of small apples.

I'm thinking apple butter, apple fritters and these pork chops. 



Baked Apple Pork Chops

4-6 pork chops
1 egg, beaten
1 cup dry bread crumbs
4 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 apple, pared and sliced
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
sprinkle each of cinnamon, sugar
leaf thyme, celery flakes and chives

Dip each pork chop into beaten egg, then into bread crumbs. In a skillet, brown pork chops on both sides in melted butter. Place chops in a baking dish large enough to hold them. sprinkle with chopped onion, parsley, celery flakes and chives. Place sliced apple on pork chops. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.
Pour a small amount of water in the bottom of the baking dish
Bake at 400 degrees for 30 - 40 minutes