Wild Rice, Mushroom and Kale Casserole

 

Food that I make for my friend Marshall has often graced the pages of this blog. Marshall is someone that I work with at the Circus, and he's also someone I'm happy to call a friend. He is a brilliant dancer, in fact, if you watch So You Think You Can Dance, he's actually one of the people in the title sequences. He is also an accomplished acrobat, has a kick ass static trapeze routine, and to him it appears that a back flip is as effortless as breathing.

In a few weeks, Marshall is leaving town. He's going off to new adventures. I'm really going to miss him. Not just because of the massages and the Marshall Meals, but because he's a good friend and someone I've loved working with this last year. I'm happy for him that he gets to go do even more cool stuff, but sad for me.

So it was time for another round of massages and meals, and this may very well be the last round, though I might try and make him dinner one last time before he skedaddles off into the wild blue yonder.

I'm still working on pantry busting, and I decided that it was time to use up the last of the Wild Rice medley that I picked up back when I made my Lentil and Rice salad. I've recently been playing around with Kale. I absolutely adored the Kale and Avocado dip that I made last week. So I packed this casserole full of Kale. I added mushrooms to give it a nice meaty component, and then a low(ish) fat cheese sauce to bind it all together and give it a little bit of creaminess.

This makes a nice big pan that is a great side dish. I served this to Marshall with some sauteed Kale on the side, and a Pesto and Slow Roasted Tomato stuffed chicken breast.

Wild Rice, Mushroom and Kale Casserole

For the Casserole

1 1/2 Cups Uncooked Rice Blend (include Wild Rice)

2 Cups Kale

8oz Mushrooms, sliced

1/4 Cup Walnuts

2 Tablespoons Butter for sauteing

For the Topping

1/4 Cup Asiago Cheese

1/4 Cup Panko Breadcrumbs

For the Sauce

2 Tablespoons Butter

2 Tablespoons Whole Wheat Flour

2 Cups Non-Fat Milk

1 Cup Cheddar Cheese, grated

1/2 Teaspoon Salt 

Everyone has a favorite method for cooking rice and here is mine. For this rice, you want it a little al dente, as it will cook more in the oven with the sauce. So, rinse your rice and get yourself a saucepan with a tight fitting lid. Cover the rice with water so there is about half an inch of water above the rice. Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and lay a clean dish towel over the pan, then put the lid on, then tie the dish towel over the lid so that you aren't trailing dishtowel and risking fire and death. Turn the heat down very low, let cook for 15 minutes. Turn the heat off and let sit for another 15 minutes. Do not remove the lid at all during this time. After your time is up, take the lid off and you should have nice al dente rice. If you are using white rice, make the times 10 and 10. 

Slice the mushrooms and saute in a large skillet until browned, set aside. 

Chop the Kale, being sure to remove the center rib, and place in the pan you just took the mushrooms out of. Add a cup of water and cook until the water has evaporated all the way.

Now preheat the oven to 350F and make your sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour to make a paste. Add the milk little by little, stirring all the while until all of the milk is adding. If you have lumps, run the sauce through a sieve to get them out. Then, simmer until it starts to thicken a little. Take off the heat and add the salt and cheddar. Mix well to combine. 

To assemble the casserole, mix the mushrooms, kale, sauce, rice and walnuts in a large bowl. Pour out into an 8x8 Casserole dish (I love this one). Mix the panko breadcrumbs with the asiago cheese and sprinkle over the top. If you don't have asiago on hand, you can use parmesan. Bake for 20 minutes until the top is crispy and the casserole is bubbly. 

Serve to your friend in the green room between shows with some chicken and a side vegetable and tell him how much you will miss him. 

Makes 8 servings.

Want more Marshall Meals? Here they are:

Healthy Eggplant Parmesan
Asian Simmered Beef
Parsley and Panko Crusted Salmon

Toasted Coconut Meringues

I wouldn't call myself a food hoarder. I'm really good about only buying what I need. However, I'm not terribly keen on throwing food away. If I have leftovers that I'm sick of, I tend to stick them in the freezer to be rediscovered at a later date. This usually ends up being three months later when I'm completely starving and have no time to cook. It works for me.

I've talked before about how badly I want to have a big big freezer. I dream one day of a house with a chest freezer and a garden where I can grow my own food, and then store it! For now, though, I have to make do with my tiny icebox which is shared with my roommate.

Because I don't like to through anything away, though, there is a little tub in my freezer that is full of egg whites. So frequently I have recipes that call for just yolks, and I hate throwing the whites down the sink. So into the freezer they go. I realized the other day that my little freezer tub was getting kind of full. I figured that it was time to go ahead and make something, and honestly, I took the easy way out and made meringue.

When I was just starting out in America and cooking very seldom, I once made a huge and delicious strawberry pavlova. I even took a picture of it with a real film camera. The picture was, of course, terrible, but that pavlova was wonderful. Layers of crispy meringue filled with whipped cream and strawberries. I definitely need to revisit that old summer favorite.

But, since I didn't have strawberries on hand, I decided that the meringue that I would make would be in cookie form. Digging through my pantry, I came up with coconut and dark chocolate. Perfect.

Toasted Coconut Meringues

When you're making meringues, you need a stabilizer. The standard choice is Cream of Tartar, but I couldn't for the life of me find it in my pantry. The easiest and more reliable substitute is white vinegar. You can use either in this recipe.

3 Egg Whites (or 3oz of egg white)
1/2 Cup Unsweetened Coconut
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/4 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar or 1/2 Teaspoon White Vinegar
Pinch of Salt
1/2 Cup Dark Chocolate

Preheat your oven to 250F. In a bowl or a stand mixer, whisk the egg whites with the cream of tartar/vinegar and salt until they form thick peaks that don't sink down when you stop whisking. Add in the sugar a tablespoon at a time and keep whisking. Your peaks will turn lovely and glossy.

In a shallow pan, lightly toast the coconut until it is just starting to brown. Fold it really gently into the eggs until it is evenly distributed.

Line two cookie sheets with Silpat or parchment paper. Drop the mixture onto the pans, about a tablespoon at a time. Try and form them into little mountains. The mixture should be thick enough to stand up on it's own. You should get about 15 per cookie sheet.

Bake in the oven for an hour to an hour and ten minutes. They will keep their shape and turn a light brown all over. Pull them out of the oven and let them cool on the pan completely. If you try and remove them, they will flatten out. They need to cool to maintain their shape.

When they are cool, melt the dark chocolate in a double boil and dip the meringues in there, coating as much of the top side of the meringue as you can. Set onto a plate, and stick in the fridge for 30 minutes or so for the chocolate to harden.

Bring to work and share with your coworkers, because you're just that nice. Eat three between the parking lot and the office.

Makes about 30 meringues.

Creamy Avocado and Kale Dip and Not Breaking the Calorie Bank

I'm a sucker for Spinach and Artichoke Dip. It's one of the few times I'll actually man up and eat something with mayonnaise in it.

I know people will think that I'm crazy, but I really dislike mayonnaise. The taste, the smell, the concept... I just can't do it. I'm not even sure why. I never had a traumatic mayonnaise experience like I did with banana flavored things. I just don't care for it. I think part of it is that I know mayonnaise comes from eggs mixed with oil. I've seen eggs and I've seen oil, and they don't look anything like mayonnaise. I think I'm mostly just freaked out by the transformation that occurs. It makes me a touch uncomfortable.

But oh man, Spinach and Artichoke dip is my jam. I adore it. I love the richness and the creamy and the tangy and the yum of it all.

But, these days, I try really hard to eat healthy. It's not easy, and I still act out once in a while. Case in point, I may have had ice cream for brunch today. Just ice cream. From Baskin Robbins while I walked around the grocery store.

But I'm balancing out here. I wanted something for lunch that was decadent and rich, but wouldn't break the calorie bank. I've recently hopped on the Kale bandwagon. I'm definitely not as gung ho as some people, but I will admit that sauteed Kale is pretty yummy when seasoned well, and it's nutrition values are nice.

This dip has the creaminess of a calorie rich dip, but you don't feel afterwards as though you should go run a 5K while carrying a backpack full of rocks to make up for your transgressions. The color of it is also really sumptuous and lush. I love how the green just pops. Fantastic.

Creamy Avocado and Kale Dip

1 Avocado
3 Stalks of Kale
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons Non-fat Yoghurt
Juice of Half a Lemon
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil (plus 1/2 Tablespoon for the Kale)
Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

Wash your kale and with a knife or just using your hands, separate the leaves from the center stalk. Chop the leaves up in small chunks.

In a skillet, heat half a tablespoon of olive oil and add in the minced garlic. Cook for a minute or two, just to soften it. Add in the kale and mix around to coat, then add in 1/2 Cup of water. Let cook for a few minutes until almost all of the water has evaporated. Set aside to cool.

In a blender or a food processor, add in the flesh of the avocado, the lemon juice, yoghurt, tablespoon of olive oil, and then about four grinds of salt and six or seven grinds of pepper. Pulse a few times to blend together, but don't puree it. You want it well mixed, but not smooth. Add in the kale and pulse again until everything is blended together and thick and chunky.

Enjoy with crackers, use as a sandwich spread, or eat it with a spoon while standing in front of the refrigerator while your cat is winding around your ankles, angrily insisting it's her turn to be fed.

Makes 1 Cup.

Other recipes you might like:

 

Cocoamint Cookies

Blueberry Vanilla Honey Butter

Here's a super quick recipe for you today, since I am busy working on a multitude of projects. My schedule has started to get so busy that I actually went and ordered a day planner again, something I quit using when I started a regular schedule by working at the Circus.

It is kind of nice to be busy. I'm hoping that on Wednesday I'll have some kitchen time though. I've been living on salads and toast for the last week and I could do with something new and experimentational!

So, here's a recipe you can make incredibly quickly. Flavored butters are awesome for the aforementioned toast and are also great on pancakes, waffles, english muffins, or anything you'd normally stick something sweet and buttery on.

I made this recipe initially to go on top of cornbread muffins, but the cornbread muffins were a disaster. I'll have to play around with that recipe a lot before I share it here! But, the butter came out splendid, so give it a whirl!

Blueberry Vanilla Honey Butter

1 Stick of Butter, softened
1/2 Cup Blueberries
2 Tablespoons Honey
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Let your butter sit out until it becomes room temperature which takes about 30 minutes, or soften carefully in the microwave. Be cautious as you don't want it to be completely melted.
In a large bowl or a stand mixer, add all the ingredients together and use a sturdy whisk or a whisk attachment to beat the butter into submission and whisk everything together until it's a gorgeous blueberry flecked purple light mass.

If you grab some wax paper, you can dollop a bunch of this out and roll it into a log, then refrigerate. This will let you cut off pretty buttery disks. Or, you can keep it in a ramekin. Be sure to store in the fridge so it doesn't stay too soft. It really is delicious on pancakes and waffles, but is also quite spectacular on whole wheat toast.

Makes about a cup of whipped deliciousness.

Potato Gnocchi

I'm deep in the middle of a bunch of projects right now. Time really doesn't feel like it belongs to me. When I get super busy, I tend to just pile more and more things on my plate. I decided this last weekend that regardless of the looming deadlines, I was going to have some kitchen and friend time, dammit. So, over came Myles to help me out with some deliberate non-working.

Did you know that Gnocchi can be made with just two ingredients? TWO! Seriously, it's potatoes and flour and it's soooo delicious. I started making it a few years ago. My first foray into gnocchi was a bit of a disaster. I made Sweet Potato Gnocchi for Thanksgiving one year. I didn't think to roll the dough into little ropes and cut it, so I was just pulling big chunks off the ball of dough. Everything was uneven and way too big, mostly because as I was getting impatient and making the balls bigger and bigger as I went along. When we ate them, they were horribly dense and chewy.

I loved the idea, though, and have made gnocchi many times since then, with much better technique, though my pieces never come out quite even.

Making gnocchi is easy. You combine cooked potato with flour, then boil it in salty water, put a little butter in a pan and then saute it until the outside is a little crisp. You get a little bite on the outside, and inside is a dreamy, gooey potato dumpling. Served with a flavorful sauce, it's quite the impressive dish. It's especially wonderful eaten with a good friend for a weekend lunch, accompanied by a refreshing cocktail and followed by a trip to the pool.

Potato Gnocchi

I highly recommend using yukon gold potatoes if you can, or another smaller thin skinned potato. It will give you the best results.

1lb Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled
1 Cup Flour, sifted

Peel your potatoes, then dice them. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to boil, then cook the potatoes in it for about 20 minutes until they are completely tender. Drain the potatoes really well.

In you have a ricer, use this to rice the potatoes, if not, press the potatoes through the holes in a metal colander into a large mixing bowl. You want a nice fluffy mound. Sift the flour over the potatoes, then mix to form a ball of dough. It might be a tiny bit sticky. If you didn't get enough water out of your potatoes when you drained them, I recommend adding just a smidge more flour, but go easy else the gnocchi will come out heavy.

Bring another pan of really salty water to the boil. On a clean surface, roll out some of the gnocchi dough into a rope. It should be about 3/4 of an inch wide. With a sharp knife, slice of dough at one inch intervals. Roll across the tines of a fork and make a ridgey dent (very technical term, I know) in the dumplings, as shown here:

Drop the gnocchi into the boiling salty water for a minute or two. They are done when the float to the surface. Pull them out and drain them as soon as they start to float, they will have swelled up.

In a shallow saute pan, melt a tablespoon or two of butter and add the gnocchi. Saute until they get some color on them, this will make the outside a little crispy.

Serve with a great sauce, like a beurre blanc or a white cheese sauce. Maybe a side of asparagus and some bruschetta too. Devour shamelessly.

Makes about 4 servings.

Tzatziki and Other Adventures

When I was ten or eleven years old, my Mum took my sister and I on holiday to Kefalonia in Greece. It was our first holiday that didn't involve sleeping in a caravan in somewhere terrifying like Wales.

I have flashes of memory from that vacation. I remember it being beautiful and I remember thinking that it smelled amazing at night time. I have a vague memory that I think might be the taste of honey. I remember the colors of the bougainvillea and I remember that I got an absolutely horrible sunburn.

I have a really weird memory. Lots of things are lost to me. My Stunt Guy clearly remembers conversations we had two years ago, but often I draw a blank. I can, however, probably recite entire episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer for you, and I know pretty much everything there is to know about Anne Boleyn.

Anyway, after that family holiday to Greece, a couple of years later Mum went back to spend a week sailing with a bunch of other people. Evidently, and to me this sounds like the most amazing holiday, they spent two days learning how to sail a small boat with several other couples, then they sailed around the Greek islands in a small flotilla, anchoring up in bays in the night and swimming from one boat to another for visits. I think this was the first of my mothers amazing adventurous vacations. When she came back, she regularly started making Tzatziki. It became an easy staple in our household, frequently served with fresh sliced baguette. I love it for it's punch of garlic and it's cool refreshing bite. I'm sure my mother still thinks of Greece when she makes it. I still want to have all the adventures that she had. I think I still have time.


Tzatziki

You can use store bought Greek yoghurt here, or you can make your own strained yoghurt which is incredibly easy. Set a paper towel in a mesh sieve over a bowl. Spoon the yoghurt into the paper towel and set in the fridge for an hour or two. Lots of liquid will drip out of the yoghurt and into the bowl, leaving you with amazing rich thick strained yoghurt.

8oz Cucumber
6 Mint Leaves
2 Cloves Garlic
6 Tablespoons Greek or Strained Yoghurt

Peel your cucumber, then grate it with a box grater. Squeeze out as much of the liquid in the cucumber as you can. I've found that the easiest way to do this really is to just use your hands.
Mince the garlic cloves and mint up finely. Stir all of the ingredients together in a bowl.

Serve with pita chips or a freshly sliced baguette.

Makes about 1 Cup.

Cucumber Mint Sparkler

I'm sorry, were you busy? Well, never mind what you were doing. Right now, you need to go to your kitchen or your bar. You need to mix yourself one of these, then you need to kick back and relax on your porch, or by your pool, or in front of some trashy TV (usually something by Gordon Ramsey). It's summer, and a delicious and refreshing cocktail on a weeknight is really what you need right now.

I could drink these all day.

Cucumber Mint Sparkler

1oz Cucumber
2 Shots Vodka
2 Tablespoons Roses Sweetened Lime Juice
10 Mint Leaves
Sparkling Water

Peel the cucumber. In a blender, add the vodka and the lime juice. Blend until mostly smooth. You'll have a little texture there. Put the mint and three cubes of ice each in some small highball glasses. Divide the mixture between the glasses then top with sparkling water. Stir, then top with a slice of cucumber and a fresh mint sprig.

Enjoy, barefoot at sunset.

Makes 2.