{"id":1786,"date":"2011-02-18T10:04:53","date_gmt":"2011-02-18T18:04:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/?p=1786"},"modified":"2012-04-02T11:55:41","modified_gmt":"2012-04-02T18:55:41","slug":"kale-and-quinoa-tabbouleh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/engine\/kale-and-quinoa-tabbouleh","title":{"rendered":"power down power food: kale and quinoa tabbouleh"},"content":{"rendered":"

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<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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power down power food:
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/span>kale and quinoa tabbouleh<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>You cannot separate what you do as a profession from who you are as a person.\u00a0 I am a chef, a mother of two, and I run fifty miles a week. \u00a0 I am not only passionate about cooking but food in general.\u00a0 I believe that healthy food habits have healing, preventative, and restorative power.\u00a0 Unhealthy food habits deteriorate our bodies and starve our minds.<\/span><\/p>\n

When I am training for a marathon I try to make what I eat count a little more: more protein, leafy greens, and healthy carbs, and less foie gras and Valentine chocolate.\u00a0 As a mother I am always looking for inventive ways to incorporate protein and greens into my childrens\u2019 diet.\u00a0 Two things in my \u201cmore\u201d category are quinoa and kale; however, I have found that people often do not know what to do with either one when it comes to cooking.\u00a0 It does not help that kale is usually stuffed on the bottom shelf in the produce aisle (hidden by other greens) and uncooked quinoa looks like bird seed.\u00a0 To give you a little inspiration of how to use these two ingredients, this week\u2019s simple pleasure is the combination of the two in a simple and delicious salad: kale and red quinoa tabbouleh.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Kale, a crucifier, is loaded with vitamins A, C, calcium, iron, lutein (good for your eyes), and folic acid.\u00a0 Kale contains far more vitamins than spinach or cabbage.\u00a0 It is available all year long but it tastes best in the winter when the vegetable is not stressed by hot temperatures or too much sun.\u00a0 Varieties of kale include Tuscan kale (also known as cavolo nero, black kale, or dinosaur kale), ornamental (or flowering) kale, curly kale, and russian kale (i.e., Russian Red).\u00a0 Kale can be found in all grocery stores and farmers\u2019 markets usually carry several varieties (i.e., Coleman Farms at the Santa Monica farmers\u2019 market carries Russian kale and Peacock kale).<\/span><\/p>\n

Kale is sadly thought of as a garnish or space filler under sneeze guards;\u00a0 however, kale is a versatile vegetable that maintains its wonderful color and texture after cooking.\u00a0 It does not have a strong flavor and can be added to anything from saut\u00e9s and soups to risottos and pastas. <\/span>Tuscan kale becomes dark green, almost black when cooked (although baked it turns bright green).\u00a0 Cooked curly kale stays dark green and maintains its fluffy, curly texture.\u00a0 In terms of cooking, kale generally goes one of four flavor routes: (1) spicy (using Harissa, chili flakes, or spicy sausages\/meats); (2) creamy (pur\u00e9eing the kale and adding heavy cream or cheese); (3) starchy (kale is often combined with potatoes, pastas, rice, or beans, especially in soups); or (4) citrusy\/sweet (adding dried fruit, citrus or citrus zest to kale).<\/span><\/p>\n

A couple of production notes about kale.\u00a0 First, you must remove the stem from the leaves (except on small tuscan kale leaves) because the stems do not soften with cooking.\u00a0 Second, you generally want to blanche the kale first in salty water (although it is not necessary with tuscan kale) to rid it of any bitterness.\u00a0 Third, do not braise or boil kale too long because it will take on a sulfur smell similar to over-cooked cabbage.<\/span><\/p>\n

Quinoa (\u201ckeen-wah\u201d) is an ancient grain often referred to as a \u201csuper food.\u201d\u00a0 It is credited with everything from easing migraines to aiding in the prevention of cancer and boosting our immune system.\u00a0 It contains more protein, fiber, iron, and magnesium than brown rice.\u00a0 Quinoa is ideal for vegetarians as well as those with gluten sensitivities (quinoa flour is gluten-free).<\/span><\/p>\n

Quinoa is often described as having a delicate flavor but I do not find that<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>alone quinoa has much of a taste (although pearling quinoa before cooking it will give it a nutty flavor). However, quinoa\u2019s lack of defining flavor is an attribute because it can take on the flavors it is paired with making this protein power source something you can add to virtually anything.\u00a0 Quinoa goes particularly well with other grains, all citrus, tomatoes, radishes, beets, hearty greens, honeys, and nut oils.\u00a0 It works well in stuffings and salads.\u00a0 Quinoa is a healthy substitute for couscous, rice, or pasta.\u00a0 It is a good accompaniment to beef, game, dairy, and poultry.<\/span><\/p>\n

Quinoa comes in a variety of colors including red, beige, pink, and brown.\u00a0 When cooked it doubles in size and the germ of the grain sprouts, giving the grains little white tails.\u00a0 Rinse quinoa well before cooking it because the protective bran coating is bitter.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Tabbouleh (sometimes spelled \u201ctabouli\u201d)<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>is a Middle Eastern salad made with bulgur wheat, lemon juice, olive oil, tomatoes, and fresh parsley.\u00a0 It is commonly enjoyed in the south of France where lemons, tomatoes, and olive oil are plentiful.\u00a0 Fresh and light, tabbouleh<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>is served as a side salad for lunch or dinner.\u00a0 You can also eat it with flat bread, pita bread, naan or socca as an appetizer.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

This recipe is easy to prepare and will take you about 15 minutes active time in total. Make sure that you finely mince your ingredients for appearance purposes and so that one flavor does not overpower the other. You do not have to use red quinoa and I hope you are creative with the range of quinoa colors and kale varieties available.\u00a0 In the summertime you can take out the onions (if you want) and add fresh tomatoes and\/or cucumbers.\u00a0 Tabbouleh stores in the refrigerator for several days making it a good \u201cgo to\u201d item (much healthier snack than chips or pretzels).\u00a0 Whether running a marathon or running carpool (or both), the kale\/quinoa combination is perfect to keep you and your family healthy during cold and flu season and all year long. <\/span>\u00c0 votre sante ! <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Je vous souhaite un bon app\u00e9tit <\/span><\/em>!<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

LM<\/span><\/p>\n

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power down power food: kale and quinoa tabbouleh You cannot separate what you do as a profession from who you are as a person.\u00a0 I am a chef, a mother of two, and I run fifty miles a week. \u00a0 I am not only passionate about cooking but food in general.\u00a0 I believe that healthy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[339,886,18,343,340],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appetizers","category-my-inspirations","category-recipes","category-snacks-and-treats","category-starters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/engine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/engine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/engine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/engine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/engine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1786"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/engine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1786\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1808,"href":"https:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/engine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1786\/revisions\/1808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/engine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/engine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/engine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}