Delightful Kale Pastries

Kale pastries and butternut squash soup

There is a local Washington farm that is still growing kale in a greenhouse, and I’ve been snatching it up every time I see it at our local food co-op.  (If you are local, I’m talking about the fabulous PCC Natural Markets).  Usually I simply make sauteed kale with some raisins and pine nuts, but tonight I felt like fancying it up a little.  So I thawed out some of my favorite Aussie Puff Pastry dough and made these luscious little kale pastries.  They made a fabulous accompaniment to our dinner of butternut squash soup.

Ingredients:

• 1 or 2 sheets puff pastry, thawed*
• 1 large bunch kale, finely chopped
• 1 small onion (or 1/2 large), finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 1/2 tsp salt
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup water

Preparation:

Lay puff pastry on a lightly oiled baking sheet.  Cut into 9 equal squares.  Set aside.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat olive oil in a deep skillet over medium heat.  Add onions and garlic, and sautee until translucent but not browned.  Add kale, along with a splash of water, and stir.  Cover with a lid and let simmer for about 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add water several times during this process, so that the kale does not stick to the pan.  Remove from heat and add salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast flakes.  Stir to combine.

Place a heaping tablespoon of the kale filling in the middle of each pastry square.  Pull two opposite sides of pastry together over the top, overlapping slightly.  It helps to lightly moisten the pastry where the edges touch.  This will keep the pastry from unfolding as it bakes.

Bake pastries at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes, until tops are golden brown.  Serve immediately.

* Each sheet of Aussie Bakery’s puff pastry dough is about 7 oz.  If you are using a different brand, just be sure to cut pastry into equal-sided squares.  I used only one sheet of pastry dough in this recipe, and had some kale mixture leftover, so you could probably make 2 entire sheets of pastry for a yield of 18 kale pastries.

Scalloped Potatoes

Here is another “veganized” comfort food from my childhood – I’ve definitely been on a casserole kick lately, must be all the rainy weather we’ve been having in the Pacific Northwest! Many people seem to think that white potatoes are devoid of nutrition, but that is not the case at all! If you leave the skins on (as I do in this recipe) they contain hefty amounts of iron, as well as potassium, vitamin C, fiber, and even protein! So dig right in, it’s good for you!

Ingredients:

• 1 small onion or 1/2 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbsp unbleached white flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 1/4 cup soy milk
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional)*
• 3 medium baking potatoes

Preparation:

Lightly grease a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish, set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, set aside.

In a medium saucepan, on medium-high heat, cook onion and garlic in olive oil until tender. Stir in flour mixture. Quickly add soy milk, all at once, and continue to stir and cook until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in nutritional yeast, if desired. Set aside.

Wash potatoes well, and slice thinly (please don’t peel them!). Place half the sliced potatoes into the prepared casserole dish. Cover with half the sauce. Layer the remainder of potato slices on and cover with remainder of the sauce.

Bake, covered, for 40 minutes. Remove cover and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.

* I’ve once again mentioned nutritional yeast as an optional ingredient in this recipe, but the casserole is good without it as well. I’ll add nutritional yeast to just about anything savory, but I promise, you can cook delicious vegan food without it if you have difficulty finding it, or it just isn’t your cup of tea!

Butternut Squash Soup

Fall seems to be officially here in the Pacific Northwest, and I am so excited! Fall is my favorite season, hands-down! One of the many reasons I love fall is winter squash. Pumpkins, acorn squash, butternut squash, you name it! Butternut Squash was one of the first foods I pureed for my kids when they were babies, and I frequently snuck bites for myself. I’ll post the recipe for butternut squash soup that I made today, but I have to admit that I rarely make it the same way twice! All you really need is a butternut squash and some vegetable broth – it can be as simple as that, delicious in its simplicity. Or you can experiment with different spices — here I used traditional nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon, but sometimes I’ll go with cumin and red pepper. I’ve added soy milk and Earth Balance margarine here for an extra rich and creamy soup. Snuggle up inside on a cold day and enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 medium to large butternut squash
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup soy milk (optional)
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
• 2 Tbsp Earth Balance margarine
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut butternut squash in half lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds. Place halves face-down on a baking sheet or casserole dish, and bake for 30 minutes. Rotate halves face-up, prick with a fork, and bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until tender.*

Set squash aside until it is cool enough to handle. With a spoon, scoop the squash out of the skin and into a large soup pot. Add vegetable broth and water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.  Use an immersion blender to blend the soup until smooth.** Stir in spices, soy milk, earth balance, salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Enjoy!

* You can bake the squash a day or two in advance and store it in the refrigerator until it is needed, for a faster prep time.

** If you don’t own an immersion blender, go out and buy one! Seriously, though, you can blend this soup in batches in a traditional blender. You will need to be very careful while handling the hot liquid, and may want to wear oven mitts while blending, just in case of any splattering! An immersion blender is generally not too pricey and will be well worth your money if you enjoy smooth and creamy soups – it will take only a minute to blend and is much less messy than using the regular blender!

Twice-Baked Potatoes

Twice-baked potatoes are the perfect combination of creamy mashed potatoes and hearty baked potatoes – the marriage of comfort food and elegance! Potatoes are an excellent source of potassium and iron, and contain a respectable amount of protein, fiber, and vitamin C as well. So dig in!

Ingredients:

• 3 – 4 baking potatoes
• 1/2 cup vegan sour cream, homemade or storebought *
• 1 – 2 Tbsp soy milk
• 2 Tbsp finely sliced green onions, green part only
• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast, or “yellow spice” **
• 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
• freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Wash baking potatoes and prick all over with a fork. Wrap each potato in foil and bake right on the oven rack, 40 – 60 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes. Take them out when they are slightly underbaked.

Unwrap potatoes. Let stand about 10 minutes. Cut a lengthwise slice off of each potato, and discard (or eat it, like I do!). Scoop pulp out of each potato into a large bowl, leaving about 1/2 inch of pulp on bottom and sides.

Mash the potato pulp with a potato masher or an electric mixer on low speed. Add vegan sour cream, green onions, yellow spice, salt, and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Add as much soymilk as needed for desired consistency. Spoon mashed potato mixture back into potato shells. Sprinkle tops of potatoes with additional yellow spice and black pepper, if desired.

Bake potatoes for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, or until tops are lightly browned. Enjoy!

* Tofutti Sour Supreme or Better Than Sour Cream are increasingly available at many supermakets and health food stores (buy the Better Than Sour Cream if you can, it does not contain hydrogenated oils). However, making your own vegan sour cream is easy! Simply place a package of Mori-Nu firm silken tofu into a food processor, add 3 Tbsp lemon juice, 1 Tbsp canola oil, 1/2 Tbsp agave nectar (or other liquid sweetener), and 1/2 tsp salt, and blend until smooth and creamy.

** “Yellow Spice” is a staple in my house! Place 1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes into a coffee grinder or spice grinder, add 2 Tbsp sesame seeds, and 1/2 tsp salt. Blend to a powdery consistency. We sprinkle this on many foods, kind of as a Parmesan cheese substitute. It’s a nice way to get a little extra Vitamin B-12, and it tastes yummy!