Molly’s Braised Kale and Spaghetti

Made this last night for supper, and it was good, though incredibly garlicky.  I had some curly kale to use up, and though her recipe calls for lacinato kale, I found that the curly worked well when I braised it a bit longer than the 20 minutes she calls for, with a little bit more liquid too. 

No picture from me- but Molly’s story about kale is a good read (as expected).

 

Roasted Garlic

I’ve become convinced in the past 2 or 3 years that garlic is actually magical. Not only does this little bulb supposedly keep vampires away, but it also goes into almost EVERY dish I cook. On top of that, it’s not only for cooking with… it can be eaten on it’s own.  And it’s delicious.

I don’t mean that you should slice up a couple of cloves and start munching. Instead, roast an entire head of garlic and use as a spread for fresh homemade bread, as a cracker topping, mix it into dips, or spread it lightly on raw veggies.  *Disclaimer: do not do this right before a big date or a trip to your dentist.*

Roasted Garlic

Heat oven to 400. Very carefully cut off the top quarter-inch to half-inch of the garlic head, and any excess roots on the bottom. You’ll want a flat bottom if possible, without cutting into the actual cloves. You can peel off any excess layers of outer skin, but be careful leave the entire head intact. Drizzle EVOO in the bottom of ceramic dish; place the head of garlic in the dish on its bottom, and generously cover garlic head with EVOO. Finish with a pinch of salt, and roast for 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of the head you’re using. (If you prefer the garlic to be roasted brown, it may take 35-40 minutes for a large head of garlic.)

After roasting, let cool and remove from dish. You can separate the cloves and squeeze them from the bottoms, causing the garlic to “ooze” out of the cut tops; or, you can squeeze the entire bulb at once and watch the garlic ooze out of all the cloves! Be sure not to burn yourself though!!

Roasted garlic tastes great as a spread (as mentioned before), or also added to dishes, such as my Garlic Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes (previous post plug :)

Garlic Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes

N is so loveable. He’s really getting into the idea of “using everything we get”… which I consider to be called “sustainable living.” For instance, I carved a killer pumpkin on Sunday night, and roasted the pumpkin seeds. We pined for our future garden and compost pile when I threw away the stringy pumpkin insides.

He’s also getting worked up about Thanksgiving and how we’re going to make the whole meal in our kitchen with just one stove. Wait a minute… haven’t people been doing this for years and it works out?! N is not convinced. He refuses to cook the turkey ahead in any sort of way, and doesn’t think it will properly cook in our stove with the potatoes, vegetable sides, etc. that will be cooking in there as well. He considered making a smoker out of two large terra cotta planters…. I promptly shot that down. Next: turkey on the grill.

“We’re not grilling, we’re technically barbequing,” he insists. Okay, okay. N also insists on practicing to make sure it goes off without a hitch, and so we started with a smaller poultry carcass to test out the abilities of the little grill that could. Additionally, I had picked up some beautiful Yukon Gold and red potatoes, as well as a large head of garlic, at the farmer’s market on Saturday, and decided to add a new twist to N’s favorite side-dish: cream cheese mashed (and baked) potatoes.

These were deliiiiicious! Definitely garlicky, but not overwhelming. Creamy and smooth, but with a crunchy top. N noticed the bits of potato peel right away, but I gently reminded him that it’s the only nutritious part of the potato. Plus, what about using everything we get?! Why buy the whole potato and only use part of it?? This calmed him, and he scarfed them up obligingly. :)

Garlic Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes

1 head roasted garlic (directions in next post)
2.5# of potatoes
4 oz. cream cheese (RF is ok)
1/3 c. heavy cream OR sour cream (1/4 c. of skim milk or plain yogurt *might* work?)

Scrub the potatoes and cut out any bruises/eyes as desired. Put in a pot and cover with water, allowing 1-2 inches excess water covering the tops of potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and bring to a boil; hold at a simmer until potatoes are tender and skins are loosening/breaking apart. Drain well and let cool 5 minutes.

You can use a stand mixer, hand mixer, or manual potato masher to mash. If using a mixer, dump all ingredients together and blend. If mashing by hand, I would mix the cream cheese and sour cream/milk first, and then mash in the potatoes and garlic.  Add salt and pepper as desired. Spray the sides of a shallow casserole dish and spoon in potatoes. Bake at 375-400 for at least 30 minutes, longer if a crispier top is desired. We baked at 400 for 40-45 minutes.

These can also be refrigerated, covered, for up to 24 hours after spooning into the casserole dish. Reheating + baking time will be longer– at least 45 minutes at 375 if potatoes are fully cooled before baking.