It’s been too hot to put the oven on. This Kale Salad is the perfect solution!
Get a bunch of Kale (wash, chop and cut out the stems)
Add a tbs or two of Olive Oil or Sesame Seed Oil.
Add a tiny bit of Vinegar (red wine, apple cider, etc).
Squeeze a lemon into the bowl.
Massage the oil, vinegar and lemon juice into kale so that the leaves become moist and soft.
Add other veggies and ingredients to taste and toss it. Suggestions:
1 Avocado (sliced in small chunks)
1/2 cup Slivered Carrots
1/2 Tomato (chopped)
1/2 Red Onion (chopped finely)
Red Cabbage
A lil Spinach
1 tsp. Garlic
Balsamic Vinegar (to taste)
Soy Sauce or Bragg’s Amino (to taste)
Honey (1 tsp, optional)
Sun Flower Seeds (roasted on low frying pan with a little oil and salt)
Thank you Nasha for introducing us to this healthy and delicious recipe!!
Nobody makes gufong (also known as fungine) like Auntie Laura. I remember going to her house as a child and smiling upon her freshly fried gufong. For holidays or special occasions, her gufong would be the most sought after Cape Verdean dish. Before Auntie Laura’s Alzheimers got really bad, she taught her daughter and nieces how to make it. We actually filmed the process. I’ll have to dig up that old tape!
Recently, I made gufong with my Nana (Laura’s sister-in-law), Shirley (Nana’s god daughter) and sister in my Nana’s kitchen. We don’t really believe in keeping a family recipe a secret, so please feel free to try it on your own. Just thank our Auntie Laura, one of the sweetest aunts I’ve ever known.
Instructions
Put in small pot:
1 ½ cup of sugar
1 cup of boiling water with a pinch of salt
Add water and sugar mixture onto stove and stir til smooth.
In a medium-large bowl:
Add enough water to one cup of cornmeal to make paste.
Pour the water/sugar mixture from stove.
Add 2- 3 mashed over ripe bananas and mix by hand until smooth.
Add 2 cups of Bisquick and 2 cups of sifted flour, gradually.
Add flour until consistency of bread dough.
Roll into sticks and fry on either side in vegetable or canola oil until golden brown. (Make sure heat is not too hot or else it will brown the outside, but not the inside!)
Place on paper towels and store in sealed plastic bags or containers after cool, so they stay soft.
This recipe makes about sixty gufong. My Auntie Laura used to freeze the dough and make fresh gufong often… Nana just told me this. 🙂
Pastry Ingredients:
• 1-1/4 cups of flour
• 1 stick of butter
• Pinch of salt
• 3-5 tablespoons of ice cold water
Instructions:
o Chop butter into 16 pieces
o In a mixing bowl rub together butter, flour and salt until you have small pea-sized pieces
o In the center of the mixture, create an indentation, or “well”.
o Put a tablespoon of cold water in the middle and push the flour mixture into the center with your fingers.
o Repeat this until the mixture starts to stick together. It usually takes an average of 4 tablespoons of water. The dough should not be too sticky, but just wet enough that it comes together and you can form it into a disc shape.
o Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes while you prepare the filling.
Filling Ingredients:
• 2 onions (or 12 mini pearl onions)
• 1 bulb of garlic
• 2-3 large carrots
• 2 medium turnips
• 2 medium-large sweet potatoes
• 2 -1/2 cups of vegetable broth (or other broth/stock of your choice)
• 2 Tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
• Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions:
o Peel garlic and keep cloves whole.
o Peel and chop* all of the vegetables into 1-1/2 inch cubes.
*If you are using pearl onions, keep whole.
o Put all of the ingredients in a pot and add broth.
o Cover pot and bring to a boil.
o After 10 minutes reduce to a simmer and cook until all of the vegetables are tender (but not mushy! they will cook more in the oven)
o Stir in balsamic vinegar and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
o Add salt and pepper to taste.
*Make sure to check on the veggies as they are cooking. You don’t want them to have too much liquid at the end, but you may have to add more broth if it all cooks off before the veggies are tender.
o Fill a glass, baking dish with the mixture leaving an inch of room at the top.
o Roll out the dough into a thin rectangle to cover the top of the baking dish. It should be slightly bigger than the dish so that you can push the sides down into it.
o With a knife, cut several slits in the top of the pastry to create vents for the heat to escape while it is in the oven.
o Brush with olive oil and bake at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown.
o Remove from the oven and let it sit for 15 minutes before serving.
I really like to serve it with a spoonful of sour cream, or some crumbled goat cheese on top to offset the sweetness of the veggies. Also, a simple arugula salad with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper compliments it well. You can try mixing up the recipe, too—add/substitute different root vegetables, like potatoes, parsnips, or beets! BEETS– you can’t beat em!
2 cans of white beans (navy beans or kidney beans), drained and rinsed
about 2 large handfuls of chopped greens – (I used rainbow chard, but any greens like baby spinach, chopped collards, or a combo of them all would be great!)
about 1 cup of chopped mushrooms
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Place the squash halves (cut side up) on a sheet pan or in a baking dish. Drizzle the surfaces with some olive oil, and season with salt and black pepper. Bake in the oven until they are tender when pierced with a knife or fork. Usually takes 45 minutes depending on the thickness of the squash. When they are cooked, remove them from the oven and set aside.
While the squash are baking, make your filling: Heat a little olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat until hot, then add the minced garlic and saute with the mushrooms until garlic is fragrant and mushrooms are mostly cooked. Add the greens and saute until wilted. Then, add your white beans and continue cooking the mixture until the beans are heated through. Stir in the chopped rosemary, season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool slightly.
Now you’ll fill the squash halves: First, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Scoop the bean mixture into the squash halves. In a small bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs and grated parmesan cheese. Sprinkle the breadcrumb and cheese mixture over the top of the filled squash halves. Drizzle some olive oil over the top of each squash half. Bake the squash halves until the topping is golden brown. Keep checking on them to make sure they don’t burn–it should take about 15-20 minutes to brown.
Balsamic Brussels Sprout
Ingredients
1 pint of brussels sprout
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
2 cloved (minced) garlic
1 1/2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
Directions
Cut the brussels sprout in half and steam them until tender. In a separate pan, saute the garlic and mushrooms in olive oil until well cooked.
Drain the cooked brussels sprout, add them to to the mushrooms and continue to cook for another 1-2 minutes. Add balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.
This garbanzo bean salad is one of my favorite summertime dishes. It’s easy to prepare and great for BBQ’s & potlucks. The addition of fresh basil and tomatoes from the garden or your local farmer’s market give it that extra punch of fresh flavor. Always a crowd pleaser, enjoy!
Instructions:
Fry diced garlic in olive oil for a few minutes until very lightly browned. Set aside to let oil & garlic cool. Mix diced tomatoes, beans and basil in a large bowl. Yellow heirloom or roma tomatoes are best with this dish but any will do. Pour cooled olive oil and garlic over everything in the bowl. Mix. Add fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle paprika over salad.
Baked sweet potatoes “fries” are a good alternative to your regular french fries. They’re a lot healthier and they have a lot more flavor! The smokey spice of the chipotle chile goes surprisingly well with sweet potatoes. Also, try using your favorite curry powder instead of chile for a nice twist to this recipe.
Ingredients:
2 Sweet Potatoes Sliced
2-3 Cloves of Garlic Diced
Olive Oil
Chipotle Chile Powder
Salt & Pepper
Instructions:
Arrange sliced sweet potatoes on cookie sheet. Sprinkle diced garlic, olive oil chipotle chile powder, salt & pepper over potatoes. Bake @ 425 for 15-25 minutes. Baking time depends on how crispy you like them. These will not get crunchy like potatoes that are deep-fried. Best served with Aioli or BBQ Sauce.
For more of Brian’s recipes on Cool Cooks, check out the Garbanzo Bean Salad.
Dough:
3 1/2 Cups of Flour
1 1/2 Cups of Warm Water
1 Tablespoon Yeast
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
Pinch of salt
Topping Mixture:
Za’atar (from Arabic grocery store)
1 Onion
Chili Sauce (amount varies according to taste)
Olive Oil
Feta Cheese
1. Pour yeast into bowl of warm water, stir to dissolve and leave aside for about five minutes.
2. Place flour in a large bowl and create a hole at the center. Pour warm water and yeast into this hole and add vegetable oil and a pinch of salt.
3. Bring flour into the other ingredients from the outside in using a spoon or a spatula, then mix dough with your hands. Continue kneading, adding flour to the dough, only until the dough is no longer sticky.
4. Add olive oil to a bowl and transfer dough into the bowl, carving the shape of an X very lightly on the top. Then cover and set aside for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
5. In the meantime prepare the toppings. Za’atar Mix: Combine 1/2 cup of za’atar with 1/3 cup of olive oil and mix thoroughly until you have a thick consistency. The mixture should not run.
6. Onion Mix: Chop the onion, tomatoes and combine with desired amount of chili sauce. The onions should not overpower the taste of the chili sauce. Add salt and ground nutmeg. Then add desired amount of feta cheese to the mixture as well and mix in about one tablespoon of olive oil.
7. Preheat oven to about 350 degrees.
8. After the dough has risen roll it into small dough balls approximately the size of your palm.
9. On a floured surface pat the dough balls down until they are flat, at about a quarter of an inch thick.
10. Spread desired amount of topping on the dough. When all dough is topped place in the oven to bake for about 10-15 minutes. Then turn the broiler on for about 5 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to cool down and enjoy!
Watch this video to hear Nehad talk more about her grandmother and family cooking:
It’s been too hot to put the oven on. This Kale Salad is the perfect solution!
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