greens | beets me

I write to you as a serious grown up, sitting here in my apartment, roommate less for another week, reflecting on life and shifting all the much-loved time with my roommate to some really productive things. I’ve taken to actually watering my one plant, cleaning my room, paying bills and running errands that most people take care of within a few days of needing something but usually take me months.

There’ve been some important conversations and revelations with my friends. To my dismay, I found out that one of my closest friends prefers the cardboard flavored animal cracker to the quite conveniently transportable AND fashionable AND delicious barnum & bailey animal cracker box which we’ve decided are really “animal cookies.” While I find her opinions to be wrong, I’m glad we can be honest about these things.

On the positive side, Jason DeRulo has two new songs out, I’m going to the lake this weekend and this spaghetti squash with kale and sausage was delicious. Though I will miss Christine dearly, we have decided to have a roomie food challenge from Atlanta to Boston. Since we used to cook together, we want to facetime while we are making our favorite recipes so I can help her know JUST WHEN to stop stirring her muffin batter and she can share her attempts at our laundry list of recipe ideas. If you can master any of them first and send to us, we’ll be amazed….the list includes Basic girl dip (goat cheese, kale, dried cranberries, candied pecans and whatever other basic things you can think of), more vegan peanut butter pies, granola recipes, the best tahini dressings, tahini baked goods ,anything with kimchi, and mediterranean seven layer dip take 2. OH and anything that involves slow-cooked short ribs or stewed tomatoes.

On to this recipe. I made this a few months back with my friend Ed whom you’ve met in earlier posts. I like stuffing vegetables with meat and garlic and I also love the kale/sausage combo. This was ideal for a cold day, but could still be a good spring recipe with the amount of greens you could substitute right now.

Speaking of greens, who has ever heard of green garlic?? I went to this farmer’s market a few weeks ago and tried to buy green onions at literally three different farm stands only to be stopped by the soft spoken vendors who noted, “ah, no, see the flat stems, ah yes, that’s green GARLIC.” So apparently green garlic is a green onion with a flat stem. Who would’ve thought. (I’m gonna get to the recipe I promise). I HAVE to tell you guys about the ricotta fritters first though. My friend Justin and I walked around tryna be all skinny minny, looking at the bread table and not sampling anything until wafts of *FRIED SOMETHING WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE” floated from this Italian restaurant’s table.

What I came to find is that ricotta donut holes are the most heavenly start to a weekend you could ever experience. Forget long-winded brunches with your closest friends, sipping your coffee quietly while listening to indie brunch music while the birds chirp, sleeping til the afternoon – no, in order for you to start the weekend off right, you really need to pop out of bed, get over to the farmer’s market and demand one of these fritters. Ok now that you’ve decided what you’re doing this weekend….recipe!!

Sausage and Kale stuffed spaghetti squash (really this is a capsized spaghetti squash boat we ate it bowls)

adapted from Paleo grubs, serves enough for two Jason deRulo and Ariana Grande fans + leftovers

2 medium sized spaghetti squash

1.5 lbs Italian sausage – we used a mix of sweet and hot

4 cloves, minced garlic

1 small onion, diced

1 bunch sliced kale (I used half of one of those big bags from Kroger)

a few tablespoons of olive oil

salt n pepper

parmesan cheese, to top

1. Start by turning your oven on to 400-450. Slice the squash lengthwise and scoop out the inside pumpkin-y stuff until it’s smooth. This can be confusing because I know you think that the stringy part is the spaghetti but in fact, it’s not. Rub olive oil over the inside of the cavity and sprinkle with salt n pepp. Place squash halves down in a baking dish and place under the oven for 35-50 minutes, turning throughout. I always roast them cut side down but this recipe said cut side up so we rotated….

2. Heat a cast iron skillet or other wide skillet to medium high head and saute your onion for 5-6 minutes until they start to look translucent. Add garlic for 2 minutes more, then add in sausage, breaking it up after taking the sausages out of their casing. Cook the sausage for 10-12 minutes until brown and cooked through.

3. At this point you can fold in your kale – you want to remove as many of the tough stems as you can. If you get the bank of kale you can just rip it off, if you’re using a more sturdy kale you can cut ribbons off the stem. Wilt the kale in for another 3-5 minutes until soft.

4. Back to the squash….when the insides are fully cooked you can poke through them easily with a fork. Take them out of the oven and scrape out the insides with a fork, shredding the “spaghetti”. Mix in with the sausage kale mixture and you can either put the mixture back in the squash boat or in a bowl.

5. Serve with parmesan cheese and wine! Yummmm

It’s sppprrriinnngggtiimmmeee peoples!! How do you all feel about having a birthday party for spring? As many of you may know, I have a die-hard obsession with Nora Ephron and Nancy Meyers movies (the Parent Trap featuring Lindsay Lohan and Lindsay Loan and You’ve Got Mail being at the tippy-top of the list). In Nora Ephron’s top success (if you ask me) You’ve Got Mail, Meg Ryan famously says that Fall “makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.”

Now what would you say about Spring to your mysterious email-pal? I know my friend Molly would say she’d send somebody a package of freshly cut green grass, as she claims the green lawns of UVA made her commit to going to school there. I might say I’d like to take a music box and capture the sound of birds in the morning or the sound of the whistle from soccer practice. What about the last class before spring break? How about the smell of dew hitting your nose as you walk out the door, the fresh scent of lilies, or eating warm ham biscuits with mustard on Easter? Going to Mellow Mushroom after soccer practice, and walking through the gardens at UVA. I love it! In addition to loving spring, I also love a good revival of an old fashion trend to bring back when the weather gets warm. One year it was overalls. This year, I’m feelin the comeback of platform flip flops. Thoughts?

And in true spring fashion, I’ve got a green-colored dish for you all. It just so happens that it’s the day before St. Patty’s as well. This year, I went to Savannah for St Patty’s and brought some Guinness cupcakes with me!! Are you an enthusiastic baker who jumps at the chance to make holiday-themed baked goods?? If so, come hang with me.

On to falafel. Fa-la-la-la-fel. One of my absolute FAVORITE foods, and also one that I haven’t ever mastered. Falafel is essentially a fried ball of chickpeas and herbs (but in this case baked.) Alas!!! A baked falafel recipe worth sharing from Cookie and Kate, a favorite blog in my home. There’s this place that sells delicious falafel by my office called Ameer’s. Every time I go, I try to craft a falafel salad which ends with me ordering side salad and falafel appetizer. Awkward meal, no more. I had heard that to make a homemade version of falafel, it is essential to use dried chickpeas. Well I don’t know if I mastered how to cook dried chickpeas, but I did get a good consistency.

Cookie and Kate says to soak the chickpeas for a long period of time, but I think you are also supposed to cook them once they soften. Mine were a little bit dry but all it did was make the falafel more firm.

Baked Falafel, adapted slightly from cookie+kate

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked in water at least 8 hours
⅓ cup chopped onion (she says red I only had white)
1 cup fresh parsley leaves
3 garlic cloves, minced
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Sesame seeds, for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prep two wide skillets with 2 tablespoons olive oil while the oven heats.

2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine soaked and drained chickpeas, onion, parsley, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Puree until smooth, 30 seconds-1 minute.

3. Before you start forming the falafel patties, make sure you’ve oiled the pans because otherwise you’re going to have a mess. Scoop out roughly two tablespoons of the mixture and roll into a ball first. Then flatten the ball lightly into a patty about 2 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick.

4. Place each patty into one of your oiled skillets and drop a few sesame seeds on each.

5. Bake falafel on the middle rack of your oven for 13 minutes on one side. While the first side is cooking, prep your dressing.

6. QUICK DRESSING: Whisk about 2 tablespoons tahini, 1/2 tsp honey, 1 TBS water, a dash of cumin, salt and pepp, 1-2 tsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar together.

7. Flip your falafel and bake for another 13-15 minutes. I found that for the flip I needed some more oil to get a crispy crust. In reality, this recipe may need more oil all around because I never got them to be super crispy.

8. Remove falafel from the oven. Sprinkle lightly with sesame seeds. Serve on a bed of lettuce, with chopped cucumber, carrot, tomato if you have it and some toasted walnuts. Drizzle dressing over top or use as a dipping sauce. Enjoy!!

beets me

Tag Archives: greens

Sausage and Kale with Spaghetti Squash

From-scratch Baked Falafel Salad with Honey Tahini dressing