Friday Favorites with Naturally Ella

This Friday we're talking with  Erin of the blog, Naturally Ella. Erin is passionate about seasonal, local produce and creates vegetarian meals with her CSA ingredients. She recently added a section to the blog that illustrates that eating seasonally is easy. I can't wait to try her breakfast tacos with kale-cilantro chimichurri or her roasted carrot spring rolls. Watching her ravioli video inspired me to make my homemade ravioli stuffed with kale pesto that very night. Follow along with Erin as she's also a member of The Food Matters Project and make she to read her new what I'm craving series here.

Erin, what's your favorite food?

Erin: I have a slight (read major) love of chickpeas. I use them for everything: snacking, salad topping (or salads themselves), hummus, tacos, loaded potatoes, stir fry, soup thickener and I'm evening learning to sprout them. I buy them dried, cook them up every weekend and toss them in at least one meal a day! 

Thanks Erin! 

Speaking of CSAs, we went to a cocktail kickoff for our CSA last night to get a tour of the farm and meet other members. It was great and I scored some leeks. Yes! Can't wait to cook those guys up in soup or maybe just by themselves. Have a great weekend, everyone! 

The perfect fall lunch

It's amazing how our bodies react to cooler weather. We tend to yearn for warm foods like soups and stews instead of cold salads and raw foods. Warming spices like cinnamon, allspice, cloves and nutmeg seem to find their way into our soups, coffees and baked goods. Pumpkin-spiced latte anyone?

This dish is the perfect fall lunch or dinner. Caramelizing the onion not only makes this dish taste better, but also heartier. It also takes advantage of those winter squashes that are popping up all over the market—acorn, butternut, kabocha, spaghetti or pumpkin. Feel free to substitute the acorn squash in this dish for your favorite winter squash.

Kale with squash, chickpeas, caramelized onions and cilantro-yogurt dressing
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 T olive oil
1 bunch kale, washed
2 garlic cloves minced
1/2 tsp sea salt
dash of pepper
dash of red chili flakes
1 acorn squash, cooked and cut into cubes
1 c cooked chickpeas
1 T cilantro, minced
1 T lemon juice
1 tsp tahini

1 bunch of cilantro, rinsed and roughly chopped

1/2 c yogurt

In a saute pan over low heat, add 1 T olive oil. Add a dash of sea salt and the onions. Let cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. It's best if you walk away from the stove and start prepping the kale, so you won't be tempted to stir. The onions should slowly start to brown and caramelize.

Destem the kale leaves with your hands. Keep the stems and dice small. Take the leaves, roll them, and slice thinly into a chiffonade (very thin slices). Heat remaining 1 T of olive oil over low-to-medium heat. First add the kale stems (since they take longer to cook than the leaves), then add the salt, pepper and red pepper flakes, stirring frequently. About five minutes later, add the kale leaves. If the leaves start to stick to the pan, add a little water. Cook for a few minutes or until the kale starts to wilt. Add the garlic cloves, cooking until fragrant and remove from heat. The kale will cook down to about half the size it was, when you put it into the pan.

In a large bowl, add the squash and chickpeas. In a small bowl mix together the cilantro, lemon juice and tahini. Pour over the squash and chickpeas, and mix carefully.

Blend the cilantro and yogurt until smooth.

To assemble, start with a bed of kale. Add the squash and chickpea mixture and top with caramelized onions. Drizzle the dressing around the dish.

Makes about 4 servings

Green olive chickpeas

I stopped by my favorite Mediterranean bakery and deli to grab some pita bread last weekend. I didn't realize I was hungry until I stood in front of the counter with hummus, baba ghanouj, tzatziki, bean salads, potato salad and tabouli staring back at me. I normally grab hummus or tabouli, but this time I grabbed a chickpea salad. I took a bite expecting it to taste like an regular chickpea salad with lemon and parsley. But I was wrong. There were salty green olives sprinkled throughout which made it something special. I decided I had to make this at home (as an alternative to this yummy salad).

Green olive chickpeas
2 c chickpeas or 1 can, rinsed
1/4 c green olives, sliced
1/2 c parsley, chopped
1 bunch of scallions, chopped
handful of cherry tomatoes, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp za'atar
cracked pepper

Mix chickpeas, olives, parsley, scallions and tomatoes into a large bowl. Mix remaining ingredients in a small dish. Stir well and pour over the bean mixture. Let flavors meld before serving. Enjoy as a cold salad or stuff inside a pita for a tasty lunch.

Feel good chickpeas & kale

The weather has been surprisingly cool and rainy for NC this time of year. Our spring is usually very quick with temperatures soaring into the 80s by May. I'm not complaining, I love this weather, especially when the afternoon is filled with rain.

Have a bunch of kale (or any green) on your hands that you need to cook? Here's a quick and delicious recipe to whip up for a light lunch or a side with dinner. I love the mixture of garlic and ginger, it gives this dish a punch of flavor as well as health benefits from these amazing spices.

Feel good chickpeas & kale
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 bunch of russian kale (or any kind), rinsed and cut into thin ribbons
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp sea salt
1 inch knob of ginger, minced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1.5 c chickpeas or 1 can, rinsed (or use any bean on hand)

Add the coconut oil to a saute pan over low-to-medium heat. When the oil has melted, add the cumin seeds, cook until fragrant. Toss in the kale, garlic, sea salt, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Cook for a few minutes, until fragrant and the kale starts to wilt. Mix in the chickpeas and cook until warm, just a few minutes longer.

Spring, a balancing act.

This time of year my diet switches from warm to cool. We tend to eat heartier, cooked meals to keep us warm in the cold of winter. When temperature becomes warmer, our bodies want lighter, refreshing meals that are often raw or chilled to keep us cool. I mean really, who wants to turn on the oven in 90 degree weather? While the temperatures in spring and fall are not as extreme as winter and summer (especially in the South), our diet becomes more of a balancing act, a mixture of cooked and raw dishes.

Spring casts a green hue over the earth and is visible at the farmers market. Asparagus appears as do pea shoots, lettuces, spinach, leeks, green onions and a variety of herbs. Salads begin to fill my fridge instead of hearty soups or tamale pie. Chilled bean salads become a regular on the dinner table. The flavor changes based on the herbs and vegetables available at the market that week.

A few weeks ago, I made this soup and had leftover dill oil in the fridge. I decided to add a spoonful into a salad of chickpeas, celery and avocado. The dill oil mixed with lemon and parsley adds a pungent kick to this chilled salad. The crunch of the celery is nice contrast with the creaminess of the avocado chunks. Enjoy this refreshing salad over a bed of lettuce or spinach. It's easy to pack and eat on-the-go for lunch at work or for a lazy weekend picnic.

Chickpeas, celery & avocado with dill oil
1 can chickpeas, rinsed (or 2 cups cooked chickpeas)
4 green onions, sliced
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 avocado, chopped
1/2 c parsley, rinsed and chopped
juice of 1 lemon
zest of half a lemon
1 big tbsp dill oil
dash of sea salt
grind of cracked pepper

Pour the chickpeas, onions, celery, avocado and parsley into a large bowl. Mix together the rest of the ingredients in a smaller dish before mixing into the chickpea salad. Refrigerate for an hour or two, so the flavors will meld before serving. Enjoy!