Eat Your Greens

Now more than ever there are plenty of green options at the grocery store. Which has an increasing imaginative way of incorporating these versatile veggies into our everyday cooking and baking. Nutritious and tasty, greens are considerable ingredients to boost your recipes and your health. 

Eat Your Greens, is informative with helpful hints and tips. An introduction is included with 4 other chapters titled, Light Bites, Dynamic Dinners, A Little on the Side, and Green Juices. If you would like a compact guide on the important nutrients in green vegetables, how to choose produce, growing your own greens, how to prepare and cook green vegetables, and green juices this is a good book for you. There are many recipes to inspire and ponder, like... Pork Coconut Lettuce Wraps, Spicy Eggplant & Chickpea Casserole, Greens, Pea & Bean Burgers, Stir-fried Brussels Sprouts with Almonds, Kale & Mango Juice and Lettuce & Kiwi Quencher. These sound all perfectly delicious and tantalizing and hopefully inspiring; like this recipe from the book... 

Kale, Lemon & Chive Linguine

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Serves: 2-3   Prep Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 20 mins 

Ingredients:

9 ounces kale, thick stems removed, leaves sliced widthwise into thin ribbons 

(about 3 3/4cups prepared)

8 ounces dried linguine

1/2 cup olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, thinly sliced

grated zest of 1 large lemon

large pinch of dried red pepper flakes

3 tablespoons snipped fresh chives

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper, to taste

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add the kale and blanch for 2 minutes, until just wilted. Drain, reserve the water, and set aside.

2. Bring the reserved water to a boil in the large pan. Add linguine and cook according to package directions until tender but still firm to the bite.

3. Meanwhile, heat the oil n a large skillet over medium - high heat. Add the onion and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for an additional minute. 

4. Stir in the kale, lemon zest, and red pepper flakes and season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender but still bright green. Add a little of the cooking water if the mixture becomes dry.

5. Drain the pasta and transfer to a warm serving dish. Add the kale mixture, tossing with the pasta to mix. Stir in the chives and Parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Toss again and serve immediately.

Hero Tip: Using the kale cooking water to cook the pasta not only saves time and fuel, but also gives the pasta more flavour.

Who doesn't remember pushing greens around the dinner plate, when younger, in hopes they would magically disappear on their own. - JD  

Garlic Linguine with Tomatoes, Chicken, Halloumi Cheese and Parsley

I was determined to get back into the kitchen and try to push the jet lag aside. Donning my apron brought great pleasure. I decided to make something quick and comforting. linguine with garlic, cherry tomatoes, leftover chicken, fresh parsley and cubed halloumi cheese. I made so much of it that tonights dinner will be much of the same.   

In a saucepan add 1/2 cup of olive oil and three cloves of garlic that have been crushed. Set aside. 

In another saucepan fill with water and add a pinch of salt. Turn on high heat and bring water to the boil then add 450 grams of dried linguine and cook according to package. 

As the pasta is cooking chop the tomatoes in half, dice the chicken, cube the halloumi cheese and mince the fresh parsley. Set aside. No exact measurements needed for these ingredients. Depends on how much of each you would like to have in the dish. You may also want to use different cheese, veggies or meat.  

When the pasta looks just about done place the saucepan with the crushed garlic in it on the stove and turn on medium/low heat. You want to gently heat the oil and brown the garlic. When the garlic turns golden brown remove from heat. By this time the pasta should be ready to drain.

Drain the linguine well. Transfer to a large serving dish. Pour the oil and garlic mixture over the pasta. Toss to coat. Add the tomatoes, chicken, halloumi cheese and fresh parsley. Toss to coat, again. Add a pinch of salt and ground pepper, if you like, to taste. Serve immediately. Enjoy! -JW