Kale with Wild Rice and Mushrooms

We sell a lot of kale at the grocery store!

It's difficult to believe that kale was once the leafy green that was impossible to find. Really? Yep!

Now, it's everywhere. Despite "foodie predictions" which love to announce its demise, kale shows no sign of disappearing. And I say that as a clerk in the produce department of a large grocery store. Recently, kale has found its way into pre-packaged salad mixtures and even fresh, mixed greens for making smoothies and powdered mixes for the same.

I was first introduced to kale in the 1980s via an Irish stew recipe. Wonderful. Unlike spinach, kale's wooliness holds up well in dishes that require a long braise or simmer, such as a stew. I have since lost this recipe. It was from the PBS series, The Victory Garden, with Mariane Morash. If anyone has the video or recipe, please let me know.

This is a rather simple dish to prepare, with the exception of the wild rice which takes some time. Now, however, one can actually purchase wild rice already cooked in a pouch and ready to go! Me? I'll stick to the old-fashioned way. To add more flavor, cook both rices in a bit of chicken or beef stock (or both). Feeling adventuresome? Add a bit of raisins (or dried cranberries) when you saute the onions.

You may serve this immediately right from the pan, but I prefer to place it in a casserole dish and sprinkle with a bit of Parmesan or Gruyere and bake just until the cheese melts. This is a great make-ahead side. And it pairs beautifully with my recipe for baked carrots.

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1, 12-oz. package button mushrooms, stems removed and chopped in a 1/2-inch dice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, sliced (may sub leeks)
• 1 pound kale, stems and spines removed, leaves roughly cut
• 1 cup short-grain rice, cooked
• 1 cup wild rice, cooked
• Salt and pepper to taste
• A bit of dried or fresh thyme leaves
• A few scratches of fresh nutmeg (optional)

Heat the oil in a saucepan over hight heat for a couple of minutes to get it really hot. Add the mushrooms and season generously with salt and pepper to taste. Saute until the mushrooms give off their water and it evaporates a bit and the mushrooms begin to brown. Reduce heat to medium.

Add the onion and saute until softened and translucent. Add the garlic, thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Add the kale and cover tightly with a lid so that the greens wilt. Once the greens have wilted slightly, toss with mushrooms and onion mixture and saute until the kale becomes tender but still retains a bright green color. Add more oil if the mixture is dry. Add the rices and stir all the ingredients together. Add nutmeg, if using. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Remove from heat and sprinkle with cheese. Cover slightly until cheese melts.

NOTE: This is what I do:

To make one day ahead, place mixture in a covered casserole dish about 10 x 6 or 8 x 8. About one-half hour before serving, sprinkle with fresh Parmesan or Swiss-like cheese and bake for about 20-30 minutes in a 350 F oven or until warmed through.

Kits

Since autumn, I have been taking care of two groups of feral kittens that live behind the grocery store where I work. Biscuit and Boo are from one mom (they had a sibling but it died early on) and the gray kittens are from another mom.

The black kitten, Ink, showed up later on, so he really was not a part of either family. I found him curled as tight as possible in the middle of a field one snowy, wintry day. He and Zen Mitten are now buddies.

I have never experienced such a loving creature as Zen Mitten. He is very "centered" and loves everyone.

These cats have been neutered and spayed and chipped. The tips of their ears have been nipped to show they are being taken care of and this "pod" is registered with the state. Because of a lack of foster homes, they were re-leased because it was felt they were well-taken care of and in a safe environment.

Many people help out and they have provided dry, tiny shelters for them hidden in the field.

I can now pet all but one. We have homes for two.

North Carolina puts down more cats than any other state. We have tried to trap the mother cats, but they are old and savvy. Biscuit and Boo's mother is a beautiful and matronly calico with green eyes.

Not all cats are "dumped." Many simply run away, which I think perhaps Ink did. My own cat, Chalk, did.

If you know of people who look after feral cats, don't hesitate to donate a few bucks. Five bucks can buy a lot of food.

Simple Weeknight Italian Spaghetti With Ground Beef

Oh, the things one finds when spring cleaning. I found this recipe safely tucked away in a drawer. I've had it since at least the late 1980's. Spaghetti was never really a staple meal in our household when I was growing up. We were, after all of Polish/Lithuanian descent. And, my tastebuds are sensitive to acidic, tomato-based sauces. But when I was served this by neighbors in the Indiana town where I taught school, I enjoyed it so much that I asked for the recipe.

If you like Stouffer's frozen spaghetti (and I do), you will like this recipe -- which I think is even better.

Thanks to the packaged, dry sauce mix that contains potato starch, this is  a thick sauce. It uses basic, pantry staples one usually has on hand. I suggest making the recipe as is before adjusting it. At the end, I will suggest options that I have tried.

• 8 ounces chopped yellow onion ( a good one cup)
• 2 large garlic cloves pressed or finely chopped
• 2 additional small garlic cloves, peeled and set aside
• 8 ounces chopped green pepper (about one large)
• 1-lb. ground chuck
• 1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes or to taste (optional)

• 1, 15-ounce can tomato sauce
• 1, 12-ounce can tomato paste
• 1, 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1, 2-4 ounce can sliced black olives, undrained
• 1 package McCormick Italian Spaghetti Sauce Mix with Mushrooms
• 1, 10-ounce can chicken broth
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried oregano, lightly crushed
• 1 small bay leaf
• 1 1/2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 1 - 2 teaspoons dried sweet basil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 to one pound dried spaghetti
• Parmesan cheese for grating

Add a bit of olive oil to a medium Dutch oven. Sauté ground chuck until crumbly and no longer pink. Remove to a bowl. Add a bit more olive oil to pan. Add chopped onion and bell pepper. Saute until soft. Add the two chopped/pressed garlic cloves. Add red pepper flakes, if using. Stir for just a minute or two.

Add the tomato paste. It's important to cook out the tomato paste for a bit ...

Add the remaining ingredients in order listed except for the dried spaghetti and Parm. Mix well and bring to a slow simmer. Cover partially and simmer two to four hours. Periodically, uncover and add some slices from the extra garlic or to taste.  Keep tasting and adjust seasonings as necessary, especially just before serving. Add water, if necessary.

Cook pasta. Drain. Add a cup or two of the sauce. Mix well to coat. Mound pasta on individual plates and top with meat sauce and grated Parmesan cheese.

Options:

• Add a bit of chopped bacon to the ground beef.
• If you have them, add a rind or two of Parmesan cheese.
• Add sliced mushrooms when browning the ground chuck.
• Use a dry red or white wine in place of the water.
• Use the lesser amounts of  dried basil and oregano. About one-half hour before serving, chop up about 3/4 tablespoon of fresh to add to sauce.
• Add 1/2 teaspoon crushed fennel seed when browning meat mixture.

• While I have not done this, throw in a couple of Italian sausages the last hour of cooking.

Oven-Fried Chicken with Honey-Butter Sauce

I remember the first time I prepared this chicken. It was so good, I made it several times in the  duration of several weeks and passed the recipe to neighbors and friends. I believe the original recipe appeared in Harrowsmith, a magazine I loved and to which I subscribed in the late 80s. Back then, dipping sauces were the exception rather than the rule. Now you can buy them bottled.

I've modified the original by adding a bit of smoked paprika to the dredging ingredients and a few shakes of Cayenne pepper to the sauce.  I also leave the skin on the I chicken. One could just use thighs or, as I prefer, leg quarters. If I use white meat, it is usually just bone-in, skin-on large chicken breasts.

Biscuits go nice with a dish such as this.

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons sweet paprika or 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika and 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1, 2 1/2 - 3-pound broiler/fryer cut up and skinned
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

Honey-Butter Sauce

• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• Dash or two Cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 375-400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Combine flour, paprika, salt and pepper on a large plate. Dredge chicken pieces in flour mixture. Set aside.

Pour melted butter into a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish. I prefer Pyrex. Place chicken in pan, turning to coat in butter. Cover and bake, meaty side down, for 30 minutes. 

Meanwhile, combine sauce ingredients and beat well.

Uncover chicken. Turn. Pour honey-butter sauce over each piece. Bake, uncovered, for another 25-30 minutes, basting occasionally with the sauce. 

Serve with white rice or mashed potatoes, biscuits to sop up some of the wonderful sauce!