Recipe Exchange!

Those of you who have known me more than a few weeks are probably aware that I LOVE food. This is one of the reasons that I was so excited to get back into swimming. See, if I burn all those calories swimming my heart out, I can justify eating most of what I cook. The sad thing is, with just Mr. K and I to feed, there is often too much of what I cook to eat. (this is why, if you ever get a dinner invitation from me you should accept it. It gives me an excuse to make a whole pan of something, and it will probably significantly up your veggie intake for the week).

Right. food. So as it's the beginning of the year, still January, (I'm taking a leap here and assuming this has to do at least somewhat with the month) I've been getting near weekly requests to participate in recipe exchanges. I LOVE them. But unfortunately, none of my friends seem to. I have faithfully submitted recipes for every exchange I've been asked to join, but I have yet to receive anything back. And the people I always send my recipes to write back saying they don't have the time, energy or interest. Boo.

Now, I have no problem freely sharing my love of food and my favorite recipes with friends. And I have a LOT of sources for new recipes (a whole shelf of cookbooks, cookstr.com, 3 food blogs I faithfully follow). But it's still nice to get those tried and true family type recipes that people can just type out from memory. In fact, one of the few recipes I got from an exchange back in college has become a favorite that I can now make from memory.

So with that, I'd like to leave two recipes for you. The first I sent to my cousin for a recipe exchange she invited me to join (and is something I made just last night!), and the second is the above referenced recipe from college that I still love.

Kale Soup (adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian)

Olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2-3 large potatoes, chopped (skins on! adds nutrients and flavor!)

Garlic to taste (I use a heaping spoon of crushed garlic from a jar)

Tofu (I use half a block of extra firm organic tofu, crumbled)

1-2 bunches kale (washed, no stems, don't worry about drying it, chopped)

1/2c- 1c leftover red wine (if you have it)

4-6 c veggie stock or water (depending on what you have)

Splash of soy sauce (for 8c liquid I'd use about 1/8 c. soy sauce)

1 c. pearled barley (be sure to rinse it and look for rocks...no broken teeth! Wheatberries also work)

Chili powder, salt, pepper to taste

In a large pot heat olive oil on medium heat. Add chopped onion. While the onion is cooking to translucence, chop up the potatoes (leave the skins on!!!). Add the potatoes to the pot and let them get slightly browned and start to stick to the bottom of the pot. Add the spoonful of garlic. (Note: you could chop your own garlic here, but then your fingers would smell like garlic for a week...and that's just plum annoying). Add the tofu. Let everything get tasty and cook up most of the moisture.

Add the chopped kale to the pot and let the moisture help you scrape some flavor off the bottom of the pot.

(Note: I use a bamboo "spatula" spoon with a flat edge...it doesn't mush things up, nor does it make that metal on metal scraping noise that makes me want to crawl out of my skin). Once the kale has wilted, add the wine to get the rest of the flavor off the bottom. Then add the veggie stock/water. Add the barley, spices to taste and the splash of soy sauce. Bring the pot to a simmer (last night I increased the temp to med-high until I got bubbles, and then I reduced the heat to med-low). Let simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally until the kale is tender, the barley is cooked and flavors have come together. Give it a taste and adjust your spices!

I like to serve this soup with a homemade crusty bread (I like the yeasted corn bread or european peasant loaf from my favorite bread cookbook: Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, which I got as a wedding gift from a coworker. AMAZING!).

This soup is hearty, will surely warm you up on a cold wintery day and is SO FULL of good-for-you stuff that you'll thank me at your next check up. I'd also like to note that when I made this soup the first time, I had never had kale before and now it's one of my favorite foods. This is also a great introduction to tofu. Be adventurous!

Mexican stew

(This had a fancy name that I can neither pronounce nor spell...something like "Picodillo")

1-2 onions, chopped

2 large potatoes, chopped (skins on!!!)

1-2 cans of whole tomatoes (no problem if they have basil, but your heart will thank you if go no salt added)

garlic to taste (I use the jar, call me lame)

3-4 jalapenos, or to taste (you can use your favorite spicy pepper here), chopped (be careful!)

**The original recipe called for ground beef, I use tofu as I don't eat meat anymore

Oil for the pot

Heat the oil on the stove in a big pot (Note: it's a theme...I like to make soup in giant pots and then divy it out into tupperware so we have soup for lunch all week). Add chopped onions and garlic, let them brown a bit. Add the meat or tofu (brown the meat). Add the jalapenos and potatoes. Let the potatoes get browned a bit. Add the tomatoes AND the tomato juice they came in (you might also want to add a few cups of water at this point to stretch your soup). Allow it all to simmer until it's tasty. Add salt and pepper if you need to.

This is another great soup to serve with crutsy bread, but I'd be more apt to go with a wheat bread, though the corn bread could also be great. Some tortillas and a salad might also go well, or you could crumble some leftover chip bits on the top and garnish with some cheese.

Enjoy! And stay warm out there! I hear 30 states are having some intense snow warnings/storm watches, mine included. Perfect soup weather if you ask me.