Southwestern Chopped Kale Salad

This summer my friend Melissa and I met up with our families at the pool for an evening swim and were swapping summer salad recipes, because that is what we do when we get together.  We are always looking for yummy, fresh, new recipes that can be simply done and made ahead.  This one is a winner.  She was inspired by a recipe from a blog but then she tweaked it so much, I think it is absolutely fair to call it her creation!

I have made it multiple times this summer and wanted to post it but haven't had/taken the time to get it written. But before the fresh corn is gone for the year, I knew I must post it.

The first time I made it, I was meeting my friend Jennifer and her kids at their community pool and I wanted to make a yummy salad that my kids and I could eat and that would be a treat for Jennifer too. So, I made it that morning instead of packing up sandwiches. When it was lunch break and we pulled out our food, I opened my container of salad and started chopping up an avocado to mix in.  Two other mommas near us peered over and one said, "YUM! What is that? That looks good!"  I told her what was in it and that it was my friend's creation that I was trying out for the first time.

I scooped up some on a little plate and handed it to this unknown pool lady for her to try.  She gratefully accepted it.  She gobbled it up and said she would try making it at home.

From --> friends swapping recipes at the pool --> to -->  friends sharing salad at another pool --> to --> salad and recipe sharing with strangers --> and so it goes!

I loved that she was outgoing enough to inquire about the salad- it was fun to share a recipe and a taste test with pool strangers.  (If you are reading this, kind lady at the Nolensville pool, I'm finally posting the recipe!)

This salad is versatile and one of the benefits of kale is that it is a sturdy green, and therefore can be made ahead of time! (Just stir in the avocado right before serving.)

it just takes some chopping 

the corn makes it nutty and hearty

Southwestern Chopped Kale Salad
   from Melissa Broadwell

8 cups chopped fresh kale

1/2 bunch of chopped cilantro

2 chopped green onions
(red would be good too)

1 container of chopped grape tomatoes quartered (or 2 diced larger tomatoes)

1 finely chopped jalepeno pepper (with seeds removed)

2-3 cobs of corn (depending on how big they are)- steamed or microwaved and cut off the cob

1 cup cooked quinoa

1-2 avocados (depending on size and how much you love it)

Crumbled tortilla chips for crunchy topping

Simple Lemon Dressing:
The juice of one lemon and 1/4 cup olive oil, kosher salt and pepper swirled together.

Stir together all ingredients (besides the dressing and crumbled tortilla chips)

the quinoa can be made ahead and kept in the refrigerator

Add dressing drizzle by drizzle until fully incorporated and the right amount of wet.  Add avocado just before serving.  Stir in well and then top with the crumbled chips.

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As always, tweak as you like, and add some meat or beans in the salad or make this a side and serve with a piece of meat. We served it once with Italian sausage and once with sautéed shrimp.

The pools are closed now in our community for the most part, as Labor Day has passed, but the Southwestern Kale Salad is still going strong.  Hope you find it as tasty and satisfying as we have!

Gratitude (and a Recipe Sharing Friend)

This time of year, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, breeds thankfulness. Unfortunately, I am easily overwhelmed in my life, and it sometimes feels paralyzing, and this time of year is so full that it is especially overwhelming.  I am engulfed with the messes in my house, the responsibilities that I carry, the individual and enormous needs of each of my children, things I need to do and things I want to do.  During this season, even the fun things (like holiday gift buying, baking, card sending, and decorating) can feel overwhelming. 

I have to stop and breathe and focus on GRATITUDE.

Gratitude is a powerful force.  It is more than a fluffy idea.  There is science behind it!

The research that has emerged recently on gratitude is incredible. 

Here are a couple of interesting pieces on the power of gratitude.

This short piece, by my hero Brene Brown, is about the link between Gratitude and Joy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IjSHUc7TXM

And this fun experiment measuring the link between Gratitude and Happiness, from SoulPancake.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHv6vTKD6lg

So, I am stopping for a moment and making a list of 10 things for which I am grateful TODAY. 

Some things I am grateful for are:

1.     The health of our family

2.     Wonderful schools with great faculty and administration that are impacting my kids everyday

3.     Good coffee

4.     Meaningful work with incredible students

5.     Laughter

6.     Neighbors with whom we can loan ingredients and tools, and lend a hand and feel so not alone in this life.

7.     God’s faithfulness- His mercies that are new every morning!

8.     The seasons

9.     A good night’s sleep under a fluffy comforter

10. Friends- old and new, near and far

#10- friends old and new, is the inspiration for this post.  I have a new friend, Sandi.  She is a very talented, wise and generous woman that I have gotten to know this fall.  She and her husband are in our small group at church and one of the unexpected blessings of this new friendship are the food and recipes that have come from her kitchen.  Because we share a meal together each week at group, we have the chance to eat each other’s food weekly!  (That is not a typical opportunity in many friendships).

She is a great cook and has so many recipes that are NEW to me.  It has been a boon for me and my kitchen! Through the years of my food blogging, one of the things that has kept me at it (when I wonder why in the world am I doing this in the vast number of food blogs on the internet) is knowing that some friend or some unknown friend, is finding inspiration and help with what to make for dinner.

Sandi’s gift of new, delicious, do-able recipes has been so great.  I couldn’t decide which recipe to share with you that I have tried of Sandi’s lately, so I decided to share both!  At the rate I am posting lately, I might should double-up when I do sneak the time to create a blog post!  

Recipe #1 is her Apple Cole Slaw.

I love it!

It is sweet and tangy and healthy!  It is good as a side with just about anything!

I have made it twice and I approached it differently each time, and it produced different results.  I liked them both.  I made it once in my food processor and it yielded a much finer, juicer slaw (think Chick fil a slaw texture) and the second time I chopped with a knife and it yielded more of a loose, crunchy salad.

Apple Cole Slaw

Salad

1 apple, chopped

4 slices pineapple, chopped

2 cups cabbage, chopped

Dressing

2 Tbsp. mayo

2 Tbsp. milk

1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp. sugar

¼ tsp. salt

Mix together the dressing in a small bowl or measuring cup.

Toss together the apples, pineapple and cabbage.

Pour dressing over. Stir to completely coat.

Cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes before eating.

Recipe #2 is Nani’s Cake

It's called Nani's cake because the lady who gave her the recipe got it from her Nani.   

My mom tasted it and said she thinks she has this recipe from somewhere in her past and called it Butter Pecan Cake.  I'd call it Sticky Coconut Bundt Cake.  It is a simple- throw it in a bowl, stir and bake cake.  It has a can of coconut pecan sticky frosting stirred into the batter- so it needs no frosting on top.  It gets even stickier and moister after a couple of days, so it is a great make-ahead dessert.  The coconut and nuts are not dominant, so even people who don’t love those ingredients would like it, I think.

Nani’s Cake

1 box yellow butter cake mix

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable or canola oil

1 cup milk

1 can (Pillsbury)- coconut pecan frosting*

1 tsp almond extract

Beat all together (including frosting).

Spray bundt pan generously.

Bake 350 for 40 minutes.

It gets better with each day so try not to eat it all the first day.

 * we used Betty Crocker frosting because they didn't have Pillsbury

Another gift from Sandi was the book, Not By Sight by John Bloom (President of Desiring God ministries). Click the link to read more about it.  It has been a refreshing morning read this fall.  I highly recommend it. 

So, thank you, Sandi, for sharing your kindness, and generous gifts.  What a blessing.

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I hope in the midst of these busy December days we can all purpose to spell our days with gratitude.

But be forewarned, it is sometimes vulnerable to do so!

PERSONAL CONFESSION: Surprisingly the act of writing the gratitude list in this post felt challenging- though in a good way.  I had to dig deep, and be still for a few moments to really think about the things for which I am grateful today. 

And the act of sharing the list feels/felt vulnerable and somehow risky, and I wonder if that may be part of what holds us back from practicing and expressing gratitude more!