another kale recipe and some pretty things

this weekend i made kale chips, thanks to a suggestion by my friend lee ann. the entire process took under a half hour and the outcome was crunchy, salty deliciousness (that's good for you!).

here's how:

preheat your oven to 300°
mix 1 tbsp. into about 6 oz. of washed and dried kale (bite size pieces with the hard stems removed)
the recipe i was given called for sea salt, but now i'm reading up on recipes that involve vinegar and/or herbs and spices. i'll be experimenting more next time, which could very well be tomorrow because kale chips are so easy and fun to make.
spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet. i used wax paper as lining for easier clean-up.
bake for TWENTY MINUTES. not one minute longer, or you'll be using kale flakes to feed your fish.
and there you have it!
i promise, this snack is perfectly legal and will not help music sound any better or treat glaucoma.

here is the adorable funfetti cake that andrew's mama and sister baked for baby giovanna's first birthday. due to unfortunate work scheduling, i was unable to help with the actual baking of this cake (baking is my favorite). however, i shed some creative light (the round cake for the crown to rest on, all me) and my idea was greatly appreciated. they did a great job, this cake was a hit! especially by giovanna.
this is the way any princess should eat her birthday cake.

last night, andrew and i went to our friend max's to hang out with these people,
we ate hot dogs and alcoholic whipped cream. it was cool.

after work today, my sister and i had a coffee & thrift date. today's findings were a brown leather/gold guess watch, a j.crew dress that's going to transition well from summer wardrobe to fall wardrobe, a banana republic cardigan for $1.50!, some slate gray silk shirt, and two really ugly framed needlepoint patterns because i'm a sucker for stuff like that.
the day that i can afford an authentic norman rockwell will be a good one.
finally, after coming home for five minutes, i decided to take the point and shoot camera andrew recently found for me to the flowerfield at the avalon preserve. the field is so beautiful this time of year and it was really nice just to be out walking and clearing my head. maybe i'm a loner, but these are my favorite times. here are some photos i took with my phone, and then that's it i promise!
bye!

kale!

today i want to talk about kale, which is my most favorite vegetable. and lucky for me, kale is considered the most nutritious vegetable in the entire world. kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K and vitamin C (and is okay on the calcium front, too!). kale contains special good-for-you chemicals which are rumored to boost DNA repair in cells and block the growth of cancer cells. so really, what's not to like? because it grows so close to the ground, raw kale can have a really earthy, almost bitter taste. but if you pretend you're a healthy, cancer-free rabbit who is chock full of vitamins, kale tastes like the most awesome thing you've ever eaten. my favorite way to prepare kale is to steam it (and throw some fun stuff into it). this cuts out most of the bitterness, leaving you with pure kale deliciousness. conveniently, i made some for dinner! here's how that went:

in a saucepan on medium heat, combine 2 tbsp. olive oil with one cup water

stir in that kale! cover

watch as your kale turns a beautiful bright green, turn down to low heat, still stirring occasionally

i'm a hungry girl, so i can't eat ONLY greens for dinner. tonight i decided to recreate a jamaican jerk tofu scramble with brown rice that i invented a few weeks ago.

you can add salt, pepper, really whatever you'd like to your kale. i'm into garlic.

meanwhile, in another pan..

i'm not going to pretend like i am an expert on making tofu dishes, because i most certainly am not. i know that it basically adopts the flavor of whatever you cook it with. so i drained the block of tofu, squeezed out excess moisture, and really just scrambled it in a non-stick pan. poured jamaican jerk marinade over the tofu to taste, added carrots and chickpeas (my favorite legume), stirred. and then stirred in brown rice.
not the most attractive dish, but the flavor and health benefits certainly makes up for that.
and there's dinner!

my boyfriend just told me he liked it, which makes me feel good because although he won't admit it, he's picky. i made so much that i even have enough to take to work with me tomorrow for lunch.

this kale appreciation post has been brought to you by trader joe's, and the vitamin K. hope you love it as much as i do! because it's really really good for you and healthy people make me happy.

in other news..
breakfast
boyfriend
bike fun

xo