FOTY Take One: Leek Time

The onset of the new year not only brought with it a slew of life changes, but also the return of my annual Food of the Year (FOTY) program! As you may recall, this is something I started doing a while back to get myself to expand my eating horizons. I detailed the history behind my FOTY program here and to be honest, I'm surprised at how long it's lasted. I'd be lying if I didn't admit I was starting to worry about running out of foods to conquer.  

The last couple years have brought some fun ones, with artichokes taking the prize last year and oysters the year before, but this year I was a little stumped for ideas. In general, I've been trying to work my way through the vegetable circuit with the goal of never finding myself in the presence of a vegetable that I didn't like. With that thought in mind, I decided to choose leeks as my FOTY for 2014. 

My leek choice was admittedly somewhat rushed. January snuck up on me and decisions needed to be made. It's not that I regret my leek choice, so much as I've been near certain from the start that I would like them instantly and there would be nothing to really conquer this year. With this conundrum at hand, I used some of my train time, or thinking time as I sometimes I like to kindly characterize my 2 hour commute to Bethesda, to land on a secondary food of the year: beets. 

 

Unlike leeks, which I chose mostly because I'd never cooked with them and wanted to start, I've had beets in recent years and do not care for them....making them perfect for the FOTY challenge! I liken this year to my second time oatmeal and I came together. At first it was my only FOTY failing, but at second pass a few years later (after I'd quickly conquered another FOTY) I found a love for it and now joyously start most days with a delightful bowl of it warming my insides. I can only hope for a similar go-round with beets back on the table. But for now, it's leeks' time to shine!

Today's recipe features not only leeks, but one of my favorite adult vegetables, brussels sprouts. Those little green balls of heaven never fail me and, as expected, the leeks were a hit with my palate too. They only had baby leeks at the HT when I went, so I'm hoping to try them out in normal size, and prepared in a more roasted form, over the weekend. But for now, baby leeks it is!

Baby Leek, Brussels Sprout, and Tomato Lemon Quinoa 

Ingredients

*Makes 2-3 servings

• 3 baby leeks, diced
• 8-10 medium brussels sprouts, stems trimmed and halved
• 1 cup quinoa, uncooked
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut into fourths
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• Lemon juice, to taste
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• A couple tablespoons olive oil (sorry I didn't measure, just put enough so the veggies didn't stick when cooking in the wok)
• Feta cheese, optional for topping

Preparation

1.   Bring two cups water to a boil, add quinoa, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed.

2.   Meanwhile, prepare veggies for cooking (wash and chop)

3.   Heat olive oil in wok, then add brussels sprouts first. They take the longest to cook, but you also have to watch them closely so they don't get overcooked and taste bitter. They're a tricky beast!

4.   After a couple minutes, add garlic and leeks, plus salt and pepper

5.   Finally, add tomatoes and lemon juice. Cook until everything looks done

6.   Once quinoa is done, add it to the party in the wok and mix everything together

7.   Top with feta before serving and enjoy!

Krazy for Kale

Oh my kale. I am officially addicted. Up until about a month or so ago, I had never paid kale much mind. It was just one of those green leafy vegetables  that was not my cup of tea (which at this point in my eating journey is really saying something as there are little to no vegetables that I don't like....tell that to my 5 year old self and I'd call you a liar and probably kick you in the shin) and I was ok with that. And then it caught my eye. 

I don't remember how our paths first crossed (my guess is pinterest or twitter) but with so many delicious-looking recipes using it, I quickly became obsessed with giving it the old taste test. I did so for the first time courtesy of a farmers market impulse buy and used it to make these kale chips, but I wasn't officially sold until I tried it raw. 

Even when it's not summer, something inside of me has always loved raw foods. When I was younger, I used to hover in the kitchen as my mom made dinner and beg for samples of bell pepper and frozen corn (as an aside, a small dish of frozen corn with salt and pepper on it is still one of the best snacks ever....I'm currently wondering why I don't have it more :)). So naturally, I had to try kale raw in order to determine my true feelings for it. Thus, with the remaining kale I made a salad to take to work for lunch. It was divine. I drizzled it with olive oil as many recipes suggested to soften it up a bit and topped it with some cucumber and tomato pieces (also courtesy of the farmers market). It was a nice change up from my usual spinach regimen, and with that my addiction began.

Only a week out from my first kale encounter, I found myself at the farmers market again (a different one that I'm now also obsessed with...I raved about this one here) and, because this farmers market was the cheapest place on earth (admittedly a slight exaggeration, but definitely cheaper than what I've grown accustomed to in the District) I acquired a HUGE bag of kale for $2. My mom was not thrilled with my purchase as it took up a lot of room in the refrigerator while I was in town, and on a weekend when we were already storing a bunch of extra food for our crab feast, but as I repeatedly reminded her, how was I going to pass up $2 kale?! 

Once I returned back to the District the fun part came, deciding what to do with all of it! Thanks to one of my favorite inventions, the interweb, I was not short on ideas. Unlike the previous recipes I've featured on here, all of those mentioned below were made measurement free and were instead the result of me finding pictures of food that looked appetizing and then playing around in my kitchen to see what I  could come up with. As such, I've just provided a rough idea under the pictures of what I did to create the finished product. I encourage you to have some fun in your kitchen with kale as well. And now, I present to you my week with kale:

Sauteed Kale, Fairytale Eggplant, and Tomato Pasta

Sauté eggplant in olive oil with salt and pepper and a cup of diced tomatoes until tender/heated through. Toss with kale. Cover and allow to simmer for several minutes until kale begins to wilt

Kale + Wine = Perfection

Avocado and Kale Salad

Dice half an avocado and toss with kale, tomatoes (I'm obsessed with farmers market tomatoes), cucumbers (diced), lime juice, and salt and pepper to taste

Kale Pesto

Combine kale, olive oil, sunflower seeds, several cloves of garlic, and salt and pepper to taste/desired consistency

Sauteed Kale with Quinoa and Fairytale Eggplant

As you can see from my reuse of the fairytale eggplant, kale wasn't the only thing I had an abundance of

This recipe was made similarly to his brother above, but with some veggies added instead of the tomatoes

And in case there was any doubt as to how much kale I was actually working with:

In the beginning, my kale supply runneth over. Seriously, $2 for the whole bag!!

The remaining kale, after I made all of the above, except the pesto, plus several lunch salads!