Teresa's Kale & Beet Greens with Pecans

Sometime just before Thanksgiving of last year my friend Jim and I were chatting about our kids. The conversation wound here and there, meandered across a range of subjects, geographies, and finally, time. It  reached way back into my past—all the way back to college days—and then skipped ahead a month or two. Somehow we realized we had a mutual friend, Mickey. I was close buds with Mickey in college (but we lost track of each other after graduation) and Jim had recently met him through church.

It happens that Mickey was going to be the keynote speaker at an upcoming seminar at the church Jim attends. It was the perfect opportunity to reunite with my old friend. Needless to say I was more than a little excited about that possibility.

The day came and there was Mickey. All the years erased and we fell back into the easy conversation we’d always shared. Jim, and his wife, Teresa, invited us all back to their home for lunch so we could spend a little time together to catch up on life over those many years. What a perfect afternoon spent with old friends and older friends.

The guys chowed down on locally made submarine sandwiches. (For you in other locales that would be grinders, heros, hoagies, torpedos…). But, Teresa, wonderful Teresa, almost apologetically offered sauteed kale and beet greens. Woohoo! She made a huge, huge, huge pan of this wonderful recipe and we consumed it by the bowlful. (OK, now the guys, they didn’t even look longingly at our lunch. Jim may have displayed an involuntary facial twitch I’d never seen before but the other three—Mickey, my husband, and Jim and Teresa’s son—didn’t even seem to see the greens. Denial, my friends, total denial born of deeply seated lachanophobia. Fear of vegetables.)

The colors of the beet greens and kale, along with the pattern of the bowl it was served in, was festive. The flavor was subtle and wonderful. The company upbeat and comfortable. It was a day I’m going to enjoy remembering for a long time to come.

If you’d like to view my friend Mickey’s beautiful artwork you can do so at Bee Still Studio or here.

And, you can enjoy Teresa’s festive Kale & Beet Greens with Pecans any time the mood hits you. It’s simple to make, very flavorful, and so good for you.

Love that Diane Elbin of The W.H.O.L.E Gang features a weekly collection of recipes focused one key ingredient. It’s a great place to share—and receive—great cooking ideas. Be sure to visit and check out all the fabulous kale recipes that have been posted!

Teresa’s Kale & Beet Greens with Pecans

1 large bunch kale, ribs removed, chopped
1 bunch beet greens, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic minced
1/2 to 1 teaspoon ginger
3-4 tablespoons of Pecans (you can toast them for about 3-4 minutes to improve flavor)
Orange zest (optional)
Sea salt to taste

Gently clean the kale and beet greens under cool running water.

Remove the stems from the beet greens and chop them into 1/4-1/2 inch pieces.

Remove the ribs from the kale and discard. Chop the kale and beet leaves into 1/2-3/4 inch strips.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add garlic and chopped beet stems. Saute about 5 minutes until garlic and stems are softened. 

Add the beet and kale greens and saute adding ginger and salt to taste. (I recommend using freshly grated ginger but powdered ginger will work, as well.) Turn the greens in the pan using a large pair of tongs. The water clinging to the washed greens is typically enough to steam them a bit but, if needed, you can add a few extra tablespoons. Saute until soft—about 5-7 minutes longer. 

Serve sprinkled with toasted pecans. A small amount of orange zest, if you have it, provides a colorful garnish for this dish.

PRINT RECIPE

Three Recipes Away from Great GF Cornbread Dressing

Yep, you’re only three recipes away from a pretty delicious cornbread dressing. And, after completing any one of the three recipes, if you feel you just can’t move on to the next step, you can just stop and have a great side dish ready to serve with dinner.

The first is Vegan Creamed Corn. I admit I’m jealous my friends can make really great cornbread with all kinds of extra ingredients that I can’t have—cheese and creamed corn to be exact. Well, I can’t have the cheese but just stop me from adding creamed corn to my cornbread. This version is vegan and delicious. You all might like the corn on its own—it’s very tasty.

Next is GF Vegan Skillet Cornbread—made with locally ground cornmeal (yum!) and, you got it, creamed corn. Let me just tell you that if you can get locally ground cornmeal by all means scoop it right on up. We have a great little health food store that embraces the 100 mile challenge so sells many locally ground grains, organic vegetables, local dairy products and other locally grown foods. That’s where I get my cornmeal and, if I’m lucky, pick up some delicious finely ground corn flour.

The final recipe is a flavorful GF Cornbread Dressing made with GF bread, cranberries, apples, celery, chicken sausage and broth.

I brought this dressing—along with a  goat cheese appetizer and Karina’s Sweet Potato Coffee Cake—to my sister’s house for our family Thanksgiving get together. This year was a far cry from last year’s Thanksgiving where I felt a little deprived. I’ve come a long way, baby! My meal was fabulously gluten-free and I walked away from the table with the button of my jeans undone. That’s probably not something to brag about but I’m going to anyway.

Thanksgiving may be over but these recipes will see you through the holidays, into the new year, and on until the end of the winter. And, you don’t need to make a bird to add this to your meal because it’s good any time, anywhere.

Recipe #1: Vegan Creamed Corn

12 ounces frozen corn (or 1½ cups raw fresh corn kernels)

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil

½ an onion, finely diced

Salt

1 tablespoon sugar (optional)

2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal (fine)

½ cup light coconut milk

½ cup rice milk

Salt and pepper

In a large skillet heat the grapeseed oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and cook until almost translucent. 

Add the corn and salt, cooking about 5 minutes, stirring frequently until the corn is no longer frozen and is warm. Stir in the sugar (if adding) and cook another minute.

Mix the coconut and rice milks together. Sprinkle the corn flour over the corn kernels and stir in. Then, add the milk mixture and cook until the corn is soft and the mixture had been reduced and appears creamy—about another 4 or 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Makes about 2 cups of creamed corn.

PRINT RECIPE

Recipe #2: GF Vegan Skillet Cornbread

Dry Ingredients

1 cup organic corn meal

3/4 cup sorghum flour

1/4 cup tapioca starch

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients

1/3 cup vegetable, corn, or canola oil (grapeseed)

1 cup rice or other milk substitute

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

1 cup Vegan Creamed Corn (recipe above)

Egg replacer for two eggs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix the egg replacer (4 tablespoons warm water and 3 teaspoons Ener-G Egg Replacer) until there are no white lumps or residue. Put aside.

Mix dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Mix rice milk and cider vinegar. Add rice milk/vinegar, oil, then egg replacer to the dry ingredients. Mix well.

Add the Vegan Creamed Corn and stir until incorporated.

Grease a baking pan (a medium cast iron skillet or 8” x 8” baking dish will work) with oil.

Pour mix in pan and bake for 20-25 min or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Note: Cornbread is typically very crumbly so I’ve considered adding 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum to see if it would improve the texture. If anyone has done this please let us know how it went.

PRINT RECIPE

Recipe #3: GF Cornbread Dressing

1/2 pan Vegan Cornbread & 4 slices GF bread, toasted and cubed    
3 chicken sausage links (omit for vegan dressing)
1 large onion, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
1 apple, diced
1/2 cup dried cranberries  
1 teaspoon sage  
1 teaspoon thyme  
2 teaspoon dried basil  
salt and pepper  
1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth  
Olive oil 

Cube the cornbread and tapioca bread. Toast in a preheated 350℉ oven for 10-15 minutes taking care not to burn. Remove to a large bowl. (The cornbread is typically very crumbly so you may want to toast it in strips and then gently cut it into cubes.)

Slice the chicken sausage into 1/4 inch coins. Saute them with a little olive oil in an iron skillet over medium heat. Remove from the pan and let cool then dice. Set aside.

Dice the onion and begin to saute in the same skillet you used for the chicken sausage. Add the diced celery. Saute for about 5 minutes. Dice the apple and add to the skillet. Sprinkle with the spices, salt and pepper. Saute for another minute or two. Add the cranberries. Add a few tablespoons of chicken broth. Stir and heat for another minute.

Add the diced sausage to the bowl with the bread. Pour the vegetable mixture over top and gently mix together. Pour and gently mix in the chicken broth about a 1/4 cup at a time until the mix is just moistened. (May need up to 2 cups.)

Bake in a 350℉ oven for about 20-30 minutes until just browned on top.

PRINT RECIPE