Kale Salad & Kale and Mushroom Quiche

With all of the cake, pie and muffins we've posted about lately, it's probably time to throw a healthy meal into the mix.  Don't worry -- there are more of them than what we post about.

I was very excited to see The Leafy Greens Cookbook sitting in my mailbox when we returned from visiting Giz in Toronto.  Our friends at Ulysses Press offered to send us a review copy of the book.  I couldn't resist checking it out, since we're always trying to find new, healthy recipes.  I'm looking forward to trying out many of the recipes.

To start, I was instantly drawn to the simplicity of the Kale Salad with Avocados.  I liked that the recipe included almonds and avocados, both ingredients known for being good fats (monounsaturated) to include in your diet.  Plus, I've been determined to incorporate more kale into our meal planning.

I have had some challenges with raw kale since I've only recently learned that it requires more time to absorb dressings.  I had to laugh when a friend talked about massaging the kale.  I envisioned pieces of kale laid out while I worked out the tension.  In reality, it just means mixing the kale with the dressing for a couple of minutes.  It makes a difference!

First, I started by cutting out the stalk from the kale.

Kale Salad with Avocado

Juice of 1 lemon (about 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cups packed de-stemmed chopped kale
1/2 cup slivered almonds (I just did a rough chop of whole almonds)
1 ripe avocado, diced
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
salt and pepper

In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.  Massage the dressing on the kale, and top with the almonds, avocado, and cherry tomatoes. Serve within 1 hour of cutting the avocado and adding the dressing.



I paired the salad with a Mushroom and Kale Quiche.  It was my second time making this quiche.

Mushroom and Kale Quiche

1 tbsp olive oil
2 shallots, chopped
8 cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 cups packed de-stemmed chopped kale
1/4 cup chopped roasted red pepper
6 eggs (I used a 500g pkg of liquid egg whites)
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup grated cheese (we used marble...gouda would be good too)
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Fry shallots in olive oil until translucent.  Add sliced mushrooms.  After mushrooms begin to soften, add kale.  The kale will shrivel when it is added to the frying pan.  Once these ingredients have cooked (about 10 minutes from start to finish in the frying pan), set aside to cool slightly.

Whisk eggs and milk together.  Add chopped roasted red pepper and the slightly cooled mushroom and kale mixture to the eggs.  Stir in about 1/2 of the cheese.  Salt and pepper, to taste.

Pour egg mixture into a circular pie plate that has been sprayed Pam (or something like Pam).  Spread remaining cheese on top of quiche.

Cook until quiche is cooked through and browned, as desired.

There's just something so refreshing about a meal like this.  It's simple, but good for you.  Plus, both components can easily be modified to include your favourite ingredients.