Raw Kale Salad with Tomato & Avocado

After eating out for like five days straight, I felt like Monday was a day for a light, healthy dinner.  Before going to work, I looked in my crisper and saw the big bunch of beautiful kale that I bought on Sunday at the Farmers' Market.  Kale is such a tough green that I wasn't sure I could make it into something that wasn't sauteed greens or more delicious kale chips.  BUT I remembered that my new cookbook Clean Start has a recipe for raw kale salad and decided to give it a whirl. 

While it's certainly fine to eat a super crunchy salad, but I wanted to try out Clean Start's tip to delicious kale salad: massage.  Yes, you read that right, you have to massage the kale in order to make a tender salad.  Ah the things we do for our food.  But it totally worked!  This massage technique left me with a delightfully crispy kale salad.  Plus, the salad was still crunchy and perfect the next day for lunch!  The ingredients in this salad are completely up to you, but I would not skimp on the ginger.  It added an extra burst of freshness that was hard to beat!  This recipe is adapted from the Clean Start cookbook and will make two very large salad portions

Ingredients

One big bunch of kale
1 1/2 tbls extra virgin olive oil

1/2 avocado, peeled and chopped

1 heirloom tomato, chopped
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
2 tbls roasted sunflower seeds

Juice from half of a lemon

Juice from half a lime

Sea salt

Directions

Wash and dry the kale thoroughly.  Remove the stems from the kale leaves and rip or chop into bite-sized pieces.  Put the kale into a large bowl and add in the olive oil.  Massage the oil into the kale leaves until they are fully coated.  Add in a pinch of salt and avocado.  Massage the kale leaves again until they are fully coated.  Work the avocado in there!  Set aside to marinate for 15 minutes.

Add in your lemon/lime juice, chopped tomato, grated ginger, and sunflower seeds.  Toss and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Eat and enjoy!

........you know what would have been great in this salad?  goat cheese......... 

mmm farmers' market tomatoes made this salad extra tasty!

Adjust the salad fixings to fit your refrigerator contents, your farmers' market, and your taste.  But don't forget the kale massage and the ginger!

Restaurant Review :: Anodyne Coffeehouse

Is it just me or has August been insanely busy this year?  My goodness!  I can especially tell now that I'm blogging because my most recent posts have all been about restaurants and not about new dishes I'm cooking.  That's not to say that I haven't been cooking...I just haven't made anything new.  I have revisited a few of my old favorites -- fried rice, quinoa with sundried tomatoes, salad with my fave dressing -- but I went to the market today with some new recipes in mind and hopefully I'll have some delicious snacks ready for you guys this week!

But in the meantime, I met two good friends today for brunch at Anodyne Coffeehouse in the Kingfield neighborhood of South Minneapolis.  I'd never heard of Anodyne before, but my friend gave it a good review and the online menu looked very promising.

First, it's completely adorable.  There are a few sunny seats outside, but most of the tables inside are made for two.  If you are a group of three (like we were), you have to snag some of the amazingly comfortable couches and chairs and cozy up next to a coffee table.  I love eating out but feeling like you're eating in.  Anodyne also has a long table in the middle of the coffee house for people who want to plug in their computers and surf the interwebs.  Genius!  And the menu was written in chalk, natch, featuring some tasty-sounding options.

Since I'd already had a donut at the Farmers' Market (oops) and a piece of zucchini bread at my parents' house (double oops), I opted for the oh-so-healthy sounding Anodyne Oatmeal.  I vaguely recalled reading the differences between that and the "ordinary oatmeal", but there were no descriptions on the chalkboard menu to double check.  Instead of asking, I just went for it.  And a pot of tea, please.

Mmmmm....these oats were thick and chewy, filled with delicious additions.  I tasted chunks of sweet pear, bits of tart cranberry, and the crunch of pecans all mingled together in the mouthfuls of warm, hearty oats.  But these aren't just ordinary oats -- they are fortified with super healthy wild rice!  Topped with a bit of brown sugar and a quick pour of soy milk and it was oatmeal perfection. 

Good atmosphere, good food, and wonderful friends all made for a great Sunday morning brunch!  I'm glad Anodyne is now on my radar...it's the perfect little place to stop in when you need a fabulous bite to eat. 

Restaurant Review :: Broders' Pasta Bar

I still remember the first time I went to Broders' Pasta Bar in South Minneapolis.  I was blown away by the intimate atmosphere, the friendly service, and the pasta dishes featuring homemade pasta.  Ever since then, it's been my favorite go-to pasta place in the Twin Cities.  I've had New Year's Eve dinner at Broders, given Broders gift certificates as Christmas presents, and eaten there whenever I have the chance! 

Last week I met my friend Rachel at Marathon Sports, my favorite running store located conveniently across the street from Broders.  I needed to stock up on some new running shoes and find some gear for the upcoming Ragnar Relay.  Afterwards, we were both starving and decided that carb loading at Broders two days before Ragnar was probably the best idea ever. 

The weather was amazing outside, so we contemplated eating on the beautiful patio.  But they were offering a different menu for the patio, a selection of Italian small plates, and we were really in the mood for a satisfying pasta dinner.  So sadly, we couldn't eat on the patio.  That's the only negative thing I've ever said about Broders!  The bread basket was a delish starter, and we dipped our pieces of bread in olive oil and pepper.  (Full disclosure: Rach and I went through almost half of a bottle of that olive oil!)

Mmm, a mix of foccacia, flatbread, and Italian bread.  For my main course, I opted for the rosemary pasta with tomato and cream.  I wasn't really sure what to expect!  Then my pasta plate arrived and I began to swoon.  The rosemary permeated the entire dish with its sharp, woodsy flavor perfectly.  The sauce was creamy, light, and pink!  It had all the loveliness of a cream sauce combined with the sweet bite of a tomato sauce.  Perfection!  Plus, I probably don't even have to tell you how delish the pasta was.  Perfectly cooked, lightly seasoned, and amazing.  The pasta just melted in my mouth.  I intended on saving half of the dish to have for lunch the next day, but somehow it just disappeared off my plate......!

In addition to the pasta bar, they also have a deli across the street that has pizza, sandwiches, and other yummy on-the-go food.  Both are right on 50th and Penn, super close to Lake Harriet.  I know there are a lot of pasta places in the Twin Cities, and some of them get a lot of hype in the press.  But I assure you that Broders is one of the best.