The Hollyized Hippy Adventure continues!!! I’m excited I’ve lasted this long on the vegan train!!! (Although my parents are concerned- you would have thought I voted for Obama.)
Part of this little adventure has made me stray from my normal Whole Foods finds and go off the beaten path. I’ve discovered azuki beans (which are fabulous to eat but just a pain to prepare since you have to soak them overnight before cooking them for an hour), some squashes and sauces I never would’ve tried. Now, the next “stamp” in my vegan passport is kale!
Yes, I’ve heard of kale but never had any. My Grandpere that was a surgeon at the Mayo Clinic would eat it all the time to help his eyes but all that “green stuff” with a “weird name” never sounded appealing when he would offer me some. When I spotted kale at the store over the weekend, I thought of him and FINALLY got some! (NOW is the time to try it since it’s SO in season… along with vegans!)
Here’s a fun Hollyized Italian twist on kale that I call: Kale Me Italian! (All the colors from the veggies somewhat resemble the Italian flag.) This is really quick and easy to make- I made this today at lunch!
Need:
1 tomato
3 kale leaves
.25 white onion
1.5 tablespoons of Earth Balance spread (butter or margarine for non-vegans)
.25 box of whole grain pasta
Fresh ground pepper (of course!)
Hollyized Steps:
First, add water to a medium-sized pot and begin to let that boil. While you wait on that, start on the veggies!
Wash and dry the tomato and kale. You may have to go through quite a few paper towels to remove all the water. Then slice away alla Iron Chef! Just slice the kale leaves into strips, chop the tomato into small cubes and onion into thin pieces.
Once your water is boiling, add in your pasta and start a time for 8 minutes. (This will leave you with al dente pasta- the BEST kind!) When five minutes are left on the timer, heat a pan on medium and melt your butter/spread of choice. (You could also substitute this for EVOO but a butter will give the veggies a rich flavor.)
Once the spread/butter is completely melted, add in the veggies, sprinkle with some freshly ground pepper and maintain cooking on medium heat while stirring.
After three minutes, cover and put on low heat. Then uncover and turn off heat when the pasta timer goes off.
Drain your pasta and rinse with cool water to prevent sticking. Then combine pasta and veggies into a mixing bowl. Toss with your salad servers.
Serve pasta in a bowl and enjoy your vegan Italian-style lunch! This is actually really good! The tomatoes and butter play off the kale and add a sweet, rich flavor.
kale me italian
Ingredients
- 1 tomato
- 3 kale leaves
- .25 white onion
- 1.5 tbsp Earth Balance spread (butter or margarine for non-vegans)
- .25 box whole grain pasta
- Fresh ground pepper (of course!)
Hollyized Steps:
- First, add water to a medium-sized pot and begin to let that boil. While you wait on that, start on the veggies!
- Wash and dry the tomato and kale. You may have to go through quite a few paper towels to remove all the water. Then slice away alla Iron Chef! Just slice the kale leaves into strips, chop the tomato into small cubes and onion into thin pieces.
- Once your water is boiling, add in your pasta and start a time for 8 minutes. (This will leave you with al dente pasta- the BEST kind!) When five minutes are left on the timer, heat a pan on medium and melt your butter/spread of choice. (You could also substitute this for EVOO but a butter will give the veggies a rich flavor.)
- Once the spread/butter is completely melted, add in the veggies, sprinkle with some freshly ground pepper and maintain cooking on medium heat while stirring.
- After three minutes, cover and put on low heat. Then uncover and turn off heat when the pasta timer goes off.
- Drain your pasta and rinse with cool water to prevent sticking. Then combine pasta and veggies into a mixing bowl. Toss with your salad servers.
- Serve pasta in a bowl and enjoy your vegan Italian-style lunch! This is actually really good! The tomatoes and butter play off the kale and add a sweet, rich flavor.
