I’m starting to warm up to kale. It took awhile, and some peer pressure. And guilt.

One of my favorite ways to disguise ->ahem!<- incorporate kale in meals, is to add it to pasta. We do love pasta around here, and I’ve got to admit that – aside from calling out for pizza – it’s my favorite “fallback” position when it comes to supper. Perfect for “Meatless Monday” (today is Monday, right?), 30-Minute Meals, or whatever category you’d like to put it in, we just call it “Delicious.” We’re totally going Italian, here!

Pasta Fagioli e Cavolo
(serves 4)

Ingredients:

1 lb. spaghetti
1 bunch kale
1/4 cup olive oil
4 Tbs. butter
4 – 5 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
1 19 oz. can cannellini beans, drained & rinsed
Salt and pepper
Balsamic vinegar & parmesan cheese to finish

Preparation:

Cook and drain the pasta according to the package directions and set aside.

While you’re waiting for the pasta water to boil, rinse the kale under cold water, blot fairly dry, and, using just your hands, strip the leafy parts off of the ribs. Discard the ribs. Roll up the leafy bits and slice into thin strips.

Using the same pot you cooked the pasta in, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the chopped garlic and reduce the heat to medium-low. Add salt and pepper, and continue to poach the garlic until it just starts to turn golden, about 4 – 5 minutes. Add the kale strips and toss until it’s completely coated with the hot garlic oil and wilts. Add the beans, followed by the cooked pasta, and toss it all together until the kale and beans are well-distributed.

Serve in individual bowls and finish by drizzling some balsamic vinegar over each serving and grating some parmesan cheese on top. If you want to make it look really fancy, shave the cheese on top with a vegetable peeler. You can also serve it family-style, and let everyone do their own drizzling and grating (or shaving). Add some nice crusty Italian-style bread, and ->poof!<- supper’s ready!

Notes:

Okay, I made up the name. It means pasta with beans and kale. But if I called it that, would you look at it twice? And now you’ve got a fancy Italian name when the family looks at it, looks at you, and says, “What’s that?“

If you don’t want to use butter, just add another 1/4 cup of olive oil. I know it sounds like a lot of oil, but it really isn’t when you consider that it has to coat all of that pasta and greenery. You can also substitute 4 Tbs. of Smart Balance Light spread (my favorite non-dairy butter substitute), but it will take a bit longer to melt.

Make it even healthier by using wholegrain pasta. Many of the newer ones are very very good.

If you’re in a really fancy mood, or serving this to company, adding a small drizzle of truffle oil at the end will really send this over the moon. You know, if you happen to have some around.

This dish is fast, it’s easy, and it’s completely open to change-ups. No kale? Try some Swiss chard. No cannellini beans? How about some navy beans or great northerns? Kidney beans would add a real pop of color, and make it the same colors as the Italian flag!

*Name change at suggestion of two actual Italian-speakers. LOL! And just when I was getting the hang of typing Ravizzone.

This post is part of Share Our Holiday Table, a seven-day, online progressive dinner series that we hope will encourage you to support and donate to Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Campaign during this critical holiday period. I’m honored to be one of more than 50 bloggers who are participating. If you’ve been following along, the dinner has been unfolding for the last week across 7 courses and in 4 tracks (Gourmet, Family-Friendly, Gluten Free and Vegetarian).

Today’s featured course is the Side Dish and I’m offering you one of my favorite Vegetarian dishes, Kasha Varnishkes. My mom used to make this as a side to pot roast and turkey, and I’ve been cooking it through my adult life, frequently as a main course.

You see, kasha is actually roasted buckwheat kernels and is one of the healthiest grain products out there. A complete protein on its own, high in fiber, yada yada yada, kasha can be used as a main dish, side dish, stuffing, and even as a delicious hot breakfast cereal. It’s also gluten-free, so if that’s an issue for you or someone you love, you can also prepare the following recipe without the pasta as a Kasha Pilaf.

This recipe will feed a crowd on your holiday table or buffet, and makes an attractive change – or addition to – the usual potato fare. If you have less than a crowd, you can easily make half the quantity.

Kasha Pilaf Varnishkes
(serves 8-10 as a side dish, 4-6 as a main course)

Ingredients:

1 14 – 16 oz package Farfalle (Bowtie) pasta

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup carrots, split & sliced thin
1/2 cup celery, sliced thin
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced thin
1-1/2 cups medium or coarse Kasha
1 large egg or egg white (optional – see Preparation)
2 Tbs canola oil or butter
3 cups vegetable broth (divided)
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

If not using the egg, skip to the next step. If using the egg or egg white: Beat the egg or egg white until well-blended. Add the kasha and combine with a fork until the grains are coated well.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the kasha and stir while toasting, till the grains are mostly separate and you smell a pleasant, toasty aroma.

Add the vegetables and 1/2 cup of the vegetable broth, stir well, and saute until the vegetables soften slightly, about 3 – 4 minutes. Add the remaining broth, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover the pan tightly, reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 8 minutes, or until the kasha is soft. Uncover, and cook an additional 3 – 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, to allow the kasha to dry out a bit.

Check the seasoning, and add the farfalle (bow-tie) pasta, tossing together until thoroughly combined. Serve hot.

Notes:

You can find kasha in your regular grocery store in either the pasta/rice aisle or the ethnic foods, kosher products section. I’ve only ever seen Wolff’s brand, but feel free to use any other you may spot. It comes in Fine, Medium, or Coarse granulations. Only use the medium or coarse granulation for this recipe. The fine granulation is mostly for cereal and will turn out mushy.

A variety of liquids can be used to prepare this, including beef or chicken stock (although using these would render this no longer vegetarian), or even water.

The word “varnishkes” refers to the bow-tie pasta. No, I don’t know what it means.

As noted earlier, if you omit the pasta, this Kasha Pilaf is an excellent gluten-free choice, too.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this special holiday post on behalf of Share Our Strength, and that you’ll visit the other participating blogs to see what they’re serving up for Share Our Holiday Table.

In fact, I hope you’ve enjoyed it enough to click on one of these links and make a donation to Share Our Strength and sign the No Kid Hungry Pledge. Approximately 17 million children right here in the United States go hungry because of lack of access to programs that can change that, and lack of access to healthy foods. A hungry child can’t learn.

Even though my husband and I have no kids, we recognize that today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders. And can yank our Social Security in a heartbeat.

Will you join us in the No Kid Hungry Campaign?

Today’s side dishes in each track are brought to you by:

Gourmet

• The Urban Baker
• Heather Christo
• We Like to Cook, and Eat
• Plum Pie

Family Friendly

• What’s Cooking
• Dine and Dish
• The Evolving Cook

Vegetarian

• My Kitchen Addiction
• Taste as You Go
• Flamingo Musings (that’s me!)

Gluten Free

• The Whole Gang
• Jenn Cuisine– A mostly gluten free cooking blog.
• Creative Cooking Gluten Free

There’s more to pasta than spaghetti and elbow macaroni, you know, and farfalle – or bow tie pasta – is one of those fun and versatile shapes that everyone loves.

Here’s a way to make a quick, yet satisfying, meal with ingredients straight out of the pantry. This is one of our favorites because it’s another one of those one-pan meals you can throw together in the blink of an eye. It’s also perfect for “Meatless Monday” or any day of the week!

Farfalle Chickpea Toss

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
2 15-1/2 oz. cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas) – drained
1 14-1/2 oz. can organic chopped tomatoes
4 cups organic vegetable stock
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper (or to taste)
1 tsp. dried cilantro (or 2 Tbs. fresh, chopped coarsely)
1 box of Farfalle (Bow Tie) pasta – 14 oz or 16 oz

Preparation:

Heat the olive oil in a large, deep saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onions and garlic, and cook until the onion is translucent – about 5 minutes.

Stir in the drained chickpeas and allow to cook for one minute. Then add the can of chopped tomatoes, together with its liquid, the vegetable stock, and the salt and pepper. If using dried herbs, add them now. If using fresh, hold off.

Bring the pan to a boil and add the pasta, stir well, cover tightly, reduce heat to medium,and cook for 15 minutes.

Remove the pan cover and stir well. If using fresh herbs, add them now. Check the pasta to see if it’s done to your taste. There should also be very little liquid left in the pan. If the pasta’s not quite done, or if there is excess liquid in the pan, cook uncovered for an additional 3-5 minutes.

Serve this with a fresh, green salad on the side and dinner’s done!

Note:

Just a quick note (to go with a quick post on a quick meal!) – Play with your herbs! If you have access to fresh, by all means, use them! But even a pinch of dried herbs will add a layer of flavor to just about anything you cook. And change ‘em up from time to time. If you don’t like cilantro – and that seems to be a big deal, these days for some reason – use Italian parsley or basil.

And if you’re concerned about the cost of organic ingredients, check out your local warehouse club (like Costco, BJ’s, Sam’s Club, etc.). My local Costco sells 8 cans of a national brand organic chopped tomatoes for about $6. The organic vegetable stock? My local grocery chain’s store brand. And it tastes better than the national brands!

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And in other news:

The winner of the $50 CSN Stores giveaway, is Julie D., comment number 5! Congratulations, Julie!

Thanks for playing, everyone!

It’s Monday once again. Back to school, back to work, and back to the eternal question: “What the heck am I going to make for supper that I can get on the table before someone gnaws a hole in the couch?” “Oh. And yeah. I’d like to get a vegetable in there, somewhere.”

My answer? Taco Salad.

Surprise! It’s vegan! Wait! Don’t run away! First the recipe, then my notes (which includes non-vegan/vegetarian substitutions).

Vegan Taco Salad
(makes about 4 servings)

Ingredients:

1 cup ground beef-flavored TVP (textured vegetable protein)

2 cups hot water

1 16 oz. jar of your favorite salsa (I used Oxford Falls Fried Green Tomato Salsa – a tomatillo-based salsa)

1 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes

1 15 oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Mixed salad greens

Riceworks Sea Salt Brown Rice Crisps

1 large tomato, diced

Tofutti “Better Than Sour Cream”

Preparation:

In a large frying pan over high heat, pour the water and TVP, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-high. Add the salsa, canned diced tomato, and beans, stir well, and allow to cook until the liquid is almost completely absorbed, about 10 – 15 minutes.

Assembly:

In a large bowl – I like my flat soup bowls – place a bed of the salad greens. Take a large handful of the chips (count out a serving size, if you like), and crush in your hands, sprinkling them over the greens.

Spoon the chili over the salad greens/chips. Top with a tablespoon of the Tofutti “Better Than Sour Cream” and the fresh diced tomato.

Notes:

No, we haven’t given up meat. I guess we’ve always been “flexitarians” before there was actually a name for it. All that means is that we have vegetarian meals a few days a week. That’s just the way we’ve always been, without giving it any thought. Our use of TVP actually grew out of a desire to find non-meat substitutions for dishes we wanted to cook in which you can’t get around the dairy ingredients, in my kosher kitchen.

This is one of the variations of my 15 minute chili / sloppy joes. Okay, so you don’t have to make it vegan, but in the spirit of environmentalism and the movement to eat more meatless meals, I urge you to try it. All of the ingredients are easily available in natural foods markets or online, and this is one painless and delicious introduction to that exercise.

If you keep kosher, feel free to use dairy sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese. TVP is certified kosher / pareve.

To make this with meat, substitute the TVP and water for one pound of ground beef. Brown the ground beef and then add the rest of the ingredients as indicated. You can use any tortilla chips and dairy sour cream for your toppings.

To quote the old commercial: “Try it, you’ll like it!”

*Disclaimer: I have not been paid or otherwise induced to use the named products. I use them because I like them. So there.

Before we get to today’s Recipe, I’ve joined with some others at work to support the Komen Foundation Race for the Cure to fight Breast Cancer. I shamelessly take this opportunity to ask for your support by clicking here to visit my fund raising page & make a donation. I’ve already made my personal donation, but to sweeten the pot, for every donation made through my page, no matter how small, I will donate an additional $2 out of my own pocket. It’s that important to me. I hope that there will be lots of takers!

And now, to the Recipe:

I’m using the “T” word, today! Scary, huh? Not!

A couple of weeks ago, Elle of Elle’s New England Kitchen posted a recipe for Tofu Rancheros. That reminded me that MJ hasn’t made this for me in a very long time. But the recipe we’ve been using over the years is quite different than the one Elle posted, and her post gave me a yen to have this again!

This is one of my very favorite tofu recipes, and in fact, I think this recipe was my very first experience with tofu, maybe 15 years ago. MJ made it for me (thereby busting the myth that real men don’t eat tofu!), and I’ve been a fan ever since. The textures and bold flavors of the coriander, cumin, cilantro, and peppers, really meld together and come alive in your mouth – in a good way!

We have this as a main entree for dinner, but it would also be excellent for Sunday brunch. And you can mix it up ahead of time – even the night before – and assemble it in just a few minutes when you’re ready to eat.

Try this one on your tofu-resistant friends and family. In fact, don’t even tell them they’re eating tofu – they’ll never know!

TOFU RANCHEROS

1 cup tomato, peeled, diced (1 large tomato or 1 can diced tomato, drained)
3/4 cup onion, diced
3/4 cup corn kernels, cooked (or just use frozen corn, thawed)
2 jalapeño peppers, finely chopped
1 14 oz. package firm tofu, drained and crumbled
8 corn Tortillas
2 green onions sliced
Optional; shredded cheese, pitted olives

Sauce
2 cups tomato sauce or 1 can chopped tomatoes (with juice)
1 TBS ground coriander
1 TBS ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground pepper
3 TBS chopped onion
2 to 3 garlic cloves
1/4 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped
2 TBS lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt

In a blender or food processor, combine sauce ingredients and process for 30 sec. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, onion, corn, and peppers (remove pith and seeds for a milder flavor). Mix thoroughly. Add tofu and gently mix again.

Pour sauce over tofu mixture. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Layer 4 tortillas on the bottom of an 8″x8″ baking pan. Spread half of tofu mixture over tortillas. Add another layer of tortillas. Top with remaining tofu mixture. Add cheese if desired.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Top with green onions and serve sliced and hot.

**Note: If you’d like to make this totally vegan, either omit the cheese or use a soy-based cheese replacement.