Kale Curry

I don't know what exactly triggered my vegetarianism.  Honestly, I think it was me trying to be a willful teenager and cause a scene at the dinner table without resorting to doing anything really bad, like drugs of attending back-woods keg parties that end in teen pregnancy.  Refusing animal flesh seemed to be a reasobale and polite alternative to piercings and back-alley stick-and-poke tattos of an angry unicorn or the logo of a terrible band that I liked for five minutes.  It was enough of a disturbance to cuase parental units strife at dinner time, and that was vicotry enough for me.

Once I committed to tofu dogs and soysage, I stuck with it for a good ten years.  At which point, I started to travel and decided that I'd be missing out on life if I didn't indulge in local specialties- Parma ham in Italy, Brauts in Germany, Schnitzel in Austria, Coq a Vin at a farmhouse in France.  Plus, I was getting tired of not being invited out to dinner parties at non-vegetarian's houses.  Bringing your own leftovers to microwave while everyone else eats a beef tenderloin gets old fast, and I got tired of rolling my eyes at every snide carnivorous comment being sent my way.    

I do eat meat on occasion, but I really still prefer vegetables and usually go weeks on a vege diet without even really thinking about it.  I always feel much better on a vege diet- healthier and lighter and more energetic.  It just works for me.

I do get a little help- I get a weekly vege box delivered from a farm in Devon.  It's packed with whatever is seasonal and organic that grows locally.  I love getting this and it motivates me to cook and use up every last onion and purple sprouting broccoli in there in time for the next delivery.  True, in winter time, this means cabbage and spuds and leeks and little else, but if you are going to preach about saving local agriculture and small farms, you better learn to put these veggies to good use.   

A couple weeks ago, my box contained a huge mound of sweet potatoes, bunches of kale and onions.  Sweet potato and kale is one of my favorite combinations.  I got to work and soon had a dashingly good curry on my plate.  True, the final dish won't win any beauty contest, but it's packed with so much vegetable goodness that you feel virtuous and saintly at the end of dinner time.  It's that good for you.  

Thank goodness I got over lousy rubbery meat substitutes in a hurry.  Although, I do love a good homemade veggie burger.  I'll share one with you soon.

The beauty of this health-giving and tasty dish is that it makes a lot, and that lot can be slopped into tuppys at the end of dinner and stacked in the freezer for when you are too busy or lazy to throw something together.  

Recipe: Kale Curry

Serves 4 with leftovers

Adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Complete Vegetarian Cookbook, with some bright ideas from the Cookie and Kate blog.

1½ cups brown rice, rinsed

3 T olive oil, divided
1 onion, chopped, 
32oz (2lbs) sweet potato, peeled and cubed
5 garlic cloves (or more if you you are bold!), minced
2 t fresh ginger, grated
1 t curry power (I went the Indian route, Thai would work as well)
32 oz (2 lbs) kale, stemmed and chopped
8oz (1 c) vegetable broth or stock 
14 oz coconut milk
Lime, for squeezing and garnish
30 g (1/3c) pepitas or other raw seeds
salt and black pepper
red pepper flakes

Cook the rice as whatever the instructions say to on the bag. This usually takes about a  half hour, so you can easily multitask your way into everything being done at the same time.

Heat 2 T of olive oil in a large pot wit a fitted lid over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently until it is soft and translucent.  Add the sweet potato, cover and cook for about 5 minutes.  Transfer to a large bowl.  Return the pot to the stove.

Heat another T of oil in the pot.  Add the garlic, ginger and curry powder.  Stir constantly for less than a minute, until your nose tells you it's good, and then add half the kale.  Stir, and when the kale wilts down, add the rest of the greens.  Add the broth and coconut milk.  Season with salt and pepper.  Reduce the heat and cover.  Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the kale is wilted and tender.  Add the sweet potatoes, throw the lid on, and continue to cook for another 10-20 minutes (this kind of depends on the size of your sweet potato cubes, but you want them tender).    

While you are waiting for the sweet potatoes to soften, heat a fry pan over medium low-heat and add the pepitas and seeds.  Keep them moving constantly until they toast up, emit a nutty odor and, in the case of the pepitas anyway, begin to puff up and pop.  This should only take a few minutes.  Set aside.    

Once the sweet potatoes are cooked through, remove the lid and turn the heat up until the sauce is a consistency to your liking, about 2-5 minutes. Stir occasionally to keep the bottom from burning.   

By now, your rice should be done.  Spoon rice into bowls, top with the sweet potato and kale.  Squeeze a bit of lime on top and sprinkle some chili flakes on top, then top the whole mess with the pepitas.  Serve, enjoy, and feel like the virtuous god(dess) you are.