Thursday, October 9, 2008

VeganMoFo: Kale Salad, Soup and Grilled Cheez





Yesterday's post got me thinking about that Kale salad at M Cafe. It's covered in the most delectable spicy peanut sauce that I really can't get enough of. I tried replicating at home once by sauteeing the kale and making my own peanut sauce but it came out way salty. I didn't even think about going online to find the recipe. Well today I did and I found this video of the exec chef of M Cafe making this salad! He doesn't really give you measurements but you can at least get the gist of it all. So I got to work and whipped up the sauce and preparing the kale in the same way as in the video. Perfection! I will be making this more often from now on.

My Interpretation of M Cafe's Spicy Peanut Sauce

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (didn't have crunchy)
1/2 tsp minced ginger
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
pinch of salt
1 TB or more of red wine vinegar (didn't have brown rice vinegar)
1 TB or more of agave nectar (again didn't have brown rice syrup)
1 TB or more of soy sauce
a tiny bit of water (to help thin out sauce if too thick)
1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne
extra red pepper flakes

Whisk all ingredients together or blend. The measurements for the vinegar, agave, soy sauce etc. are loose because I was basically adding them from the bottle a bit at a time while whisking all together. I also tasted it as I went along until it was just right. You should do the same. It should be creamy, peanutty, slightly tangy and sweet with a spicy kick. The consistency of the dressing should be smooth, creamy and not too thick where you can't pour it.
Blanche a big bunch of kale in boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove kale and submerge immediately in ice water. Squeeze out all the water and pour sauce over the kale. You will probably have a lot more sauce than you need. Use what you want and save the rest for another dish! Toss lightly and add sliced red onions and chopped peanuts. Chill.



I made soup today. God knows why, it was 89 degrees out. I had two bunches of celery in my fridge which was an accident. I bought the second bunch a few days ago before I realized we already had a bunch hiding in the fridge. So this soup is what I always make when there is an abundance of celery. It's a very light and delicious soup that goes well with a salad or grilled "cheez" sandwich.

Celery-Potato Soup

2 TB olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 ribs or so of celery, chopped
2 small potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 C vegetable broth
1/2 C plain soymilk
1 tsp cornstarch mixed with about 2 TB water
salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a soup pot on medium high heat. Add onion, garlic and celery and saute for about 4 minutes until soft. Add potatoes and broth and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add soymilk and salt and pepper and keep simmering. Add the cornstarch/water mixture and let simmer to thicken. Puree half of the soup in a blender and pour back into the pot. Serve hot.


Another grilled cheez with tomatoes, basil and olive oil made with Colby Chedda from The Uncheese Cookbook.

6 comments:

donesmoking said...

that kale looks so good!!

thanks for the recipe :)

Jen Treehugger said...

That Kale looks soooo good and sounds divine. I am making this for sure.I wonder what would be good to have with it.....
Thanks for the recipe.
:)

Glue and Glitter said...

Oooh thank you so much for the kale salad recipe!! Kale is one of my very favorite veggies!

Tami said...

That grilled cheese looks diner good.

Destiny's Kitchen said...

The perfect golden-ness of your grilled cheez almost brings a tear to my eye.

Monique a.k.a. Mo said...

This makes me want to bust out my Uncheese Cookbook.