Two Weeks in the Appalachia Hills of NC

So I really do mean to do this on a more regular basis but life does not always slow down enough for me to show off my meals the way I want to.  So after two weeks of INCREDIBLE meals all you get is a quick report on the foods and only the scantest of clues on how to make it.  If I were not leaving tomorrow for another trip I would honestly try to be more detailed in my meal preparation and thought process.  

Two Weeks of Tasty Food

Kale Salad

Kale salad with an avocado lemon vinaigrette with fresh corn, grated beets and carrots.  The body is hefted up with a bit of shredded cabbage and topped with crushed walnuts and a few more slices of avocado

Buffalo Fries

It seemed abnormal to go to the south without having buffalo wings but the next best thing is buffalo fires with home made 'wing' sauce.  I used a lot of extra pepper and pinch of salt and so much garlic that I ahrdly tasted the spicy delicious wing sauce

 Buckwheat Pancakes
I was visiting a wheat free friend but that did not deter us from pancakes with maple syrup.  The amazing thing about the east coast is blueberries grow wild!  the bananas are still imported but a morning walk to harvest blueberries made these things so much more worth it!

Shredded salad and mushroom risotto 

One of the many amazing dinners consisted of carrot/beet/cabbage salad with almonds, raisins and, sesame seeds.  The salad was dressed in balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  The risotto was rich and delicious and could have used more mushrooms but was a nice compliment to the salad.

Indian Dinner
One lovely night we threw a dinner party with Red Dhal soup, turmeric rice (didnt have any saffron so did our best), pumpkin curry and a green salad.

more salad

massaged kale with romaine lettuce.  The tomatoes and peppers came from the small garden on site and the diced almonds came with me from Cali!

 Simple Dinner
Steamed carrots and purple cabbage topped with sauteed potatoes and bell peppers.

Hash brown Breakfast
shred potatoes, shred yams, garlic and onions!  I am always a fan of hash browns but for some reason these were extra good.  Top potatoes with avocado and Chihuly hot sauce and you are always on the right track.

potato stew

I was not thrilled with my first go at buckwheat biscuits but they added a nice body to the stew as they melted in.  The stew was a slow roast with potato carrot cabbage in a tomato base with a lot of garlic and some onion.  

Mexican Dinner
Turns out North Carolina does not offer a lot of Mexican food.  This was the last night as a going away treat to remind my friend what is waiting for her in California.  Salsa fresca Mexican spiced black beans with a side of Spanish rice. Fresh corn and guacamole to make tacos with corn tortillas was like heaven!

Salad once more

On the night I met Debra Frasier, Liz and I shared kale salads.  Shredded carrots, shredded beats, tomatoes from the garden, fresh corn, bell peppers and a lemon vinaigrette.  I ate it and wanted more and more and more!  I dont thing there is anything I like as much as a well made salad!  

I have no idea what I am going to eat for the next two weeks but once I am back we will all know! 

Snack Time! Toast

Yeah toast.   Totally taken for granted, made in a hurry when you are late for work, and usually satisfying.  When you have the extra time to make toast a bit more than just toast.  Cinnamon sugar, jam or peanut butter and agave are all fine but delicious savory toast:

rosemary focaccia
garlic powder
cayenne
vegetable stock powder (spike)
nutritional yeast

Some day I will learn to make my own focaccia and I will make sure to post it but for now I get this lovely locally made bread Slice off a piece 3x3 ish  (this time the bread was ripped up a bit so i ended up with a strip rather than a square).  A slice toaster is fine but I am lucky and my house has a toaster oven, I like to make my toast a bit on the light side so just after a few minutes it comes out and gets slathered with Earth balance, my favorite vegan buttery spread.

I probably use too much EB(earth balance) but the way it combines with the spices and the "nut'yeast" turns it into almost a cheesy gravy on toast.




I use just a pinch or two of spike and cayenne, literally using a thumb-pointer pinch (don't get me started on all the different types of pinches and their approximate measures).  The garlic powder I use a spoon and dust the toast, avoiding the use of my fingers because of the way garlic powder cakes onto finger tips.

Nutritional yeast is a confusing and fantastic product.  It is often used as a 'cheesy' flavor but if you go around actually expecting that you will be disappointed. Nutritional yeast (often called nut yeast or nooch)is a flakey yellow yeast culture grown in a vitamin rich environment thus making ti more nutritional than other yeasts.  The color and flavor varies from vendor to vendor but all work in approximately the same way and are of particular note for their B vitamin content.  I dont know how to describe the flavor very well but it is good, down right delicious if you give it half a chance.


I cover the thing in nutritional yeast and stick both pieces back in the toaster oven; even thought it has been off for a few minutes there is enough residual warmth to heat it all together.

This toast is pack full of flavor and nutrition, makes a perfect dish by its self or a great side with beans or soup.

Side Dish! Kale Salad

    Kale. . . how do you eat that?  Kale just goes to prove that things that are good for you do not taste good!  guess what things that are bad for you do not taste good without the right preparation, seriously try a tablespoon of sugar delicious? not even close!  Somehow we all know that Kale is this amazing food and we are supposed to eat it to be healthy but I cannot afford a vitamix (yet) and I don't know how else to make it unrecognizable.  Maybe you have only tried kale when it is cooked to death in a soup or smothered in some sauce after it has been boiled. . .there is a better way!  it is sweeping the nation so much so that it randomly came up in conversation at the DMV last week and someone challenged me to a Kale Salad 'Cook'-Off!  What am i talking about. . . learn these words: massaged kale salad.

Massaged Kale Salad

     Sure we all giggle about it being 'massaged' but I am guessing another year from now and this style of salad will be so accepted as the norm that it will just be kale salad.  Here is what you need:

1 bunch Kale (i prefer Lacinato aka Dion Kale)
1 Tbs rice vinegar
1 tsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
1 Tbs sesame seed

The mechanism employed to turn this roughage into a palpable salad is a form of non-cooking which uses the acidity of vinegar and some rough handling to break apart the cells and fibrous nature of the kale.  Unfortunately the stems are too much fiber and so first we take the stems out 

you can cut them out or just use your hands to rip out the stem, doing it for the whole bunch.  The stems may be used in a lot of different ways.  Not that long ago I diced them and tossed them in a curry, they work well as a hearty and healthful filler in any stir fry or soup or vegetable casserole etc.  If you are keen on making veggie broth these stems are great (i know I should do that more often) or just put them in the compost and grow more kale! 

The way that the stems rip out leaves the leaves in this nice V shape which makes it really easy to slice the Kale into ribbons by cutting across the V.  Obviously don't be obsessive about getting ALL OF THE STEM, you just need to get the hefty part because the stems will break down some in the vinegar bath.   

For my vinegar bath I like to use a combination of Rice vinegar and red wine vinegar.  The high acidity and soft flavors add a nice aroma without overpowering the nature of the kale.  Toss the kale with the vinegar and the salt and let it sit for a minute while the garlic gets diced.

I use raw garlic. . . yes raw garlic, the same trick that mellows out the kale works on the garlic but I still dice the garlic extra fine, not only so I avoid a big garlic bit surprise but also to spread that tasty garlic flavor all over.

Now the massaging . . .which I am realizing right now is more like brutalizing.  Toss in the garlic, olive oil and the sesame seeds and then start really working the kale.  If you are having an angry day feel free to punch the kale but usually I go with the crushing and mixing motion.  Take up small hand fulls and crush as hard as you can, repeat this taking from the bottom of the bowl so the vinegar/garlic/salt dressing gets mixed through the salad

At this point give it a taste and determine if you want more salt or garlic or vinegar but don't expect it to taste perfect yet.  The vinegar needs time to work and i would suggest a minimum of 30 minutes before serving this salad.  

     The good news is that is it!  that is the basic recipe of course the fun is in taking a basic recipe and adding some flourish.  Often I will go for a spicy savory and toss in some oregano, thyme, basil, black pepper etc and of course more sesame seeds (what can I say).  This salad was being made while I had a bit of a sweet tooth and so I added some extras accordingly:

3 pieces candied ginger
1/2 avocado
1/2 orange
1 tbs sesame seeds
1/4 C walnuts

Dice it all up and toss the salad once more and enjoy!  MY salad came out a bit overly moist this time because  I went over board with the olive oil and I am always surprised by how much this raw salad shrinks down.  The whole bunch which previously filled my mixing bowl un-cooks down to nearly 1/3 its original size . . .and that is after adding the extras.  If you are planning on feeding more than 2-3 people get a second or third bunch of kale, or use purple cabbage as a nice filler, the point is plan on the volume reducing a lot. . .and plan on people wanting to eat a lot of this!