But a cooking show with a "lousy" cook is what Americ needs! Most of us are more Rachel Ray than Thomas Keller.

I'm so glad I'm not the only 'mental TV chef' :o) It really does help make the task easier...

My partner isn't a huge fan of leafy greens either (slight British understatement there...) but I find I can hide (frozen) chopped leaf spinach in lots of things, especially curries.

I thought I was the only one who pretended they had their own cooking show! Chopping onions is a very common, very popular tutorial on my show. As is "deglazing" the pan. I feel all fancy when I say it.

your adorable... and I do the Leslie Cooking Hour also...

"Crackass addictive fast food heroin"! Laurie, you crack me up with your truths about life! And it is SO addictive, but alas, SO convenient. However, once again, you inspire - I'm taking my lazy butt grocery shopping after work and eat healthy tonight. Bon appetit!

Popcorn and wine IS a nutritious meal!

Popcorn is made from corn, which is a vegetable.
Wine is made from grapes, which is a fruit.

Works for me! :-)

dizzymslizzy

best line---nutrition-free ass building meal!!!
that's a keeper...

Your blog is timely, in that we have a popular radio show in Canada called "The Vinyl Cafe" and on Saturday it was broadcast from Prince Edward Island and celebrated the potato. Did you know that the United Nations declared 2008 to be the
Year of the Potato? I didn't either. If you enjoy
mashed potatoes, don't peel the potatoes before cooking, (cuts down on the work) and mash the peels right in.90% of the nutrition is right under
the skin, so you'll be getting a healthier meal.
I know what you mean about fast food. Those companies spend millions on Research and Development to get the taste just right. Mostly they add sugar, I think. Congratulations on your
goals for healthier eating and more self sufficient economical behaviour. You're an inspiration. Marlyce in Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Are you a fish person, Laurie? It's great because it cooks so fast.

I work until 7pm, and have a four year old, so pre-marinated salmon fillets are my culinary salvation. Throw it in a frying pan on low heat for about 10 minutes, nuke a sweet potato and some frozen veggies, and you've got a healthy meal in under 15 minutes.

I applaud your truthfulness because I would never have had the nerve to admit in public, on the innernet, that I, too, had a cooking show in my head. Only I'm part Emeril, Galloping Gourmet and Julia Child. I can bam and burn with the best of em.

Here's a recipe for creamy potato kale soup I stumbled upon just yesterday - haven't tried it out yet, but it looked quite tasty:
http://cookeatthink.blogspot.com/2008/08/creamy-potato-kale-soup.html

Cooking With Crazy Aunt Purl - maybe Tyler Florence can join & a do a Food 911 / How to Boil Water thing.

Laurie..make a nice pot of speghetti sauce with meatballs and sausage...it will last you forever...
also..do you own a grill pan?a great way to eat greens is grilled! Cut a romaine down the middle lengthwise and grill it..then make a warm salad..just olive oil and lemon..delish!

I am totally with you on the hummus! I love it...and it is really healthy..but I doubt the pita I eat with it is!lol
The kitties must love when you cook that turkey..we attract stray cats here when we roast chicken..

sorry..didnt realize I was anonymous..lol
the spaeghetti comment was mine..

I am also, sadly, addicted to french fries. For the month of August, my husband and I cut out all processed foods from our diet (this was a very difficult experiment that I'm proud to say I completed with only one blemish--pizza), and I almost died from lack of salty, starchy deliciousness.

Anyway, baked butternut squash fries are DELICIOUS. You just slice up a butternut squash like french fries (much easier said than done), and then bake for 40-50 minutes at 400-ish degrees Fahrenheit. High in fiber, and you think you're having a treat!

How do you keep the kitties from helping you? Or are they the real audience? My kitty tries to help. Cut, chop, stir, watch the pot boil, or even better, taste. She can do it all.

Second the comments about spinach - frozen chopped is a great thing to add to lasagna (and no boil noodles ROCK). I also add baby spinach to sandwiches instead of lettuce.

I like green leafy veggies, but I have never tried Kale. The Epicurious.com recipe sounds amazing. I think I need to put Kale on my grocery list. Thank you!

The Crock-Pot is the best friend for those of us who don't enjoy cooking. I'm a baker by profession, but I don't enjoy making dinner. I love throwing everything in a Crock-Pot and forgetting about it until dinner time.

There's a pretty good food magazine called "Everyday Food" and everything in there is pretty quick to make and delicious.

Please share your recipe for hummus! I have had disasters in the past and would love a good recipe for it!

I am definitely going to try the pretend cooking show thing! Thanks for the great idea. Also, it will further cement my reputation as a kook to my kids. This is good.

And you are so right about prepping being important -- boxed macaroni and cheese can sit in the cupboard for, I don't know, years? and still be edible -- and there isn't much good in it. Fresh vegetables, on the other hand, need to be bought and prepared in the same week, not eon. Definitely have to keep a handle on planning in advance.

It's very gratifying to see so many people admit they are the star of their own imaginary cooking show! I seriously thought only a nutbar like me would do that. And Marlyce is right about leaving on the peels when you mash...tasty and good for you. Would you believe I first encountered this style of mashed potatoes at Disney World? Along with the world's best all-you-can-eat catfish. Now I'm hungry again. And pining for Florida.

dawn (also in Ontario but not Windsor)

The past few days, I've been nearly obsessed with a breakfast of sauteed spinach, garlic and onions scrambled eggs. With a little bit of parmesan tossed in there for good measure.
With frozen chopped spinach (the bag! i find the bricks cumbersome), it goes together in maybe seven minutes. Toss it into a tortilla and its a great on the go breakfast.

(note: i do use lots of garlic, butter and salt in there. helps with flavours)

I applaud your efforts to eat more healthfully.
Have you read Barbara Kingsolver's book
"Animal, Vegetable, Miracle"?

My husband laughed and made fun of me when I told him how I host cooking shows in my head while I'm cooking (or baking!). :(

It's all good though. When I found out he liked that "See You Again" song by Miley Cyrus? Ohhhh the jokes went a-flyin!

Kale - it's my favorite green, too.

Try this:
Mince a lot of garlic - like, four cloves
Roughly chop a bunch of kale
Open and drain a can of white beans (Goya's are best)
Boil water, cook and drain penne or other stubby pasta
Saute garlic in some good olive oil for about 3 minutes.
Add a teaspoon of dried red pepper flakes (more if you like things hot)
Add the kale and cook and stir a little for about 2 minutes, then add 1/2 cup of chicken broth and cover, lowering the heat.
In about five minutes, the kale should be cooked. Add the beans, and stir around a little until the beans are warmed through.
Add pasta. Finish with about 2 T of parm.

This is really crazy good, without much work.
I don't like 100% whole wheat pasta, but the Barilla Plus is pretty good and more nutritious than regular. Garlic has all sorts of good compounds, the kale is a powerhouse, and the small amount of cheese adds a lot of flavor. Definitely use a low-fat, low sodium chicken broth,

The only tricks to the dish are 1) use lots of olive oil, don't be too skimpy and 2) don't use too much pasta. There should as much green as pasta.

Shopping Saturday, spending Sunday cooking for the week? I'm so with you! I enjoy cooking though and seem to collect a lot of recipes, somehow. So Friday I go through allllllll the recipes I have, pick out three or four things to cook [cooking for two: lotsa leftovers], make the list and shop, etc. Saves money, too. And I feel so productive and such, nevermind how nice it is to not have to think about "what's for dinner?" every night.

Good news! You're not the only one who runs a cooking show in her head while she cooks! My cooking show, though, always has Special Guests. Usually a good-looking Special Guest with a British accent.

Moving on. Do you like spinach at all? Chop up some garlic and saute it a bit in olive oil, and then add a box of frozen spinach (thawed and squeezed dry), a can of cannellini beans (rinsed and drained), and a pinch of nutmeg and salt & pepper. Heat it all through, and oh my Lord, so delicious! I saw Rachael Ray do this once, so I hope this doesn't qualify as Copyright Infringement, but it's now the only way I serve spinach.

Happy Monday!

greatest kale recipe EVER.

get rid of the tough kale ribs, toss the kale leaves in a wee bit of olive oil. arrange on a baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt. roast in yer oven for about 5-7 minutes a side.

absolutely friggin amazing. i can make ANY boy eat his veggies with this one!!

First comment here for me! Whee!
I just had to say that your little colcannon adventure got me researching different foods for Halloween. Now I have lunches and dinners under plottings for both the Atumnal Equinox this year, and Halloween!
Yay Ireland! *good part Irish*

I used to make potato and broccolli soup, which kind of seems like the same type of dish, mashed potatoes w/some greens in it. Whatever works to sneak the veggies in.
We all do crazy things in life, like having our own cooking show in our head. That's why I'm glad we have cats.
When I am talking to myself, people think I am talking to one of the cats.
Although they probably wonder why I named one of them after myself. LOL

We all have our challenges in the kitchen, whether with ourselves or significant other. My hubby doesn't do many major veggies. My mother has thrown new stuff on the table for him to try and if he likes it, I continue the trend here at home and the list is building. Try adding in sweet potatos and rudabagas. GREAT info on sweet potatos at http://www.foodreference.com/html/sweet-pot-nutrition.html

Friday night I cut a couple up in fry-like size (thus meeting the fry-like heroine addiction) and spread them on a non-stick baking sheet. Drizzle them in olive oil so they are coated and then generously dash Old Bay seasoning on them - stir them around to make sure all evenly coated. Put in oven at - oh I dunno - 400-425, occasionally tossing until they begin to brown. Sister, they are GOOD. Old Bay seasoning can be found at any store in the seasoning section - I think mine is McCormick brand.

Similarly, rudabegas are another nice root veggie that pretty much taste like whatever you do with them. I cut them up bite size - add in carrots, toss are in olive oil, adding cinnamon, cumin, cardamom (or some of your Old Bay now that you have it!) and bake them around 400-425 until they are tender. The cinnamon and cumin gives it a nice mediterranean flare.

These have become staples and sweet potatos and rudabaggies live in our fridge at all times!

You are WONDERFUL!!

I have a whole extended family of non-green vegie eaters, who are also (oddly) vegetarian. So this weekend when I had to make vegie chili for the whole gang I added spinach and carrots. But first I put them through the food processor. They couldn't see them so they didn't gross out and they all unknowingly ate a lot healthier.

I my own self, love just about every vegetable but mushrooms. And I really, really wish I could like them. Sigh. I keep trying, but no go.

Also...a quick way to eat vegies are those steam-in-bag micro ones. Easy and time-saving! They even have rice that way.

I bet your cooking show is a blast! And you're exercising your inner performer all at the same time! For a great chickpea recipe visit: http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/ and enjoy the Minimalist Recipe in the top right corner, Colorful Chickpea Salad. Mr. Bittman is a wonderful writer, you'll like him! I don't love greens either, but find that the colorful salad offers so many veggies you won't miss the greens!

I definitely talk to myself when cooking, and I do a pretty good Julia Child voice, if I do say so myself! Julia is THE cooking show goddess and I have the DVD sets of her shows from the 60s, not only are they a delightful bit of nostalgia but you can learn quite a lot from her.

You're turning into a regular Julia Child!!

Next time you have a cooking show starring kale, you can demonstrate chiffonade - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiffonade

Kale still kinda scares me but I am now proficient at cooking chard and broccoli rabe.

it's important to amuse yourself.
who else can you count on?

That would be sooooo funny to watch - do you think you could convince someone to televise the C.A.P. cookery show?

I hadn't thought of cooking show myself, but the other night my daughter said "let's pretend we're on a cooking show." I said "OK. Show our viewers how we load the dishwasher." Damned if it didn't work.

Princess and Hoss were helping me make an applesauce cake the other day, and Princess was narrating as though we were making an educational video ("...and now Mom is pouring some of the applesauce back into the jar, since she measured out a little more than we need...")

Crock Pot meals are awesome. I love to make a big old crock of stew or soup and freeze it into smaller portions so that I can have meals for weeks!

It was years before I stopped looking at a salad and thinking "Dang. A bowl of leaves for dinner..."

kale is yummy wilted with kalamata olives and a dash or 3 of balsamic vinegar!

You should do your cooking show out loud. I'll bet the cats would love it. I do the same thing sometimes. I thought I was the only crazy cook. I'm glad I'm not alone.

You made me think that I'll have to put my Kale Soup on my blog. I'll let you know when I do. It's delish.

I thought I was the only one that produced a cooking show in the privacy of her own home! I've been teaching my 8-year-old to ccok, and she 'plays' to the attentive audience of Cats and Dog (very attentive . . . she still tends to drop things as she goes along :-).

I would so watch a cooking show with you -- it would be a hoot! And I'd be eating my bag of popcorn and drinking my wine (veggie and fruit) for dinner while I was watching.

You rock, girl!

I used my crock pot to make dinner last night, too! Unfortunately, mine was crock pot cherry cobbler, and I topped it with Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream. At least I got the recipe out of a low cal cookbook. And it was goooood.

I love to cook, but only for crowds. It just feels like too much work for one or two people.

Of course, I wouldn't say that cooking equals nutritious in my life. I made a vegetarian black bean soup that I know is nutritious and should feed my husband and I all week. But I also made two batches of ice cream (hey, it's got dairy, and even maybe some fruit!) and one batch of cookies. And that's my ratio: one healthy thing to three unhealthy things. It could always be worse!

Dang! Now I have to buy a crock pot.
And I love the recipes in the comments!!!

I don't know if you would consider this a blessing or a curse, but like you I mainlined fast food for many years. My car was a rolling fast food wrapper mobile.

Then it started to make me sick. At first every once and a while, then every single time I ate it.

I can't even deal with the smell now.

I consider it a blessing because I don't burn calories like I did when I was in my twenties.:-)

And kale rules. Get some blue kale if you can ever find it.

I like homemade food a lot. My dad is going to be making me some of his tasty spaghetti sauce later this week (we've pre-planned this) but tonight I'm dying for either a Big Mac, or a McRib (I used to work in a McDonald's, you'd think I'd never want to eat that stuff again)

So, I'm about to take my parents out for Micky D's for dinner. I'm even driving a little further to a McD's that has polite employees. (the one down the street has a rude employee who freaks out and tells me that I have to pay extra for BBQ sauce and Sweet & Sour sauce that I want to dip my french fries in...only McD's in town that does that to me)

But, after we give in to the call of the McRib (back for a limited time!) we're going to be hauling out the crockpot on saturday to make either a turkey breast, or a pot of minestrone soup (my favorite soup in the world) I have to go buy chikpeas because that's the best part of the minestrone! Maybe I'll get extra and make my own hummus.

Oh, btw, I was in a local bookstore last night, and one of the employees was setting up a table of "employee recommendations". She was loading up the table with knitting and crochet books, and your book was listed as her number one recommendation! We had to stand there and chat a few minutes about your book and your blog.

Kale is both delicious and good for you. Yay kale!

Also yay potatoes, which are also delicious and good for you.

Laurie- I am so glad that you discovered kale. My in-laws cook kale and bratwurst in the fall. Everyone loves it. I dubbed the event "Kalefest!"

Oh thank god I am not the only one who has her own cooking show in her head. My dogs are my biggest fans(especially when I drop something). They are a very good audience.
I will check out that soup/stew recipe, sounds great!

A recipe with kale in it:

1 can diced or stewed tomatoes
1 linguica sausage
1 head or whatever it's called kale (all right, so I usually use frozen spinach)
1 quart chicken broth
1 can black beans
1 diced onion

Cut the sausage into 1/2-inch slices and brown. You might want to brown the onion too, preferably in the sausage juice, but it's not required. Place all ingredients in pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for one hour. Voila.

Actually your cooking show could be really popular, simply because you *don't* present yourself as this big intimidating expert. The same way people love the way you do your knitting patterns -- including me, and I can do some way tricky knitting, but I still learn something from the way you present the simple stuff.

The chickpea, kale and sausage recipe sounds great! Adding bacon to colcannon makes it really taste good. And my only concern with your wine and popcorn meal is that it's rather low in protein. Add some cheese and you should do fine.

Oh lordy, why did you have to link to Epicurious.com? I was blissfully ignorant of the site and now I'm drooling all over my keyboard dreaming of Tiramisu Offagato, Tortellini with Porcini Mushroom Sauce and Toffee Crunch Caramel Cheesecake! Curse you, Crazy Aunt Purl!

Seriously, though, I'm not a big 'greens' person either. I try but I'd so rather NOT eat greens. But I've actually enjoyed having a handful of fresh baby spinach leaves thrown into soup, eggs and a variety of other dishes. It cooks down to nothing and doesn't even come close to resembling the quivering green pile of goo they used to serve us in grade school. I'll try some kale next, thanks to your comments.

You still need to post an after picture of your turkey supper. I really want to try this.. looks so good.

I once went on a Trader Joe's cheddar popcorn and beer diet and was so freaking thin. Not a good thin, a hair coming out in clumps thin. Ah stress.

If you're in the library, check out the Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home book. It's not crazy ingredient time, but it's very veg oriented. Perhaps you'll find more ways to camo some veg into dishes there.

Ooooo, kale. I love kale. You've reminded me there's a bag in the fridge (oops) which I really need to eat up, so some of these recipes might be just the thing! Apparently kale is really good for your eyes, amongst other things, as it contains high levels of lutein which helps to protect against macular degeneration. Eat kale! If you find it a bit much on its own, try pouring gravy all over it..that works :-)

Ha! At least your cooking show is only narrated in your head. When I'm home alone and cooking, I totally talk out loud and narrate my cooking show. Too funny!

Toffee Crunch Caramel Cheesecake!! How did I miss that?!? Good thing my husband's b-day is coming up . . . hope he want's cheescake ('cause that's what he's getting!).

Mmmmm . . .

yeah, I have my own cooking show in my head too, and when I'm alone, it ends up being said out loud :P Glad I'm not alone!

And you to kale is me to spinach, I put it in salads, on pizza, sneak it in wherever I can. :)

My son and I have a bet. He says you have probably sold a million copies of your book. Which I am reading at the moment, by the way.

I say probably not because of the limited publicity.

Who is right?

Thanks,
Terry

I love Colcannon! It can be made with cabbage or kale but I prefer kale. Of course I'm a vegetarian so maybe my opinion doesn't count. My family background is Irish and Scottish which probably doesn't hurt either, but I love me my potatoes!

"I like garbage! Put salt on it and call it a day!"

I swear I think we were separated at birth!

And, I can't count how many times me and the ever growing cat population at my house have sat down and had popcorn and wine for dinner......

You know that this is the time for "comfort food" right? So, here's one that smells as good while cooking as it is to eat, and talk about a budget stretcher. You can do this in a stock pot, in single servings OR in a crock pot:

Chicken - whole, parts, some parts, a breast, a thigh or two ... depends entirely on if you're looking for 8 - 10 cups of this, or a cup or two for a quick meal.
Onion - small dice in proportion to the amount of chicken
Celery - small dice in proportion to amount of bird
Carrot - you can even use baby carrots, in proportion to amount of chicken
Garlic - to season .. so a little or a clove or two, mashed
Salt & Pepper to taste

8 cups of water to a whole chicken, or 2 cups for a large breast. (really, you're gonna want to cover the contents with water so ... visualize!)

Put it in a pot, turn on the heat source, let it simmer (DO NOT BOIL**) until the bird or piece(s) of bird is/are cooked through and the veggies are tender. If you used a whole bird, or bird pieces with bones, remove them before eating! You can, but don't have to, thicken with some Corn Starch. Serve with/over egg noodles or your favorite rice!

If you like it, do the whole bird and have some left over. File recipe in the "freezes beautifully" section of your cookbook!

** if you boil chicken with bones in it, it gets all ICKY ... do not boil chicken; simmer it!

Ooops .. forgot to add this: REMOVE ALL SKIN and as much fat from bird pieces, PRE-putting in the pot, otherwise you're gonna be skimming icky fat off the top before you can eat this!

Enjoy

All sounds wonderful, and I am so happy you're proud of yourself!! All that effort, but fun. The cats, I'm sure, are amused.
My cousin and I used to call ourselves The Bitches In the Kitchen. Nice ring to it, eh? Sadly, or joyfully I recall, we were always just baking together and drinking adult beverages. She's far and away in Phoenix and I'm in Chicago, but reading your post reminded me of gooder times :)

Hey Laurie

Try cookinglight.com and allrecipes.com Both have great recipes.

Pasta Sauce!

Yields: 16 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound sweet Italian sausage,
3/4 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (28 ounce) can crushed or petite diced tomatoes
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
2 (6.5 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil or a handful of fresh
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, cook the sausage, beef, onion, and garlic until well browned; drain fat. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Mix in sugar and season with basil, fennel seed, Italian seasoning.
Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

** sauce is good with out meat add an additional teaspoon of Italian seasoning. Meatballs can be used instead of ground meat.

BEST EVER!!

Serve on tortilla's with a squeeze of lime. You could make this in the crock pot on low 10 12 hours.

4 to 7 pound pork shoulder, onion, chili powder, brown sugar, garlic, dried oregano, ground cumin, chili powder, salt, black pepper, olive oil, white wine vinegar, and lime wedges.

To begin, just throw the spices into a food processor or blender. I use 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 tsp chili powder, and about 1/4 cup brown sugar. I happen to love brown sugar in my cooking, but you can decrease or omit it if you like. Also: add 3 to 4 peeled garlic cloves to make your kitchen smell divine while it’s cooking.
Quarter 1 whole onion and throw it in…
Add in 1 to 2 tablespoons salt (to taste)…
A bunch of ground black pepper…
A couple of tablespoons white wine vinegar, and tablespoon or two of olive oil—just enough to make it pasty.
Blend mixture until totally combined, then pour it over the pork roast.
Rub it into every nook and cranny of the meat, tucking it under folds and in crevices. Let no stone go unturned.
Place the pork into a roasting pan or dutch oven and add a couple of cups of water. Cover tightly and roast pork at 300 degrees for several hours, turning once every hour.
I roasted mine about six or seven hours, then checked to make sure it was fork tender.

Then I cranked up the heat, removed the lid, and roasted it skin side up for another 15 to 20 minutes to get the skin crispy.

When it’s done, let it rest 15 minutes before shredding…

Oh... I meant to comment on your delicious looking recipes and now I see your readers have added a few more!!... I don't know what to try first... although I am in my 60's and have been cooking for a LONG time (many years for kids and that "complicates" things!!)... always looking for new ideas... and I also don't really like greens and salads!... someone mentioned hiding spinach and that really works!... now I will try kale... it is nice that I don't have to worry anymore about kids wanting to eat my food!!... and, luckily, my husband eats whatever I put in front of him...

I will now try to pretend I am doing a cooking show!!... sounds like a good idea!...

i talk my way through cooking too. sometimes it's to my 10 month old and sometimes its to the walls - but it does help! especially when you're doing a lot of different things. i talked to my salad tonight while also prepping the baby's food and cooking pasta. it was a real rachel ray moment!

I'm a lucky one I guess, DH and I both like our veggies (only he likes mushrooms - yech). I know you are just saying goodbye to summer, but a healthy, but 'feels' a bit naughty thing to make at home, is your own rissoles (or hamburgers, whatever you want to call them)
Depending on what size you make them, these will do for a small get together, or for a few days by yourself, and they freeze fine, both cooked and raw.
Get about 500gm beef mince, 1 carrot grated, half to 1 zuchini grated, 1 cup bread crumbs (pref fresh), 1 or 2 eggs, salt and pepper, a dash or two of sauce, to taste (I use a combo of tomato, bbq, worchestershire, chilli sauce etc depending on the mood) and a little grated cheese.
Mix it all together, shape into patties as large or small as you like and cook them on the bbq, stove, frying pan. They keep, raw, for a few days in the fridge if you don't want to cook them all up at once.

K, got a recipe for ya. Apologies if you've seen this before, like, in the comments for this post, especially.

Crock Pot! You love your crock pot, right? And Kale? You're OK with Kale, so...

Throw this stuff in the crock pot, in this order:

Boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs--YES, it can be the frozen kind, and YES, they can still be frozen when you start cooking!

One small sliced onion OR sliced Fennel bulb.

Can of white beans, rinsed (Great Northern, or other variety, your choice.)

Sliced Roasted red bell peppers--use the prepared kind or make your own.

From there, STUFF the top of the crock with Kale! Stuff it! (personally, I've done it with spinach, which is also great). Then throw the lid on it and cook on low while you're at work.

A couple of notes...

IF YOU USE ONION INSTEAD OF FENNEL, throw in a teaspoon of fennel seeds.

I like to add a bit of salt and pepper, a dash of cayenne, and, since it's greens, a teaspoon of sugar (optional).

We have no name for this dish other than "Greens and Beans and Chicken". Lame, I know, but, everybody eats this UP! Hope you like it...

A youtube channel about you cooking would be hilarious. I would watch it religiously.

I'm not a leafy greens person either - I eat lots of fruit, but it's a struggle to get my veggies in. I've been drinking one of those tiny 6-ounce cans of V8 as my afternoon snack at work. Not that I much LIKE V8, but you can down the whole thing in one gulp without really tasting it (much) and you can get the low-sodium version if you're worried about the salt content. And it's surprisingly filling - really tides me over on the bus ride home so I don't gnaw my own arm off before I can cook dinner.

What?

I also do the same when I'm specially when I'm cooking with my kids. We find it fun and exciting when we pretend that we are in a cooking show. I'm the chef, my little girl is my assistant and my little boy is our camera man.

A couple of years ago I made a recipe of kale and black eyed peas. Delish. It was a side for Cajun stuffed shrimp.

I have always been a picky eater. Leafy green stuff is a large part of the green stuff that I will eat. I love collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens, kale... Basically I have yet to meet a leafy green veggie that I do not like. Oh, and I love cabbage as well.

Kale and mashed potatoes is Irish?

I'm from the Netherlands, and we consider it one of our national dishes... (Along with, for instance, mashed potatoes, carrots and onions, and basically anything with mashed potatoes and veggies mashed in.)

Laurie:

Duh--posted this on the wrong thread!

I LOVE your blog and have been lurking for years.

Kale is aweome. You can use it in a salad like any other green. The beauty is that it doesn't go limp with dressing on it, so you can have salad leftovers.

Here's a recipe for chicken soup with kale and wild rice. It has a nutty, fall flavor, and tastes rich even though it's not. NOTE: If you are adding kale to soup, put it in last so it will retain some zip.

Chicken, Wild Rice, and Kale Soup

-Cook wild rice according to directions, enough to make 2 cups cooked rice
--Sauté 2 medium or 1 large chopped onion in olive oil
--While onion is sautéing, coarsely chop 4 stalks celery. Once onion has sautéed, add celery and sauté a little longer
--Mince 4-5 cloves garlic and chop 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs into bite-size pieces.
--Once onions and celery are tender, sauté everything until chicken thighs are lightly cooked—white on the outside but not brown
--Add about 1 quart poultry stock. (I used turkey stock frozen from Thanksgiving. I am lazy so I thaw it by putting it in the microwave on high for five minutes then dump the semi-frozen result directly into the pot.)
--Add salt, pepper, sage, and bay leaf.
--Cover and simmer until your frozen stock has melted and the chicken is done—10 to 15 minutes.
--In the meantime, remove stems and chop the kale—not too fine, maybe 1-2 inch pieces.
--Add cooked rice and kale to soup. Stir up just so that kale has wilted and you’re done.

I have a lot of recipes for vegetables on my blog, www.thenewlyfeds.com, if you're interested. My husband and I are currently chronicling our Weight Watchers progress there, so we're forced into eating lots of them.

Cooking show star here, too! It's funny, all of us alone in our kitchens imaging ourselves being watched by millions (I dream big) of adoring fans. I cook by the "let's see how this will taste" method instead of the cookbook. It's frustrating for my family because I can't replicate a meal exactly. On the other hand, they're rarely bored.

another pretend tv-cooking-show-host here!
it's good to find people who are the same kind of weird i am!!!

Channeling Julia Childs not only makes the food taste better but, makes it a way more entertaining enterprise. (Especially if you do it Saturday Night Live style)

Yup, sad to say, you are not the only person with an in-home cooking show. I say, cats DO count as studio audience.

What do they put in fast food that makes it so addictive? No, really! I love healthy food and when I have free time I like to cook. I'm always getting compliments on my potluck dishes. But I love fast food. I know how bad it is for me, but McDonalds and Jack in the Box are like heaven in a paper bag. I even try to tell myself that it isn't like it's cheap. I have to pay for a lot more gym time after eating that crap! But Mmmm Fries......

Oven Fries.

This is a better option than McFries, but has nothing to do with crockpots.

Preheat oven to 400F.

Scrub fresh Russet potatoes, don't peel.
slice into the shape of your choice (I make thickish stubby crinkle-y cut ones mostly, like the kind they serve with gravy and the Java Shop at the Fort MacLeod Bus Depot. No, I have never taken a bus to Fort MacLeod) Long skinny Frites are cool too if you are grilling beef.

Spread on a non-stick baking sheet, splash with good olive oil, spinkle with sea salt, fresh pepper and paprika (not optional). Other optional stuff includes: minced garlic, dried herbs, dried chile, etc. Toss it all together, and spread in a single layer. Bake in the oven, give the fries a flip every 10 minutes or so, for about 30 minutes (this depends on many things, so sampe one and see how it is...it should have a gold exterior and a soft inside). Sometimes I turn up the oven to 425 for the last five minutes. Serve with more sea salt and the dip of your choice: Ketchup, Mayo, leftover gravy, etc.

This also works with long spears of parsnip (use lots of red chile flakes) or sweet potato. Sweet potatoes will not crisp up very much, but if you dust them with rice flour after tossing with the oil, and use a hotter oven (450) they are pretty good...serve with Banana Ketchup (a red chile/banana sauce available at some ethic shops)

Burger? Grill a patty made of high quality beef, sprinkle with Montreal Steak Spice, top with a big chunk of Stilton. Serve on a nice squishy whole wheat bun, with Zucchini Relish and onions grilled (or sauteed) until soft and sweet.

Cheers

Laurie,

I am so happy you are cooking more!! I totally feel you on the spending-a-million-hours-hopping issue though. I have a few bits for you that you might find helpful.

One: "My favorite way to cook kale"
Wash and coarsely chop kale (no need to food process). Heat about 1 Tbs. olive oil in a large pot over med-high heat. Saute crushed garlic cloves until soft (as many or as few as you like!). Add about 1-2 tsp. of capers, drained. Saute for one minute. Add kale, and saute until wilted (using tongs for this step is awesome!). Add 1/2 c. water and turn burner down so the kale is steaming, but not boiling. Let steam about 8 minutes, or until desired doneness of stems. Turn heat back up to med-high and toss until water has evaporated. Take off heat. Sprinkle with balsamic vinegar to taste. EAT!

Two: If you are feeling courageous, a fantastic resource for really easy yet seemingly complicated recipes is http://www.cuisineathome.com/. You can sign up for the recipes by email or get a subscription to the magazine, or even by a hardcover volume of each year's recipes. Start small...but what I love about their recipes is that they are written in a step-by-step manner that incorporates the ingredients too. There is the step 1, 2 etc. instructions as per any recipe, then the ingredients list follows those same steps. For example, step 1 might say "toast the bread". The ingredients will say "Toast: 2 slices bread". Then it goes on from there. Anyway it's awesome and it has made it possible for me to create really cool dinners that I otherwise wouldn't have had the patience for!

Sorry I rambled, I'm not a huge commenter! But I'm so psyched about your cooking so I just had to share!

:) abby

er, that would be "shopping"!

CHOPPING!!! My goodness I'm losing it!

I thought of you when I read this on the Weight Watchers website:

"For a spicy twist, add 1/2 cup finely chopped kale and 1 minced jalapeño pepper to your favourite corn bread recipe."

I think I just might have to try that! (Mmmm, cornbread...)

Er, a bag of popcorn + a glass of wine IS a good meal (just make it cheese popcorn, for the protein, you know).

omg, you have got to watch Ctrl+Alt+Chicken http://revision3.com/ctrlaltchicken/

Hey Laurie! Have you ever heard of Hungry Girl? www.hungry-girl.com. It's a website for girls who love to eat and hate to diet. There are some great recipes and even a few faux fried items that are pretty good. The best part is each recipe is for a single serving. Imagine - a recipe for just one person not a family of 4! I love it and it is really helping me get some better eating habits in place. :)

Keep your great recipes coming!

Some more easy recipes for you, one to make kale delicious, and one to hide greens.
Delicious kale:
Cut up kale and get rid of the stems
cook some bacon (mmmm, bacon), saute onions and garlic in the bacon fat. When they're soft add the kale and a few tablespoons of water. Cover it and let steam until the kale has wilted to a more managable size. Season with salt, pepper, and chile powder. Cook the kale until it's bright green and still has some backbone left. Most people WAY overcook greens.

Hiding greens in lentil soup:
Saute onions and garlic in olive oil. Add a big can of diced tomatoes, and enough water or broth to come about two inches from the top of the pot. Bring this to a boil, and then add lentils. I use 1/2 lb of lentils for a 4 quart pot, and it makes a really thick soup. Let the lentils cook for a half hour-45 minutes, until you like the consistency. In the meantime defrost a package of chopped spinach. When the lentils are done, add the defrosted spinach and bring it back up to a simmer before serving. Nummy! I like to add italian spices to this, and then some chili powder to make it spicy. It's really good with a spoonful of plain yogurt mixed in right before you eat it.

Has anyone mentioned yet that you are starting to sound a lot like Laurie Colwin in your cooking adventures? If you haven't heard of her, she wrote a bunch of very sweet novels, but also had a column in Gourmet magazine (don't let that scare you off!). Those essays were later turned into two books called Home Cooking and More Home Cooking. Those two books are my equivalent of literary comfort food! I have probably read each of them at least 10 times, and made about half of the recipes out of them.

Sad note: Laurie Colwin about 15 years ago. I learned this when I went looking for more cool stuff to read :-(

Given how much you love your crockpot, you really need to check out this site:

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

she posts a new crock pot recipe every day!!

Cooking show is fun! I have a set of adorable matching-but-not-identical little blue and white bowls that I employ when cooking. You know, I chop everything separately and put them in the bowls so that I can just effortlessly dump the already-prepared ingredients in when it's time for them. I highly suggest investing in many bowls for your cooking show!

I started reading your blog frequently and this is my first comment. First, you are hilarious! I love your sense of humor. Second, you are right. It is all about being prepared. I make bad choices when I don't something prepared or healthy in the cupboard or fridge. I bought a cookbook from Hungry Girl. There are good recipes in there if you want to be healthy. The turkey taco meatloaf is delicious!

Laurie,
You have created a great way for you to start to enjoy cooking! I do the cooking show bit every time I cook or bake. I love to do either, so it pretty much happens every day. But I have a special twist in my show, I dance. It is especially fun when something is baking or needs to simmer on the stove, I can really do a full dance routine and entertain my audience. And sometimes one of the dogs gets to be my dance partner. They love it!

Colcannon rocks! Hubby is Irish (red hair and all) so we started a huge St Patty's day party tradition 3 yrs ago ... and I love love love to cook, so we make 100% authentic Irish food for several dozen friends and drink every Irish beer and whiskey I can get my hands on (no wine from Ireland, sadly; the weather and the grapes don't get along in that greenie part of the planet) so YAY for Colcannon! Long live the potato!

mmmmmm.... hummus.... hummus is yummus in the tummus!

Hey, anything to make the task at hand more bearable... I would also humbly suggest kick-ass knives to make cooking more fun. Since I invested in a few Global knives, I really enjoy chopping things. It makes a HUGE difference when you can chop through a carrot like it's butter (mmm...butter)!

I am not a huge fan of cooking either, and really need to rediscover my crockpot.

A few years ago a friend of mine was showing my sister and I how she makes her famous enchiladas. as we are going through the steps, we take on a very "cooking show" tone, and before we know it have convinced ourselves we definitely should have a cooking show. We had definitely had too many cocktails at this point! Obviously, if she had to teach us how to make enchiladas, I had no business having a cooking show! lol

(Holy Cow, you could do a "web community cookbook" as a fundraiser--you've already got the kale section COVERED!!!) =)

Love your blog Laurie!! And your book!! You speak so much of what is in my head....

I just wanted to share my new favorite way to have mashed potatoes.... add cottage cheese instead of milk/butter/cream, etc. It is very yummy and healthy!!
Enjoy..... Barbara

I'm cooking more/eating out less myself these days. Woe. I loves me some take away, I does.

So like you need another fun hobby, but I recently got into this as a way to keep myself interested enough to pack lunches for myself and my family.

http://lunchinabox.net/

Bento. Most OCD lunch habit EVAR. You should check it out!

I LOVE epicurious! It's the best. The stuffed red peppers on that site were great!

Yes, colcannon is AMAZING! I use the recipe from http://www.colcannon.com/story/reccolc.html and it's delicious - even with the whole amount of kale, I promise! It just gives the potatoes more texture-y crunch, you're not tasting funny green things! Weirdly enough, if I have kale in the fridge I'll add it to 'jumbled eggs' and it's YUM. (Jumbled eggs are my version of an omelet - which I fail at: basically scrambled eggs with ANYTHING. Bell peppers, onion, mushrooms, cheese, diced ham.... yummy.)
And I star in my own cooking show too, I'm sure it's a product of watching far too much Food Network. The real question is whether or not you compete against an imaginary Iron Chef as you cook!

Laurie,
My answer to cooking, which I hate to do, but since I have a family and am not working right now...I feel compelled to do...is..
Podcast s... there not just for commuting anymore. I put one on, tucking the cord for the earphones inside my shirt, (believe me otherwise it gets chopped or caught on cabinet handles..been there, done that) and cook away. Things get chopped, sauteed, baked, grilled...and I get to listen to something entertaining. It makes the whole thing worthwhile, because Lord knows the 15 minutes of my family scarfing it down doesn't fulfill my maternal instincts.

acckkk their not there, I hate when I do that.

no wait...I have proven I am illerate they're

Hi, just found you. Don't knit (though my daughter's teaching me, and so far very relaxing), cooking is the ONLY thing I don't feel creative, visionary and enthusiastic about, and yet I'm required to cook non-stop for myself because of a special diet for the last 3 years, and I love our two cats (plus lovely dog).

I set a huge pot of vegetables to steam in the morning - everything I can think of and find in the refrigerator (you can imagine the heavy grocery bags)- steam it, and eat it all day long for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, along with other things I chop up and eat raw as I go along.

Okay - it's great for me, I have simple tastes. But my husband can't stand the way it smells in the house with vegetables (pretty plain) cooking all the time. So here we are to relationship - my field. I teach love, communication and negotiation skills, all developed in my own house, and now I've learned how to use spices, candles and insense as a part of my routines. Thank you for all the recipes! Look forward to more of your writing.

Hi, just found you. Don't knit (though my daughter's teaching me, and so far very relaxing), cooking is the ONLY thing I don't feel creative, visionary and enthusiastic about, and yet I'm required to cook non-stop for myself because of a special diet for the last 3 years, and I love our two cats (plus lovely dog).

I set a huge pot of vegetables to steam in the morning - everything I can think of and find in the refrigerator (you can imagine the heavy grocery bags)- steam it, and eat it all day long for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, along with other things I chop up and eat raw as I go along.

Okay - it's great for me, I have simple tastes. But my husband can't stand the way it smells in the house with vegetables (pretty plain) cooking all the time. So here we are to relationship - my field. I teach love, communication and negotiation skills, all developed in my own house, and now I've learned how to use spices, candles and insense as a part of my routines. Thank you for all the recipes! Look forward to more of your writing.

Sounds like you're doing pretty good in the cooking department. Here's another idea for your potatoes and kale........soup a la Olive Garden. It's potato soup with italian sausage and kale. I figured it out with Campbells Cream of Potato Soup but, I'm sure Epicurius has a great recipe for that. Then, I just add as much cooked sausage and kale as I want.

LOL I do that all the time! what else are you going to think about but what your doing and it's sure more fun to pretend you're telling your audience than yourself because you're getting distracted.