The sun is out, the days are growing longer….Spring is on the way!

…So, I decided to celebrate with some beautiful fruit and creamy coconut…

….an instant shot of liquid goodness…I put alot of love in it!

This lime reminds me of a cephalopod inching her way around my glass!

I am in love with kale!

I am deep into experimentation and I am sure that I haven’t even scratched the surface.

Today I was thinking stir fry but as I ate this meal I felt as though the kale was the “pasta”; carrying the weight of the flavors while not offering much more than nutritive value; which “ain’t a bad thing”.

I could definitely taste the kale but it wasn’t the dominant flavor, however, all the while offered texture and surface for the earthy shiitake, sweet leeks and creamy coconut.

If you read here often you know that I like spicy so there was a lot of crushed red pepper, some red chili paste, and I also threw in the last of a jar of peanut sauce; about 1 tablespoon. And, it goes without saying, lots of garlic! ¼ cup of coconut milk rounded out this dish.

This was very easy and quite filling. It was more delicious than I thought it would be and that was because I underestimated the power of the leeks.

I sautéed the leeks , garlic, mushrooms and red pepper flakes in about a ½ tablespoon of coconut oil.

This process bought out a creamy texture and caramel –like sweetness of the leeks which added a whole new dimension to the overall dish. The garlic and mushrooms became just the slightest bit crispy and the crushed pepper infused into everything.

I added the chopped kale and let everything cook to perfection.

Just as everything was just about finished I added ¼ cup of coconut milk to bring it all together.

Just before serving I squeezed a half of a lime over the dish….gorgeous!

Total calories: about 425 Delicious and nutritious meal: Priceless!

Ingredients:

1 bunch of organic kale
1 large leek
4-5 large shiitake mushrooms
4-5 cloves of garlic sliced
As many shakes of crushed red pepper as you like
About 1 TBSPN peanut sauce (peanuts/peanut butter would work)
1 TBSPN red chili paste
¼ cup coconut milk
½ lime juice
1/2 TBSPN coconut oil

This little discovery was made at the home of my dear friend M. She had me over for a dinner party one evening and really pulled out the stops. I will leave the trout and the cilantro potatoes for another day, however, the fried cauliflower really got my attention. And it was a good excuse to buy a deep fryer.

This was a new presentation for me. I’ve had fried cauliflower and other veggies before but they were always coated with an egg and flour coating or tempura batter. This was simply, deep fried cauliflower; vegetable oil, cauliflower. That’s it.

It is served with lime wedges and sea salt. Squeeze on the lime, sprinkle with salt and enjoy as a snack or as a side dish.