Barley and Apple Salad with Kale Pesto #BrunchWeek

Wow.  Is it just me or is this Brunch Week flying by?  It is already Day 4 of this tremendous event.

Have you entered the giveaway yet?  It only takes a moment to read all about our wonderful sponsors and the gifts they are providing for some of our lucky readers.  This information and the entry form can be found in my Welcome Post.

I want to take a moment right now to thank all of our sponsors and our event coordinators, Terri of Love and Confections and Christie of A Kitchen Hoors Adventures.  These events take a whole lot of time and effort and I really appreciate them.  I also appreciate our sponsors who send us not only the prizes being offered to our readers but also product for the bloggers to use in recipe development.  All opinions are my own.

The recipe I am sharing with you today is sponsored by CalOrganic Farms.  They sent each blogger coupons for free produce from our grocer.  Is it just a Michigan thing or have all grocers been sparse with produce lately?  This recent e coli outbreak has wreaked havoc on our local stores.

CalOrganic Farms is dedicated to sustainable farming techniques that bring only the best, safest foods to your families table.  They pride themselves, not only on the produce they grow but on their belief that employees are family and are treated as such.  Nothing is more important to CalOrganic than family.

I like that mindset.  Nothing is more important to me than family either.  Not only that family that is born to us but those who become family because God has placed them in our lives.  We have been truly blessed with both.

CalOrganic is featuring Kale this month on their website so I wanted to share a great recipe containing Kale with you today.  I made up this amazing Kale Pesto that you could use for pasta or as a dip for fresh veggies as well as for the Salad that I'm sharing today.

This salad is wonderfully creamy and decadent tasting.  No one will ever guess that it is filled with whole grain goodness from the barley and tons of nutrients and antioxidants from the kale, spinach and apple.

The Angel Face loved it....even if it was green.

Your family will love it too.  It is perfect for a brunch and would pair nicely with grilled chicken or baked ham.  We had ours with grilled pork chops and it was delicious.  It will also work well for your summer potlucks when you want salads that can hold up to the heat without worry of spoiling.

You will find a whole slew of other great brunch ideas right after my recipe.  Don't forget to enter the raffle.  I would love one or two of my readers to be a lucky winner.

Yield: 4-6 servingsAuthor: Wendy KlikPin it

Barley and Apple Salad with Kale Pesto

This creamy salad is so tasty that your family will never suspect that it is chock full of whole grains, antioxidents and nutrients.

ingredients:

1 c. Instant Barley

2 T. pine nuts

1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil

1 apple, cored and diced (I used Honeycrisp)

5 oz. kale,  stemmed and chopped 

1/2 c. baby spinach leaves

1/2 lemon

instructions:

Cook the barley according to package directions.  Let cool slightly.

Squeeze a small amount of the lemon onto the apples and toss to prevent browning.  Set aside.

Place the kale, pine nuts, remaining lemon juice and olive oil in a food processor and pulse until smooth.  

Place the barley into a bowl with the spinach leaves and apple.  Add the kale pesto and toss until well coated.  Taste and season with salt and pepper, if needed.

Can be served immediately or refrigerated.  Allow to come to room temperature before serving.

https://adayinthelifeonthefarm.blogspot.com/2018/05/barley-and-apple-salad-with-kale-pesto.html

Property of A Day in the Life on the Farm

Created using The Recipes Generator

Take a look at what the #BrunchWeek Bloggers are creating today!

BrunchWeek Beverages:
Blackberry Ginger Mint Julep from The Crumby Kitchen
Peppermint Mocha Coffee Syrup from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
Strawberry Bellini from Caroline's Cooking

BrunchWeek Appetizers:
Barley and Apple Salad with Kale Pesto from A Day in the Life on the Farm

BrunchWeek Egg Dishes:
Asparagus and Cheese Tart from Brunch-n-Bites
Muffin Tin Frittatas from Sweet Beginnings
Red Pepper, Asparagus and Cheddar Quiche from Family Around the Table
Shaksuka from Karen's Kitchen Stories

BrunchWeek Breads, Grains, and Pastries:
Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal from Cooking with Carlee
French Toast Sticks from The Barbee Housewife
Khachapuri - Georgian Cheese Bread with Eggs from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
Pineapple Upside Down Pancakes from For the Love of Food
Strawberry Streusel Crescent Muffins from Kudos Kitchen by Renee
Tiramisu Pancakes from Tara's Multicultural Kitchen

BrunchWeek Main Dishes:
Everything Bagel Breakfast Pockets from Strawberry Blondie Kitchen
Frutti di Mare Marinati from Culinary Adventures with Camilla

BrunchWeek Fruits, Vegetables and Sides:
Artichoke & Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Salad from Eat Move Make
Asparagus Tart from Mildly Meandering
Creamy & Luscious Italian Asparagus from Girl Abroad
Roast Carrots with Pine Nuts & Feta from Books n' Cooks
Sweet Potato Avocado Toast from Forking Up

BrunchWeek Desserts:
Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut and Blueberry Frosting from Love and Confections
Chocolate Rum Beet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Beet Frosting from Daily Dish Recipes
Espresso Coffee Cake from Rants From My Crazy Kitchen
Peach Brown Butter Coffee Cake from The Redhead Baker


Disclaimer: Thank you to #BrunchWeek Sponsors: Dixie Crystals, Cabot Cheese, LorAnn Oils and Flavors, Cento Fine Foods, Michigan Asparagus, Cal-Organic and Eggland’s Best for providing the prizes free of charge. These companies also provided the bloggers with samples and product to use for #BrunchWeek recipes. All opinions are my own. The #BrunchWeek giveaway is open to U.S. residents, age 18 & up. All entries for the winner will be checked and verified. By entering you give the right to use your name and likeness. The number of entries received determines the odds of winning. Seven (7) winners will be selected. The prize packages will be sent directly from the giveaway sponsors. The #BrunchWeek Bloggers are not responsible for the fulfillment or delivery of the prize packages. Bloggers hosting this giveaway and their immediate family members in their household cannot enter or win the giveaway. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter or any other social channel mentioned in the #Brunchweek posts or entry.

Colcannon for #StPatricksDay

Today we are sharing St. Patrick's Day Recipes with our Festive Foodies group under the direction of our friend Carlee from Cooking with Carlee.

Our pastor is from Ireland and it tickles him that St. Patrick's Day is such a thing here.  Evidently it is not celebrated in Ireland as it is here.  In fact, the thought of green beer?  Well, it makes him turn green LOL.

He, however, is always up for a toast and a party so perhaps that is where the American tradition started.  Whatever the reason.....we do whoop it up around here.  We have parades.  We eat corned beef and cabbage.   We party and yes, we drink beer tinted green.

I often have dinner parties to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, especially since my brother's birthday is on the 18th of March.  We are not Irish but it gives me a theme for his birthday dinner when we have it.

The dish I am serving today wasn't made for my brother's birthday but it was made for a family dinner and served along with a Roast Pork Loin and a wonderful Apple/Fennel and Beet Salad.  

This combination of potatoes, cabbage and kale hails from Medieval Ireland and comes from the Gaelic, cal ceannann, which means white headed cabbage.

The recipe that I'm sharing with you today comes from Cuisine at Home and was part of a Springtime menu that they shared.  I actually made the entire menu for dinner and was very pleased with the outcome. 

Creamy and delicious, these potatoes take no more work than regular mashed potatoes but add lots of nutrition with the cruciferous veggies that are included.  Everything gets boiled up together, drained and placed back into the pan and onto the burner for a few minutes to make sure the ingredients are dry before adding the butter and cream and hand mashing to a delicious finish.  The final touch is to stir in some grated Irish white cheddar and the results are magnificent.

This recipe fed 6 of us for dinner with just enough left over for me to make Colcannon Potato Pancakes for Meatless Monday the next day for dinner for me and Frank.

You will find a whole slew of St. Pat's recipes linked below and there is tons of time for you to plan your celebration.  

Colcannon

adapted from Cuisine at Home

4 large gold potatoes, scrubbed and quartered

1/2 head of cabbage, cored and sliced

1 bunch kale, stems removed, coarsely chopped

1/2 stick butter

1/2 c. half and half

3 oz. white cheddar cheese, shredded

salt and pepper to taste

Place the potatoes and cabbage in a large pot and cover with salted water.  Bring to a gentle boil and cook for 10 minutes.  Add the kale and continue to cook until potatoes are for tender, another 10 minutes or so.  Drain, return to the pot and place over low heat, stirring occasionally until all ingredients are dry.  Place the half and half and butter in a small saucepan or microwave safe measuring cup and heat until warm and butter is melted.  Add to the potatoes and mash by hand.  Stir in the cheese. Taste and season with salt and pepper, as needed.  Print Recipe

More St. Pat's Recipes

• Beef and Guinness Pie from Everyday Eileen
• Chocolate Guinness Cake from Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Chocolate Irish Cream Truffles from The Freshman Cook
• Celtic Knot Rolls from Cooking With Carlee
• Colcannon from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Colcannon with Kale from Simple and Savory
• Corned Beef and Cabbage from Tip Garden
• Corned Beef Sliders with Horseradish Sauce from New South Charm
• Double Chocolate Fudge for St. Patrick's Day from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Fisherman's Pie from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Instant Pot and Slow Cooker Dublin Coddle from All That's Jas
• Irish Cheddar & Dried Cherry Soda Bread from Faith, Hope, Love & Luck
• Irish Potato Leek Soup from House of Nash Eats
• Irish Pub Salad from Cookaholic Wife
• Irish Soda Bread Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Irish Soda Bread Scones from Strawberry Blondie Kitchen
• Leprechaun Bait from Palatable Pastime
• Pretzel Shamrocks from Family Around the Table
• St. Patrick's Day Lucky Chow from Soulfully Made

Not my Mother's Kitchen: A Book Review with Recipe

Shortly after I moved into the new house, I received a package from Cam of Culinary Adventures with Camilla.  I opened the package and found the book Not my Mother's Kitchen by Rob Chirico.  I sent Cam a private message asking if I had won this book from Foodies Read to which we both belong.  Cam responded saying that when she had reviewed the book on Foodies Read, I had mentioned that it sounded interesting, so she sent it to me.  That is just the kind of person Cam is and I was blessed to get to meet her in person last week when I was in California.

 

Cam gave the narrative of this book 1 star out of 5 while giving the recipes 4.5 stars out of 5.  While I didn't dislike the narrative as much as Cam, I wouldn't rate it much higher. You can find Cam's complete review here.  My main problem with Chirico's story is that he gives the impression that because his mother did not enjoy cooking and being in the kitchen, that he holds her in disdain.  Chirico does not seem to be able to embrace the fact that we are all built differently, with different tastes, likes, dislikes and attitudes.  

I could easily say, as Chirico did, that my mother was not much of a cook.  But that would be only part of my mother's story.  You see, by the time I came along, my mother had already been married for 21 years and had spent 17 of those years raising my brothers.  Now, if you were to ask my brothers, they remember Mom as a wonderful cook and a woman who spent a lot of time in the kitchen.

I was born in 1958, during the advent of Campbell's soup casseroles and frozen dinners.  My mother was working outside of the home and took great advantage of being released from the kitchen by using all the new, prepared foods that were available.  Mom would still cook occasionally but for the most part we had quick meals made using all the modern convenience foods.

My sister was born 6 years after me.  Her childhood food memories are mostly of eating out at restaurants.  My parents financial situation was much more comfortable than before and they enjoyed going out and being served instead of serving.

All this as just some background as to why Chirico's story struck a nerve with me.  He made his mother seem very one dimensional and left you feeling that he felt that, somehow, his mother should have shown her love for him through food regardless of the other ways she showed him her love and concern.

I had also just finished reading Stir by Jessica Fechtor, who in a complete 180 from Chirico, talked of how she felt the love and warmth of her grandmother through food even though she could never remember her grandmother cooking anything.  Fechtor learned from her grandmother that buying and providing the very best that she could was how she showed her love and affection to her family.

In Not my Mother's Kitchen, Chirico states he had never had garden fresh vegetables while growing up.  I was lucky enough that my parents had a garden and summers were filled with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers.  One thing that Chirico and I did have in common, however, was that certain vegetables were never even thought of or looked at in our house.  The only greens I can remember as a child was spinach and that came from a can.  My mom, like many of her generation served us canned veggies at every meal.  The were mushy and flavorless and I thought that was what vegetables tasted like until I got out on my own, started cooking and experimenting and discovered that while I had thought I hated vegetables (except for tomatoes, cukes and peppers) I actually loved them....they just hadn't been cooked properly for my taste.

The recipe I chose to showcase from this book is Sauteed Tuscan Kale with Toasted Pine Nuts.  One of the things with which I do agree with Chirico is that food is best simply prepared to allow it's natural goodness to shine.  This was a perfect recipe to bring out the earthy, bright flavors of the kale.

As a gentle slap to Chirico I put in a clove of garlic minced instead of a measurement.  This drives him crazy because garlic cloves come in all different sizes....I am of the mind that if you are cooking this dish, you know exactly how much garlic you like and will pick the size of clove accordingly.

Linking up with FoodiesRead2017 

Sauteed Kale with Toasted Pine Nuts

slightly adapted from Not My Mother's Kitchen by Rob Chirico

1 bunch Tuscan (flat leaf) Kale

3 T. pine nuts, toasted

2 T. olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

pinch of crushed red pepper

drizzle of Balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Stem the kale and wash the leaves shaking them to remove most but not all of the water clinging to the leaves.  Cut the leaves into ribbons.  Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over med high heat.  Add the garlic and crushed red pepper, cook and stir for a moment or two until fragrant and lightly browned.  Add the kale and stir to coat with the olive oil mixture.  Reduce the heat to low, cover and let cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until kale is tender.  Uncover, raise  heat to med high and allow any liquid to evaporate.  Drizzle with the balsamic vinegar while still on heat and toss to coat. Season with additional salt and pepper if desired and turn into a serving bowl topped with the toasted pine nuts.  Print Recipe

Kale and Squash Soup for Day 4 of #SoupWeek

I hope you have been enjoying all the wonderful soups we have been sharing all week.  If you haven't had a chance to see them yet you can follow along on FaceBook, Twitter, Google+ and Instagram using the hashtag #SoupWeek. We also have a #SoupWeek Pinterest Board where you can see all of the offerings in one easy to access spot! What a great way to stay warm in cold weather!

Welcome to the #SoupWeek, hosted by Palatable Pastime.

Today I am sharing a brothy Italian soup that I adapted from one found at Food & Wine.  It was a wonderful first course for an Italian dinner that we shared with friends.  I wanted a light soup because it was being followed with Chicken Marsala Lasagna Roll-ups which were very rich and decadent. This soup was perfect.  It is filled with healthy vegetables and takes only minutes to put together.  It can be made ahead of time and reheated right before serving.

I adapted this recipe in several ways, in the ingredients used and in the preparation.  I did stick to the spirit of the soup and was absolutely thrilled with the way it turned out.

Kale and Squash Soup

adapted from Food&Wine

2 T. good olive oil

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2" cubes

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 t. dried Italian herbs

1 bunch kale, stems removed, leaves coarsely chopped

8 c. chicken stock

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 c. small pasta (I used stars)

1 (15 oz) can navy beans, drained and rinsed

Shaved Parmesan Cheese for garnish

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over med high heat.  Add the onion and squash.  Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent and the squash is browned in spots.  Stir in the garlic and Italian herbs.  Add the kale and cook, stirring until wilted, about 5 minutes.  Add the stock, navy beans and pasta, cover and simmer for about 10-15 minutes until kale and squash are fork tender and pasta is cooked through.  Garnish with shaved parmesan cheese, if desired.  Print Recipe

Thursday's Soups

• Meatball Soup from Palatable Pastime
• K.C.'s Seafood Chowder from Cooking with Carlee
• Creamy Chicken Soup from The Frugal Pantry
• Kale and Squash Soup from A Day in the Life on the Farm