On Kale and Mystery Broth

I had somewhat of a food love affair last summer, eating as much local food as I could, finding the right balance of what I should and shouldn't eat to keep my body healthy. Going into this "redefining my diet" season, I knew that I didn't ever want to sacrifice flavor when looking for healthy alternatives.

If it didn't taste good, nature almost always had an alternate way to get the same vitamins. Eventually though, I would come around to the foods I thought were awful as I learned about how unbelievable they were. Kale was one of those foods. I still haven't figured out how to cook it well, but I was finally convinced to put it in my breakfast smoothies. Sarah Britton is a Holistic Nutritionist, and a fantastic health food blogger. Here's what convinced me to give kale another try:

First of all, it packs more nutritional punch per calorie than almost any other food on the planet. Seriously. It is crazy-loaded with vitamin K, an essential vitamin for preventing bone fractures, postmenopausal bone loss, calcification of your arteries, and has even been shown to protect against liver and prostate cancer. And because kale is a member of the brassica family (think broccoli, cabbage, collards, and Brussels sprouts) it contains the organosulfur compounds that appear able to lessen the occurrence of a wide variety of cancers, including breast and ovarian cancers. Kale is also excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B6 and manganese. It is also a very good source of dietary fiber, calcium, copper, vitamin B6, and potassium. This combination of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients makes kale a health superstar, for real.

This woman knows her food.

With less time to cook my own food last semester, I fell out of love with my food again, though I kept setting aside recipes for a day I caught a break and could jump back into the kitchen.

Well, I've finally caught a break. In fact, I have more break than anything else.

Sadly, I haven't done a lot of cooking. Every time I walk in the kitchen, the pots, pans, and burners are occupied with the mysterious food of my flatmates. I went to get a bowl of grapes this afternoon and stumbled upon two chicken legs soaking in water and a fascinating pot of yellow liquid. Among the other interesting things I've learned in the last couple of weeks, I've found that nothing kills my appetite like unattended soaking chicken legs in the kitchen.

Which brings me to a new project. I don't know what it is, but bad soup is following me. From the white liquid at dinner with the monks in Three Rivers, to the recent appearance of yellow sludge in my kitchen, to the Scottish winter staple of lentil broth/soup, bad soup is everywhere, and begging for a makeover.

I started tonight with brown rice/red lentil curry - soon with vegetables and broth (as soon as I go to the grocery store...).

If you have any student-friendly (simple and vegetarian), tasty soup recipes, send them this way.

Until then!