Kale and Cannelini Bean Soup with a Ham Hock

I got into making soup with ham hocks when I lived in AZ in the mid 90's.  It all started with a recipe for posole.  I couldn't find oxtails at the time so it could have been oxtails that I got into.  I did find ham hocks and it was a great discovery for me.  I have been using them ever since.  Recently, my friend Sandy (from Quilting For The Rest Of Us), turned me on to the ham hocks at an Amish (or should I say, Mennonite) store near where we live.  Great discovery!  Best ham hocks ever!

Soup Tip:  If you make soup a lot you probably already know this.  Most soups are way better the next day when the flavors have had a chance to marry. This comes in handy when you are having a large gathering.  Its something you can do ahead of time.

KALE, CANNELINI AND HAM HOCK SOUP

1 large ham hock
2 large bay leaves
1 large onion (about a cup and a half), chopped
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 large potatoes (about 2 cups), peeled and chopped
1/2 to 1 pound of kale, cleaned and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound cannelini beans
2-3 quarts chicken stock
1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (optional)

In a soup pot, soak beans overnight.  Drain in the morning and add a ham hock and chicken stock to the beans, cover and cook on low heat (just barely simmering) until beans are nearly tender.  Add in carrots, potatoes, garlic, kale, cayenne, salt and pepper. Cook until carrots and potatoes are tender.

Kale and Quinoa

For all you parents you know how busy the end of the school year is.  Concerts, picnics, get togethers.... its crazy.  When you are the sandwich generation, it just gets even crazier.  Suffice to say between helping my parents lately and being Mom to two children, I have my hands full.  I am sure many of you know what I am talking about. We always think we are the ones that are so busy.  But really everyone is busy.  And busy changes over time, doesnt it?  My Fathers idea is busy, is that he had a doctors appt in the morning and had to roll his coins.  The elderly woman I know, her idea of busy is that she had to do dishes and make her bed.  I say this not as a criticism.  When you are tired or ailing in some way, things can seem busy because it just takes so much energy.  You know what I am saying.  Its all kind of relative.  For me, busy means I don't have much "me" time.  Lets be clear, I love my "me" time.  I can be downright selfish in this way.  I need "me" time for sewing, creating things in the kitchen, puttering around, organizing, whatever. It helps me keep my sanity.  (Which is pretty relative, I might add).  An hour of "me" time is wonderful!  Four hours of "me" time is amazing, rejuvenating and awesome.  So as we head into summer, I don't really expect too much "me" time.  And it's okay.  I love when my kids are home.  At least, that is, when they are not fighting.  Its unscheduled time for the most part for us.  Sleeping in a little longer, a little slower pace.  I enjoy that.  I am going to miss my "me" time though! I promise to blog as much as possible.

This post is kind of a hodge podge of stuff.  You see this here "bouquet" from Edible Arrangements?  Isn't it pretty!  We received this a week or so ago.  It disappeared kind of fast.  I did use the kale, which you see above.  I boiled it a little bit and put it in the refrigerator.  I had some leftover quinoa.  I thought how about this combination.  I sautéed the kale in a little olive oil with garlic.  Then I added the quinoa, just so it was heated.  It was incredibly good.  I like quinoa but there was something about this combination that made it stellar.  Definitely a do over around here.  Simple easy, nutritious and delicious.

This here was an amazing meal I had at a local Mexican restaurant called, Salena's.  I usually get the mole chicken. One of my faves! A glass of sangria made it all the better!

Kale Crust Pizza

For all of you people who might think this is one crazy recipe- its not- its amazing.  Yes, a lot of people are going kale crazy.  (Just so you know, I liked kale when kale wasn't cool.)  Now that kale is so cool, lots of kale recipes abound.  I saw this recipe and thought, that's kind of interesting but I highly doubt it's any good.  Maybe kinda good.  I like kale so I decided to give it a try.  OMG!

I really liked it.  My Mom, who is a bit skeptical about crazy recipes, liked it, my daughter liked it (see pic below), my husband liked it.  This recipe will definitely be made more than once in this house.  (Since I wrote this I have made it two more times.)

Try it.  You'll like it.  Really.

Kale Crust Pizza
These measurements are loose.  Meaning that you should make it as saucy, cheesey or garlicy as you like.  Its all up to you.  This is a rough guideline.

2 heads of kale (you should end up with 6 cups cooked kale)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup Peccorino Romano or Parmesan or Asiago
a hand full of basil
2 cups tomato sauce or pizza sauce
shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cloves garlic, sliced thin
3 tablespoons olive oil


Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Sauté garlic in 3 tablespoons of olive oil until golden.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Prepare Kale
Cook kale until it is tender.  Drain water from kale and cool.  Squeeze the kale in batches to get rid of excess water.

In a bowl whisk eggs and stir in kale, garlic with the olive oil and Asiago.

Arrange in a thin layer on the parchment.  You dont have to get fussy about the shape but you do have to make sure there is not scraggly ends.  These will burn as you bake it.

Place in a preheated 350F oven until the edges are brown.

Remove from oven, spread tomato sauce over top.  Sprinkle with basil chiffonade.  Sprinkle cheese over top.  Return to oven and bake for 10 to fifteen minutes more.