Quick Veggie Side Dish ~ Chunky Tomato Tuscan Kale



Only takes around 20 minutes to cook (^_^)b

Tonight I thought to have Kale prepared differently. Most people prefer this in green juice or salads but ever since I had this at work I made it a mission to decipher and deconstruct this dish. This is what I came up with --- a dish that literally has 5 ingredients, minus the water and seasoning.

Ingredients:

1 bag (10 oz.)  Kale, rinse thoroughly
2 tsp minced garlic
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup diced tomato with basil, garlic and oregano (canned) - I used the Del Monte brand
1 Knorr chicken cube, divide in half
2 cups water
salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet heat oil on medium heat, sauté garlic and onions, season with salt and pepper, cover and cook till translucent. Add in the kale, increase heat to high and cook till leaves wilt down 50 %. Then add chicken cubes and water to bring to a boil. Pour in the tomatoes, let boil for a minute then lower heat to simmer for 15 minutes or till kale stalks are tender to your liking. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Plate, Serve and Enjoy!

Kitchen Confidentials - Leftovers: Pork Sisig

When you're  pressed for time and cannot prepare a decent meal for the day but you need something on the table rapido, bust out with them leftovers and don't  feel bad about it! :)

It'll take some jazzin up with items you may already have at home in your refrigerator and pantry, a few minutes of your time and Voila! You've got a revamped dish that might just be 'Mom and Pop cafe' worthy!

Last night's leftover: 

Pork Sisig

I placed a single serving amount of leftover Sisig on a plate with a scoop of rice garnished with a couple pinches of crispy fried garlic flakes, topped with one sunny side up egg and cracked black pepper. Prior to plating I reheated the Sisig stove top on a skillet to render the excess fat, discard this. I like to serve this with a side of chili garlic sauce dipping and a tall glass of ice cold water - Sisig is best when heat is mild to moderate spicy. 

Kitchen Confidentials - Salmon Sinigang

In most Filipino kitchens rarely would they run low on onions, garlic, tomatoes or ginger; toyo (soy sauce) and/or patis (fish sauce) - good God I think we have bags of these that would last us the whole month. Not to mention some sort of "sour soup"  (Sinigang) base powder. 

This morning I did an inventory check of the pantry and saw that I was still good with the "usual suspects", the only thing I had to do was find out from my tribe which kind of Sinigang they wanted - beef, pork or fish.

Since it's been a while this is what they requested...

The usual suspects:

1 large onion, sliced
1/2 cup sliced ginger
3 medium tomatoes, chopped into 8 piece wedges each
Tamarind soup base
patis
salt (if needed)


Accessories:


Tamarind leaves, 1 pack (1/2 lb.) 227 g
Okra, 12 pieces
Petchay, 1 bag - cleaned and trimmed of white stalk, green leafy part only
*optional: Banana pepper for spice


The Culprit:

3.5 - 4 lbs. Salmon head + cheeks

Pan Fried Pork Chops with Sautéed Asparagus

This dish is all about the plating and I got my inspiration from a seafood dish I had at Sir Francis Drake in San Francisco during my husband's company late Christmas party back in January. The dish I had was a piece of salmon steak atop some mashed potatoes and asparagus with some kind of tomato reduction sauce.

Here's what I did to achieve this plate of savory perfection: