VegOut! with Great Day Houston

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GreatDayHouston-VegOut2014

This morning, we shared some VegOut! fun with Great Day Houston viewers. With the help of VegOut! HERE partner and long-time Recipe for Success Chefs Advisory Board member, Kiran Verma of Kiran’s Restaurant, we joined Deborah Duncan in the studio kitchen to enlighten folks about an unusual veg – JICAMA!

Kiran showed how easy it is to toss together a unique and delicious salad of fresh vegetables, amped up by a tasty dressing. Deborah was a fan. We think you will be, too, so we’ve provided Kiran’s recipe below.

OR, stop by Kiran’s on Jan 17 (Jicama Day) – or any day in March – to try the chef’s daily specials, featuring our Veggie of the Day. Getting your veggies couldn’t be simpler!

Jicama Salad with Mango and Champagne Vinaigrette

Ingredients

By Kiran Verma, Kiran’s Restaurant

For salad:

1 large jicama, peeled and cut into matchsticks

1 small red bell pepper, cut into matchsticks

1 large firm mango, peeled and cut into matchsticks

1/2 red onion, cut into matchsticks

1 cup Baby Arugula

¼ tea spoon roasted Cumin

¼ cup Pomegranate seeds

For dressing:

1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves

2 limes, juiced

1/4 cup honey

2 teaspoon of Champagne Vinegar

2 teaspoon Mango Pulp

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon of pepper mélange

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper or more to taste

1/8 teaspoon chaat masala

Directions

  • Toss jicama, red pepper, mango, and red onion together in a large bowl. Set aside.
  • Stir cilantro, lime juice, honey, mango pulp, vinegar, Pepper Mélange, salt, and cayenne pepper together in a bowl.
  • Pour the dressing over the jicama mixture and toss to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
  • Lightly toss Baby Arugula in olive oil.
  • Garnish the salad with pomegranate seeds and roasted cumin.

Time for a FLASH CONTEST!

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veggies

It’s not too late to get your veg on. In fact, for extra incentive to get moving, we bring you… A FLASH CONTEST! 

Send us your best Cooked Dish with the Most Veggies. Sure, it’s easy to throw half the produce section into a big salad, but for this contest, we’re looking for something you’ve prepared as a hot dish.  The most drool-worthy recipe for a prepared entrée, chock full of veggies, will win Dinner for Two at one of Clark Cooper Concepts‘ fantastic restaurants.

To take part in the contest:

  • Select and prepare your recipe.
  • Snap a photo of the finished dish.
  • Post it to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
  • In your post, include a) the name of the dish, b) the number of veggies used and c) hashtags #vegoutrfs AND #mostvegrecipe.

Multiple entries are welcome, but all submissions must be posted by Wednesday, March 12 at 11:59pm CT.

Remember, to be eligible for contests and prizes, you must be registered for the challenge.  The winner will be announced Friday, March 14.

Chocolate-Chip Kale Cookies

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Eat This! Summer Camp

During Eat This! Summer Camp, in addition to lessons in the kitchen and garden, campers learn how food is marketed to them to be smart consumers and make healthier food choices.  To drive home the concepts, each camp session creates an original food product, from recipe to product name, slogan and packaging.  After learning how various marketing tactics are used at the store, campers presented their creations to Revival Market, who selected their favorite goodie to produce and sell in the store.

Last year’s winner?   Chocolate-Chip Kale Cookies!  Made with wholesome ingredients, the sweet treats are packed with nutrient-dense kale for an extra dose of goodness.

Watch S2P Instructor Chef Susie Mullen and her daughter whip up a batch. Then, head to the kitchen to make your own!

Watch more From Our Kitchen cooking videos on our YouTube Channel.

Ashton’s Kale Caesar Salad

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For the 2014 VegOut! Challenge, Amy Anton, Houston mom of three boys, shares a favorite recipe of her eldest, which just happens to be a simple and tasty way to check kale off of your Veggie Log, as well as a way to get the kids in the kitchen.

AmyAnton-Kale 

When I picked up my twelve-year-old from camp last year, the first thing he asked for was a Kale Caesar Salad. Wow, you might think, what an enlightened child, what a lucky mom. In some ways yes, in others, I just chuckle.

Kale is the super food of the year, on every menu in town, and, really yummy, but that is not why he loves it. He loves kale because it is a hearty leaf that can stand up to a serious Caesar dressing with a flurry of cheese, and still have fortitude. There’s no limp, watery lettuce here. It’s just stiff greens with briny anchovies, tart lemon, and the nutty goodness of parmesan. If that’s what it takes for him to inhale an entire bunch of kale, so be it. There are a couple tricks we have learned along the way that make the salad the success that it is.

First, hold the rib of the kale in one hand and, with a sharp knife, just cut down the rib to remove the leaf. The rib is too bitter and hard to eat most of the time. Then chop chop chop all of the kale into fine pieces.

The recipe for the dressing is below, but we have a couple pointers. For one, mellowing the garlic in the lemon juice is a good thing, as it removes the raw garlic taste you would have otherwise. Also, don’t be shy with the anchovies. Ashton has been known to slip in 6-8 anchovies! He likes strong flavors.

And last, massage the kale. Kids love to get their hands dirty, so this is fun for an idle child begging for dinner now. Massaging the dressing into the leaves with your hands really makes a difference. The kale needs to be persuaded into accepting the dressing, melding the flavors into one.

There are also endless possibilities for add-ins: tart cherries, avocado, pepitas, slivered almonds, thinly sliced radish… you name it.

AmyAnton-KaleCaesar

Ashton’s Caesar Salad

Ingredients

For dressing: 

1 clove garlic, minced

Juice of 1-2 lemons

Dash Worcestershire sauce

1 T Dijon mustard

2 anchovy filets

Yolk of 1 egg

1/2 C grape seed oil (or other mild flavored oil)

1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese

For salad:

1 head kale

Add-ins (optional)

Directions

  • Juice the lemon, mince the garlic and combine, letting them sit in a small mixing bowl while you chop the kale.
  • Whisk in the Worcestershire sauce, Dijon, anchovies, and egg yolk.
  • Slowly add the oil while whisking constantly.
  • Whisk in the the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  • Pour desired amount of dressing over kale and massage it into the leaves.
  • Let dressed salad sit, covered, in the fridge for about 30 minutes to absorb the flavors.
  • Top with desired add-ins, if using, and serve!

Try Ashton’s recipe and let us know what you think, or share YOUR favorite ways to eat kale below.

Bon appetit!

30 Days?!

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This March, Recipe for Success Foundation will host its second-annual VegOut! 30 Ways in 30 Days Challenge, motivating folks to eat 30 different vegetables in 30 days during National Nutrition Month. Bustling schedules and picky palettes can make the task of nourishing a family an uphill battle, so how do you get your brood to eat 30 different vegetables period, much less within one month?

Houston mom Amy Anton has a plan.

AmyAnton-Fam

30 Ways in 30 what!?! There is no way I can do it again this year. I have three boys who will eat some veggies, but certainly not 30, and we have school, and homework, and lacrosse… and busy lives!

But this is important.

OK, breathe, and make a plan of attack.

March is busy with sports and we have a whole week off at spring break, during which we will be eating out a lot. I think I will frontload to get as many veggies as I can in during the first two weeks. That way, I can relax and we can have fun with the Challenge in the second half of the month. After all, it’s “an easy, delicious food adventure”, it’s supposed to be fun!

So, what to start with? Salads. Remember, salad dressing can be a friend, and if I make a yummy dressing or grate in some parmesan, they will usually eat it all. Possibilities are endless there. If I am really in a pinch, I can run to the salad bar and load up on already chopped goodies.

Then, I can alternate with a huge pan of roasted veggies – squash, zucchini, cauliflower and bell peppers. Just toss with some olive oil and a roast in a 375 degree oven, and there’s four more to add to the Veggie Log.

Add my oldest child’s favorite, Kale Caesar, to the list, maybe even with sliced radishes, and we’re on our way! Stay tuned for Ashton’s recipe for Kale Caesar. It’s a keeper!

How will YOU tackle the 2014 VegOut! Challenge? Tell us in the comments!