FoxTrot by Bill Amend for July 21, 2019

“NDA”? (Roger and the kids so don’t like eating vegetables… specially those grown from their wife’s/mother’s own garden.)

If someone else will eat the kale, I’ll be happy to have some squash and eggplant.

Although I suppose you can spoil anything if you don’t cook it right.

Andy, this is a competitive market. Enabling your cooking is not worth an additional penny.

Now, if the garden was growing pizzas and hamburgers…

Well, I don’t mind ‘winter squash’, like butternut, but keep the kale & eggplant. Same goes for asparagus, brussel sprouts, rutabaga, turnips, endive … the list seems endless …

You didn’t have to mention Dad by name, stupid. He was the only one left.

Actually, I’m quite enjoying my wife’s organic veggie garden, and it’s a terrific lesson for our grandchildren.

Kale doesn’t need water. It is non-organic and closer to a mineral.

Heirloom tomatoes and peas and strawberries all grow nicely on Vancouver Island.

I like kale, not raw but julienne cut, sauteed with olive oil, garlic and onions. It’s very good, try and you may like it or not, but try it. No? OK, but stop the overused bash the kale “jokes”!

I ate some kale ravioli the other day! For Real!

Kale, squash, and eggplant. Roast the kale, take the other veggies and add some tomatoes, lentils, and chickpeas, plus the seasonings of your choice. Kale chips and veggie stew. Just add a good bottle of wine.

Normal people don’t like those things.

I have a great recipe for eggplant. First you peel it and put the peel in the compost. Then you cut it into 1/2 inch cubes and put them into the compost. Then you order Chinese.

Squash is such a vague description. That could be acorn, zucchini, butternut … The list is endless. (And all delicious if prepared in one of several ways). Eggplant? Several wonderful ways to prepare that. My favorite was always the “lasagne” a late friend made. Wish I had gotten the recipe.

Be sure to water the pizza plant.

Portuguese Kale Soup, Caldo Verde (Green Soup)

Recipe:

1 large yellow onion, peeled and minced fine1 large garlic clove, peeled & minced3 tbsp. olive oil for cooking plus oil to drizzle on each bowl when served6 large Eastern potatoes, peeled and cut in 1 in cubes.2 quarts cold water1 1/2 tsp salt (about)1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper1 Ib kale, washed, trimmed of coarse stems and veins, rolled up then sliced filament thin.6 ounces Spanish chorizo, sliced 1/4 in thick ( also good with smoked pork hocks)DO NOT use the bulk chorizo or the kind made with glandular fillings.Saute the onion and garlic in 3 tbsp of the oil in a large heavy saucepan,2-3 minutes, over moderate heat until they begin to color and turn glassy;do not brown or they will turn bitter.

Add the potatoes and saute, stirring constantly, 2-3 minutes, until they begin to color.Transfer potatoes and onion/garlic mix to a large soup pot.

Add the water, cover and boil gently over moderate heat for 25 minutes until the potatoes are mushy.if you are using smoked pork hocks add them at this time.Remove when potatoes are done,remove meat from bone and cut into bite size pieces.

Fry the chorizo in a medium sized heavy skillet over low heat until most of the fat had cooked out;drain well and reserve.

When the potatoes are soft, remove the pan from the stove and with a potato masher,mash the potatoes right in the pan in the soup mixture. Don’t over do it leave them chunky.

Add the chorizo or pork hock pieces, salt and pepper, return to moderate heat, cover simmer 5 minutes.

Add the kale and simmer uncovered 5 minutes until tender and the color of jade.

Taste the soup for salt and pepper. ladle into large soup plates drizzle about 1 tbsp of olive oil on topand serve as a main course accompanied by chunks of Portuguese bread for dipping.Open a bottle of Vino Verde ( Portuguese Green Wine) and enjoy!!

I have a coworker who grew kale as a child on his family farm. Now at 60-something, he still hates it with a passion.

Only a penny?