Nutrient Rich and Delicious!

I had a VSU friend and one of my cooking class attendees e-mail me about the abundance of kale that she had growing in her green house, and she asked for some recipes using kale. I don't have a lot of recipes but I DO use it a lot. Mainly in my morning smoothie and I'll add it to soups and other dishes when I can. It's one of the most nutrient rich foods on the planet! High in protein, calcium and many cancer fighting phytochemicals! And it's delicious! AND it grows good here in St. George. In fact my fall crop lasted through the winter. There were only a couple of months where I didn't cut it because it just wasn't growing. But as soon as it warmed up a bit, it came out of dormancy and I think the freeze made it sweeter. It was so delicious! Anyway, back to the reason for this post. I've recently discovered beans and greens! And this dish that I made tonight for dinner was so yummy I just had to post the recipe. Besides the sweet potato that baked for an hour, it took only 10 minutes to make this meal. In the past I've used garbanzo beans and kale together but I had some left over black beans from last nights "Oscars Tacos" so I used them with the kale instead. Black beans are one of the most nutrient rich beans, and along with this kale, and then the sweet potato....wow! Oh yes, and the avocado mixed in increased the uptake of nutrients into your body. As for nutrients, it doesn't get a whole lot better then this. So, for Marilee, and anyone else who is interested, here is the recipe.

Kale w/Black Beans and Avocado

1/2 cup water w/ 2 tsp Braggs Liquid Aminos - love this stuff!
1 large clove garlic
1/2 bunch of kale chopped
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder (next time I'll use 1 tsp)
1 cup black beans
1/4 avocado mashed

Cook garlic in water over medium high heat for 1 minute. Add kale, cover and cook for 3 - 5 minutes. Check for tenderness. Add seasonings and black beans and cook another minute. Mix in mashed avocado and serve. (the sweet potato has some avocado mixed in as well)

I just fed myself tonight but if I was feeding my husband, I would have doubled the recipe. However, I've cooked a whole bunch of kale and have eaten it all myself so the amount you make just depends on how weird you are!

BTW, when I use garbanzo beans, the seasonings are cumin, coriander, garam masala, and I use about 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds that have been ground to powder instead of the avocado.

If you try this recipe, please let me know what you think.

Best of health to you!
April