Wakame Kale Slaw

Confession time... I had never knowingly eaten kale until a month ago, and never prepared it myself until today. I was introduced to a recipe by a fellow midwifery student and loved it! I'm not sure why kale always intimidated me, but I'm going to keep experimenting with it now that I've broken through.

This recipe is flavorful and easy to make (if you have a food processor) I adapted it a little from its original.

INGREDIENTS
Slaw:
1 head kale, ribs removed, leaves torn into bite sized pieces OR put kale in a food processor and process into a slaw with the S-blade (I used food processor)
2 scallions (green/spring onions), chopped
1/2 cup dry wakame (will soften with dressing)

Dressing:
3/4 cups brazil nuts
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp good quality salt
1/4 cup avocado oil (or whatever oil of your preference)
juice of 1 lime - about 2 TB
1/4 cup water

DIRECTIONS
Put kale, scallions and wakame in a large bowl and toss.
For dressing, put nuts, garlic and salt in a food processor and process until mixed well.
Add oil, lime, water and process until smooth.
Toss dressing with slaw and mix well, refrigerate and serve.

Ah-mazing Red Wine Sauce with Mustard & Thyme

I've been experimenting with sauces lately, among other things... And I hadn't had much success, until tonight.

This recipe is simple and so full of flavor it made me stop and say "Mmmmm =)"

For something to put under this sauce I chose chicken tenderloins on top of toasted multigrain bread with a hint of butter. The benefit to using bread is that it soaks up the sauce, making sure none gets left behind =)

(makes approx 1/2 cup)
INGREDIENTS:
2 medium shallots, minced
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 cups stock (chicken, vegetable or beef are fine)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dijon mustard
3 tbsp butter, cut into pieces
1 tsp minced fresh thyme leaves (or 1/4 ground thyme)
salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:
After sautéing properly, remove meat or chicken from the pan leaving the residual fat that it was cooked in. There should be some brown bits of meat or chicken in the pan leftover from the cooking (if there's not much, that's still ok). This is called fond. Leave it right where it is. Add the shallots to the pan and cook over low heat stirring frequently until the shallots are translucent.

Raise the heat to high, add wine, stock, and bring to a boil. At this time loosen any of the browned bits stuck to the pan with a wooden spoon and incorporate them into the sauce. Boil until the liquid is reduced by half.

Reduce heat to medium, add the balsamic vinegar and Dijon mustard and cook until the sauce has the consistency you like. It should be thick enough to coat regular spoon. I hesitate to give cooking times for each of these steps because the amount of heat (Btu's) varies from stove to stove.

Remove from heat and stir in butter. This will help thicken it a little more and give it a nice glossy appearance. Add the fresh thyme, season with salt and pepper to taste and serve over your main course immediately.