Spinach Balls

I love spinach balls as can make them ahead and freeze them for later use. The spinach ball recipe that I use is based on the one in the cookbook, Beginning Again. One of these days, I will try the recipe using kale instead of spinach.

I recently visited a new friend in Tulsa, who not only made my favorite foods, from eggplant lasagna to
a variation of my spinach ball recipe, to a fabulous noodle kugel, but we have the same kitchen cabinets, the same kitchen table (not the same as the cabinets), and some of our other furniture is exactly the same! How this is possible is beyond me? I would not have believed it had I not experienced it in person. I feel sorry for the years we lost not knowing each other, but better now than never!

My new friend served a modified version of the spinach ball recipe in a casserole -- it tasted so familiar, yet since I had not made spinach balls in a few years, and when I make them I make a huge batch for last minute company, it took me a few moments to recognize one of my favorite ways to prepare and eat spinach.

I had to modify the spinach ball recipe below for my husband, but herein is the original spinach ball recipe with a slight variation from the recipe in the cookbook, Beginning Again.

2 packages frozen chopped spinach (when I try this with kale, I will use the kale I freeze and crumble)
2 cups Pepperidge Farm Crushed Herb Stuffing Mix (I have never tried it with another mix)
6 eggs beaten (for a casserole, it is possible that the eggs can be deleted, but the eggs helps the ball shape)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (I use 1 cup for company, as I love cheese, but for my husband, I must omit the cheese)
3/4 cup softened butter (I reduce this to 1/2 cup for my husband, and they come out great -- I think that 3/4 cup makes them too greasy for my family's taste as many of our foods are low fat.)

Optional:
1/2 cup finely chopped onion, I rarely add onion but may try it when I substitute kale for the spinach.
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt (I never use salt, I love garlic powder, but do not use garlic in this recipe as the stuffing mix is "herbed," and this is one of the few recipes I do not want too garlicky).

1. Cook the spinach and drain well == I tear off the paper around the box and microwave it in the
oven, then I squeeze out the all the spinach juice while the spinach is still in the white cardboard box,
I squeeze the box until no more spinach juice exudes.
2. Mix the remaining ingredients with the spinach
3. Shape in to the size of walnuts and place on a greased baking sheet.
4. Freeze the balls until hard and then place them in a plastic storage bag.
5. When ready to bake, no defrosting is necessary, place in preheated oven for 20 minutes at 350 F.

Enjoy, I love to have spinach balls on hand in the freezer for unexpected company!

Kale in December

I promised some pictures of my flowering kale and here it is as it looks today, December 23, 2013. The snow melted and we may get more snow this week. The kale is protected under the snow and when we finish using the kale in our front flower bed, I will walk to the garden and pick more. The flowering kale looks beautiful this time of year when there is nothing in bloom outside in Cleveland, Ohio. Per the Italian Heirloom Kale, I harvested leaves from the bottom and ended up with a very tall plant!

The pinks and purples in the flowering kale are beautiful, and our local market sells this same flowering kale for $2.99 per pound and up! If you plant flowering kale in your garden, make sure it has not been treated, sprayed to be used only as a flower. I buy the flowering kale in the spring when I plant my early vegetables and the tiny sprouts stay green most of the summer, turning their gorgeous purple and pink after the first cold days and frost.

Kale is much healthier than spinach and is promoted in various diets, it flies off the shelves here in Cleveland, but my favorite is the Italian Heirloom, and then the flowering kale. Each kale tastes
different, and I avoid the varieties that have any bitterness.

Growing Kale in Your Garden

Some of the heirloom kale varieties found in organic grocery stores may be a bit pricey, but there is a very simple solution -- grow your favorite kale in your garden!

One may have to do a bit of testing to see which kale variety one prefers and which one grows best (without any of that slight bitter taste) in your area.

Kale loves cool weather, but mine is doing great this summer --- my favorite was flowering kale, until I planted an Italian heirloom kale. I have not noticed any bitterness in our summer heat per the Italian heirloom, but have noticed a slight bitter taste (which disappears after the first frost) in my flowering kale, which is growing very fast and actually started to flower (I picked the flowers off -- the flowers look very much like the ones on related species -- the yellowish flowers on thin stems).

Each day I pick the largest leaves of the Italian heirloom, and the kale continues to grow. I know that the flowering kale will survive until almost January, 2014, under the snow and will be a welcome treat.
I do not know if the Italian heirloom will survive the winter as it is very tall and will probably not be protected by the snows.

My husband and I have a "kale" smoothie almost every evening using the "Italian" heirloom kale.
We strip the leaves from the long stem, add it to the blender set on ice-crushing, add a banana and sometimes whatever berries we might have in the house, and almond milk (my husband is allergic to
dairy), add a few ice cubes sometimes and blend to perfection -- photos to follow. Sometimes
we use bananas we have previously frozen and skip the ice.

Please share any and all recipes for kale on this blog -- keep in touch as photographs are to follow!

Kale Chips

Kale chips are easy to make and take only 10 minutes to bake in the oven.

To make the chips, place some aluminum foil on a cookie sheet and spray the foil with cooking spray.

Wash the kale and strip it from the stems -- do not use the stems for making chips as they are tough and need a longer cooking time, such as in a homemade soup.

Tear the kale into pieces and place on the sprayed aluminum foil. Bake at 350 F for 10 minutes, but watch the kale as just a few minutes longer and the kale will turn brown and be crumbly not crispy!

Enjoy a healthy snack alternative!