bi bop breakfast

Yesterday, Zig got up with Evan and made the both of them breakfast. So what's a sane mother to do when the early bird is occupied? Sleep in, of course. But I can never really go back to sleep in the morning so I walked a couple steps to my computer and visited one of my favorite cooking sites. I can't rave enough about Cynthia Lair, but suffice it to say she's the real deal. I've seen her lecture, been in a class of hers at Bastyr, attended her cooking classes, and own her cookbooks. She's fantastic.

But anyway, after just a few minutes browsing her breakfast recipes, I was totally inspired to try this new breakfast called Be Bop Breakfast. And it did not disappoint. It's a take on a Korean dish that I love as well. In fact I had to run find Zig out in the yard afterwards and tell him about the awesome breakfast I was going to make for him the next day. We eat eggs and kale a lot in the mornings, but this recipe had rice and the condiments really make it sing, especially the Thai Chili sauce. A definite new favorite. In fact, I just made it again!

white bean & kale soup

Tonight I tried a new soup to go along with the cabbage salad that I am now addicted to. This recipe was found on Mothering.com. I served it with the salad and naan bread. We gobbled it up. The soup is easy and a definite keeper. If anyone lives close and wants kale and sage, we still have quite a bit in the garden.

White Bean Kale Soup

2 cups kale, finely chopped
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 large cloves garlic
3 cups cooked cannelloni beans
2 1/2 cups stock (I used homemade chicken stock)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
4 fresh sage leaves
1 teaspoon sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground
1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
pecorino cheese, freshly grated

Wash kale, remove stems from leaves. Roll up leaves and cut in thin ribbons. Set aside. In a soup pot, heat olive oil and briefly sauté garlic. Add about half the cooked beans and part of the stock. Purée remainder of beans and stock in blender, along with tomato paste and sage. Stir puréed beans into soup. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix kale into soup and simmer until kale has wilted (10 to 15 minutes). Add lemon juice and enough water to give soup the desired consistency. Season to taste. Serve topped with grated pecorino cheese.

Preparation: 30 minutes