Hearty pork and kale soup with gourmet grilled cheese

I am sooo excited to be posting again!  I don't know why, but I haven't posted in a really long time.  Tonight I'm going to show you pictures of my not-so-tiny kitchen (after having been in this apartment for 10 months), and post 2 new recipes.  

Many of you know that I did the Whole30 diet (let's not call it a "diet" ... how about "eating plan"?) between May and June and have been trying to eat mostly paleo ever since.  You can read more about the paleo lifestyle and the Whole30 challenge here.  Today, however, I was in the mood for grains.  I wouldn't even say that I was craving them, because I wasn't.  I had oatmeal (pimped out oatmeal (added flax seeds, pecans, dried cherries, and organic brown sugar)) for breakfast, then I went to the store and bought bread and cereal!?  I haven't purchased those two things in probably 3 months.  I'm not just buying any old bread and cereal though - I'm looking for products that DON'T contain high fructose corn syrup, bleached flour, and many extra additives.  The bread I got is made with unbleached flour because I read an article that really creeped me out in regards to the bleaching process.  Neither it nor the cereal contains HFCS either.  I also bought these amazing dark chocolate ice cream bars and just had to eat one on the way home ... but let's not talk about that!

So here are pictures of my kitchen after a typical day of cooking:

It's not exceptionally clutter-free, but it is clean.  I really love this kitchen because it is just the right size for one person, I can eat in it, and it has 2 doorways and a semi-open concept.  

Now onto the recipes!  

Hearty pork and kale soup

serves 4-6

1 Spanish onion or 2 small yellow onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb pork (I used boneless chops), cut into 3/4" cubes

1 yam, 1/2" dice

3 cups chopped kale

4 cups low-sodium chicken stock

1 can white beans (Great Northern), drained and rinsed

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp rosemary

olive oil/refined coconut oil

salt and pepper to taste

Heat a large pot over medium heat.  Add 1 Tbsp oil, onions, and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Cook onions down until soft and slightly brown.  Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Add pork and cook until pork is brown on all sides.  Add in chicken stock, yam, kale, and more salt and pepper.  Turn heat down to medium low and cover for about 20 minutes, or until pork is cooked through and yams are tender.  Then add beans, nutmeg, and rosemary.  Cook for another couple of minutes.  Check for seasoning, then eat!

Grilled cheese sandwich with heirloom tomato

serves 1

2 slices white or Italian bread

Monterey Jack cheese, or any other cheese that melts well

2 slices of a good tomato

softened butter

Heat small skillet over medium low heat.  Butter one side of one slice of bread and place in pan.  Place sliced cheese on bread, then put tomato slices on top of cheese.  Butter one side of other piece of bread, and place it, butter side up, on the tomatoes.  Cook until golden brown on both sides and the cheese is melted and gooey delicious.  

Even though my sister said the sandwich looked like ham and lime jello, I swear it wasn't, and I swear even more that it was delicious.  Ham and lime jello would be disgusting. 

Fruit crumble

Since I have a 2-hour delay tomorrow, I feel like I have so much extra time tonight.  Weird, huh?  Well, I decided to make a fruit crumble with fresh pears, frozen mixed berries, and an orange.  Here is the recipe, which, by the way, is the perfect remedy for a cold night.

Fruit Crumble

serves 6

Filling
4 or 5 pears, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 cup frozen berries
zest of one orange
juice of half of one orange
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp corn starch
1/4 cup white sugar

Crumble
1 1/2 cup instant rolled oats
1/4 cup flour
1 stick (1/2 cup) cold, cubed butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

Combine filling ingredients in medium bowl and stir lightly until combined.  Set aside.  Put crumble ingredients in food processor and pulse until mixture is pea-sized.  Alternatively, cut butter into dry mixture with a fork or pastry cutter.  Lightly grease an 8x8 inch baking pan, and place filling mixture into pan.  Spread crumble mixture evenly on top.  Put in the oven preheated at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.  If the top is browning too quickly, cover with aluminum foil.

You may substitute any type of fruit, really.  For this size pan, there should be about 4 cups of fruit.

Healthy Happenings

I made butternut squash soup for the second time last night, and quinoa for the first time.  What I learned was: 

*I could not taste a difference between boiling the squash in chicken stock versus roasting it first.

*Adding yams and carrots added only a slight flavor difference versus just squash alone.

*I did not need to add cream or any type of (fattening) dairy product in order for the soup to be rich and satisfying.

*Quinoa is expensive, but much easier to make than rice.

Here is the recipe I used for the soup: 

Squash soup

Aaand my recipe for the quinoa salad is ... 

1 cup dry quinoa

1 14.5 oz jar chicken stock, plus 3 tablespoons water to make 2 cups

1/3 cup dried cranberries

3/4 to 1 lb cooked chicken, shredded into small pieces

5 oz goat cheese

3 TBSP olive oil

2 TBSP lemon juice

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp salt

Heat the liquid just to a boil.  Turn the heat down to medium low and add quinoa, stir, and cover for 15 minutes.  In a separate small bowl, whisk together oil, lemon juice, mustard, salt, and pepper to make a vinaigrette. Remove quinoa from heat after the 15 minutes and add in cranberries.  Cover for 5 additional minutes.  Fluff with a fork and add vinaigrette, then chicken.  Crumble the goat cheese and stir gently to combine.  Makes 4-6 side dish servings.  

There are probably thousands of different combinations of things that you could put into quinoa.  Next time I might try something more savory, such as feta cheese, kalamata olives, and kale.