Kale, two ways

I have long been intrigued by kale for its vivid green hue and notable health benefits, but frankly have been a bit timid about cooking with it. ....until the food Gods intervened and presented me with two kale recipes to try my hand at. It was a sign!

For Easter we cooked a ham and were left with a hefty ham bone which I decided I would make a soup from. A few of the recipes I found online suggested adding kale. Then yesterday, I received a kale salad recipe in the newsletter from the Toronto Centre Naturpathic Medicine clinic I visited during my pregnancy.

I made the soup today and am going to try out the salad recipe tomorrow.

Both recipes are below.

Leftover Easter Ham and Kale Soup (adapted from various online recipes)

- Simmer leftover ham bone in a stock pot for about 4 hours

- Remove bone from liquid; place liquid in refrigerator overnight

- Remove fat from top of stock the following morning ( it will be hardened, so can be removed quite easily)

- Reheat stock. Once boiling, add a few handfuls of soup mix (dried lentils, split peas, pearl barley, etc.)

- When soup mix is almost softened, add veggies (I added carrots, celery, green beans, and onion)

- Once vegetables are partially cooked, turn off heat

- Add diced leftover ham, a can of rinsed navy beans, and shredded kale

- Add spices (I added a few shakes of Italian seasoning as well as some fresh rosemary, thyme, and ground pepper)

- Serve with crusty bread! Yum!

Kale salad (from Toronto Centre Naturopathic Medicine clinic April Newsletter)

- Massage coarse sea salt into fresh washed and chopped kale leaves

- Add some extra virgin olive oil, chopped fresh garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper, to taste

- Add some toasted pine nuts, pumpkin or sesame seeds

- Add dried currants, cranberries, or raisins

UPDATE: I made the Kale salad. It was delicious, but raw kale is deffinitely on the bitter, earth side of the spectrum. The pine nuts add a beautiful creaminess, and the cranberries and lemon juice counteract the bitterness. I used non-coarse sea salt and it worked fine. Next I need to try Kale chips! Yum!

Wall candy

I am always lusting over expensive art. But I am starting to think that sometimes it's not necessarily about the art you have, but how it's displayed.

After my parents renovated their home, my mom found an 'art consultant' to help her hang art around the house. This sounds pricey, I know, but it really wasn't. ...this 'art consultant' is actually the guy that did all the wire shelving in her closets, and art consultation is how he moonlights. It's really just his passion.

He visits your house and looks at all your art together (ie, not hung). He then goes away for a week, soaks in the art and the open walls in your home, and comes back with his recommendations. Once you agree on placement, he arrives with all the right tricks and tools to expertly get the art up on your walls. Anyone who has hung art with their partner will agree that this service would be a major marriage saver!

As a tangent, I once heard Lynda Reeves say on HGTV that art should be hung 54 inches from the floor to the center of the images. There are of course always exceptions, but this is a good rule of thumb that I have used.

Happy hanging!

Bedtime bible

My first baby was a horendous sleeper. It would take us hours to get her to fall asleep, and then she would wake up five to eight times a night. My husband and I felt angry, helpless, and nauseous most days.
I remember reflecting on how funny it was that when I was pregnant I thought that a Bugaboo would make me a happy mom, and it iturns out I would have happily taken the lamest stroller on the market if my child would only sleep.

When my daughter was around 5 months old we made the difficult decision to do some hard core sleep training. We heard a lot of tears, but within a week, we were blessed with a pretty good sleeper. It was nothing short of amazing.

Since then, this book has been my bible. It has seen us through teething, illness, the move to a 'big girl' bed, and the unthinkable soother elimination. Now, it is my go-to resource for sleep training my son.

I like this book because it offers a range of approaches, appealing to both the timid and the brave when it comes to listening to your child cry. It also covers most every situation and stage...and most of all, the strategies work and I have my evenings back to blog!

I also know a number of Moms who have successfully used the The Sleep Doula's services. They say its the best $200 they have ever spent.

Wishing you a blissful night of soundly sleeping children....