Kale & Cabbage Stuffed Chicken Breast

This is not very different from the usual stuffed chicken breast recipes, like Mustard Leaves + Bergenost Cheese Stuffed Chicken.

We've moved away from frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts for the last year or so. Since the switch to free range chicken breasts available at the local market, we have also consciously reduced the chicken consumption - being the only preferred meat for home cooking.

So, any occasion we do cook chicken, which is probably once or twice a month, I try to make it worthwhile; and stuffed chicken is one such much-relished meal for the other half.

Pound the chicken breast to make a thin flat layer. Add the filling and roll or fold it and pin it together with a few toothpicks to hold the stuffing securely inside while the chicken cooks.

The filling this time turned out wonderful, and I reserved some as a warm side as well: Sauteed kale and cabbage bound together with leftover mashed potatoes and a bit of jalapeno jack and smoked gouda.

Cook on a cast iron skillet till fully done. It is a bit tricky to measure the inside chicken temperature as one can't be sure of one is measuring the temperature of the filling or the actual chicken breast, but, trial and error works, and when in doubt, I overcook. The mildly charred outside adds a layer of flavor.

Remove all the toothpicks before serving. Serve with  a simple tomato-red-pepper sauce

Eggplant Roll Ups

So many ways to enjoy the incomparable eggplant, each with its own special merits.

These eggplant roll ups are easy to make. They work best with large globe eggplant, but I like making it with the long neon or japanese and chinese eggplant as well.

Eggplant Slices:
Slice the eggplant uniformly thin, brush with oil, sprinkle some salt and arrange in a roasting pan.
Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes in a 425 °F oven till soft and cooked but not falling apart.

Filling:
Anything goes. But here, I went with a mix of feta, cream cheese, chopped onions, chopped bell pepper, grated carrots, chopped olives, plus some red leaf lettuce for layering. Combine all but the lettuce and stir well to spreadable consistency.

Assembly:
Lay a slice of baked eggplant on a plate. Place a layer of lettuce leaves. Spread some of the filling mixture. And roll up the eggplant slice. Seal the end with some of the cream cheese filling.

Serve with tahini yogurt dressing.

10 Grain Cereal Upma and Quinoa Upma

Upma ("Oop-maa") is a staple in south India, usually as a tiffin item for breakfast or sometimes a light dinner, made with coarse grits-like farina. There were two schools of thought about the ideal upma in our family when I was young: the grainy, non-lumpy, non-sticky kind with  lots of vegetables like carrots, peas, onions, ginger, tomatoes, chilies etc; and the gooey, ghee-dripping kind with just some tempering and possibly chilies and ginger and a touch of salt to taste.

Over the formative years, I've gone from liking one kind to the other and back again. These days, in my kitchen, it depends on my mood.

For the gooey porridge-like upma, I prefer the coarse meal 10 grain cereal sold in bulk food stores: wheat, corn, rye, triticale, oats, soy beans, millet, barley, brown rice, oat bran and flaxseed. Sometimes, I add an optional 11th item - viz., quinoa - to this mix.

For the grainy coarse upma, I like just the quinoa, or a mix of quinoa and bulgur. I cook it al dente first and then make the upma as below.

Veggies in either case depends on what's handy. Typically, onions, ginger, chilies, cabbage, bell pepper, carrots, peas are the staple. Sometimes I add cauliflower, edamame, kale or spinach.

Tempering: heat a tablespoon of canola oil in a pan, when oil is hot, add split urad dal, when the dal turns golden brown, add mustard seeds, and when mustard seeds pop, add curry leaves and the vegetables.

Saute the veggies, then, add the 10 grain cereal for the gooey upma. Add boiling hot water to the cereal in the ratio 1.5 : 1 - i.e., one measure of cereal gets 1.5 measure of boiling water. Cover and cook on medium low heat till the cereal is cooked through. Add in ghee or flax oil Omega butter™. Stir well and serve warm with Indian pickles.

Pearl Barley, Kale, Lentil Salad

Now that summer is here, (sort of), meals are getting easier and lazier. Chilled or room temperature salads, fresh vegetables and fruits, quick smoothies, and no-fuss sandwiches are becoming the staples. Not much baking or slaving over the stove most days.

This quick salad just feels so nutritious, even if I am no nutritionist or an expert of any sort. My favorite way to serve/eat this is on a "bowl" of Boston Lettuce leaf: scoop some into a crisp Boston lettuce leaf, either roll it up for easy no-spillage eating, or gather up the edges like a taco and munch on.

Of course, any combination of salad ingredients like carrot sticks, olives, chickpeas, pumpkin seeds, feta, bell peppers taste wonderful when served on a leaf of lettuce.

Ingredients
Pearl barley cooked al dente
Green or brown lentil, cooked al dente
Kale, chopped, and wilted
cooked chick peas
feta
Kalamata olives
sun-dried tomatoes
finely chopped carrots
finely chopped red onion (optional)
toasted pine nuts  and dried cranberries (optional)
Dressing: lemon juice, olive oil, black pepper, plus salt if needed

Combine the salad ingredients, adjust dressing to taste, serve at room temperature or chilled