Moroccan Braised Kale over Wheatberries

MOROCCAN BRAISED KALE OVER WHEATBERRIES
(with a poached egg)

This summer, my coworker and I decided to keep a shared daily log of everything we ate and all the exercise we've done in order to feel a sense of accountability for a healthy lifestyle.  You've probably heard of this as a method of establishing better habits, but if you haven't tried it you absolutely should!  I also highly recommend pairing up with someone who is a gluten-free vegetarian...seeing that every meal on this log he's keeping is super healthy omelettes and salads.  I may return to school in August to find a rabbit sitting across from me in the office.

One of the benefits of this experiment has been a sort of mirroring effect.  Looking at PA's progress has been really impressive, and it has rubbed off.  So now, I find myself wanting to create more meals that are vegetarian, for example.  I've also found myself eating lots of eggs for protein, because that's his main protein source.  So, while this particular post includes wheatberries, the basic recipe for this braised kale is one I've been coming back to over and over again this summer.  It's a bit of a variation of both my Kale, Spinach, and Meatball Soup and Shakshouka, but without the meat.

I've found keeping the log is motivating enough to try and continue with it while I'm abroad for almost the remainder of the summer.  I know that sounds a bit crazy - and believe me I'll still allow myself a good lemon and sugar crepe in Paris, a waffle in Belgium, etc. - but I think it will be a good way to prevent a dietary nuclear meltdown.  Hopefully it also turns out to be a good way to document some great flavors I discover across the pond, and then bring them home and back to the blog when I return.  I know this is already only the second post of the summer, but surely I'll pick it up again with more regularity in August.
  

Kale and Meatball Soup

KALE, SPINACH & MEATBALL SOUP

I really love dishes that are packed with greens so good that you're shoveling them into your mouth with gusto.  I imagine this is exactly how Popeye felt every time he downed those gobs of spinach that looked so strangely appealing to me as a child (but so did that pizza in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles).   

I wish, like Popeye, that I could really knock someone or something out.  Lately I've been struggling with some anger issues (food-triggered anger issues).  And I'm not talking frustration or anxiety, but seriously mind-numbing anger.  Since I've been trying very hard to get back into shape and closely monitoring my diet, I've also been really beating myself up over every slip.  Nights have by far been the hardest.  When 9pm rolls around and it's been three hours since your last meal (because I can't make it past 6 to eat dinner now that I'm running again), it's almost impossible to avoid a visit to the fridge to quietly eat cheese alone.  

Obviously I'm not very good at impulse control - if it's in the house I'm going to eat it - so the more I can make large amounts of guilt-free meals, like this soup that can be portioned, frozen, and eaten throughout the week, the safer we are all going to be as a society.

I'm trying to remember that the beginning of new challenges are always the hardest bit, but I have a creeping feeling that this anger over my eating habits is really a mask for the growing discontent that the monotony of winter can bring on.  Waking up this morning to yet another snow storm and white-knuckle driving to my over-worked place of work was just psychologically brutal.  I know much of the U.S. is feeling the same way.  I had a vivid dream last night that I showed up for work and found some sort of magic school bus going to Paris, so of course I called in sick last minute and took bus to Paris (?#!).  The only other part I remember is being alone a riding to metro to neighborhoods I haven't seen before, just glad to be alone and away.    

Enough with the pity party - here's what you need to know about this soup: It's hearty and healthy with an Italian/Tuscan theme going on, but amped up with jalapeno in the base and cayenne in the meatballs.  I've pondered how it would work out vegetarian, and I think it would be just fine.  The meatballs certainly add a rich roundedness to the soup that balances the acidity and freshness of the vegetables.  While I wanted to keep the posted recipe paleo, I did reheat the leftovers on the stove top and cooked basmati rice in the broth. That was real good. Don't hold back for a second on how much kale and spinach to add.  Pack in as much as possible to add heft.  I can't say it's quite enough to kick the winter blues, but it certainly doesn't hurt. 

Chorizo, Kale, & White Bean Soup

Maybe if you've been poking around, you've noticed I've changed the design of the blog a bit.  The latest addition was a new travel log, which is something I've debated adding since the blog's inception.  I saw a really inspiring version of a travel log on one of my new favorite food blogs, My Name is Yeh (a blogger whose work/design I really love, and turns out she happened to grow up pretty much down the street from me).  So, anyways, I added that new page and writing those little blurbs sort of brought me back to one of the blog's major missions: to share my global food finds.  Making it also brought me a deep sense of saudade...and inspired this post.

By no means have I exhausted my list of flavors that I've found while traveling, particularly from Morocco and Portugal.   It's just that sometimes the practicalities of life get it in the way of recreating these finds.  But this weekend I tackled a version of Portugal's caldo verde, or a kale and potato soup spiced up with a choirço (chorizo).  We ate this as a first course at almost every restaurant we went to in Portugal.

The thing about caldo verde is that it is truly a simple soup, a sort of home cooked staple.  The flavor is mild, if not muted, hence the need for a few slices of spicy sausage.  Moreover, Garrett didn't find anything too mind-blowing about it (although I loved it).  So after he nixed the idea of making traditional caldo verde, he dreamt up a soup with greens and white beans.  I interpreted this as "caldo verde with beans," and this is the result.  Relationships are all about compromise.

I went ahead and made the nearest thing I could to chorizo with lean ground turkey, just to keep this as healthy as possible, but you could certainly save yourself a few steps and get pre-made chorizo.