Bob + Sami's Kale Salad

Greetings from sunny Santa Monica, where the dollar store has organic produce on Wednesdays.  Like all food hipsters Sam and I have been eating a lot of kale recently and marinated kale is one of the easiest ways to turn plants into food.  This recipe is also infinitely flexible: after you tear up the kale and let it soak in olive oil and salt for an hour or so you can dump in whatever you’ve got laying around.  For the acid in our dressing we used lemon juice, but vinegar or limes or anything acidic will do.  We took a tour through the farmers market this morning and grabbed a few things that looked good—corn, apples, and some white and gold beets.  On the way home we bought a can of garbanzo beans and some almonds to give our salad a little more substance.  We hope you enjoy our riff on this marinated kale salad even though it hasn’t got any eponymous butter. 

For the salad—

Kale

Corn

Golden Beets

Apples

Almonds

Garbanzo Beans

For the dressing—

Olive Oil

Lemons

Shallots

Garlic

Salt and Pepper

Start by marinating the kale in olive oil and salt.  While that is resting throw the beets and the corn in the oven and make the dressing.  Add thinly sliced shallots or onions, mashed up garlic, and salt and pepper to the lemon juice.  After the corn is done I like to give it a little texture by stripping off the husks and burning it over the burner on the stove.  Julienne the beets and apples, then combine everything.  This salad will keep in the fridge for a few days so you can bring it to your Labor Day barbecue and watch the Yoga babes swoon. 

Oven-Fried Chicken

I am back from the mountains and now have all the time in the world to blog my favorite recipes. I only cooked three times this summer, and now feel like I need to make up for lost time. As much as I love fried chicken, I can't eat it every night. This chicken is a healthier version of fried chicken, and some people have even said it is better! This is an easy recipe that will definitely be a crowd pleaser.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup milk

1/3 cup olive oil

2 lemons (juiced)

salt and pepper

8 bone-in chicken thighs (skin attached)

1 cup flour

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp old bay (optional)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried thyme

preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, stir together milk, olive oil, lemon juice, and s+p. Add the chicken and mix. Leave the chicken to marinate for at least 30 minutes. Mix dry ingredients in shallow bowl. Take chicken pieces out of liquid and dredge in flour mixture. Lay on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Cook for 30-40 minutes turning after 15 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with coarse salt.