Satisfyingly crunchy, deliciously cheesy, and ready in about 30 minutes. Can you think of a better way to eat your greens? These Kale Chips are super easy, and vegan & gluten free.
This recipe uses Tuscan Kale, formally known as Lacinato Kale, which is the dark green, fiborous kale in the super market. It’s also sometimes known as Dinosaur Kale, due to it’s rough bumpy leaves which presumably look like dinosaur skin.
Curly kale is a lighter, less dense, relative of Tuscan Kale. It’s ideal for salads and eating raw, as it’s texture is closer to a hearty green like spinach.
Curly kale or Tuscan kale work for this recipe. I’d recommend using Tuscan kale as it’s heartiness makes a sturdier chip!
Yes, kale is nutritious — but it’s also delicious! The trick to kale is to treat it differently than other leafy greens. It can be sautéed like spinach with olive oil and spices, but unlike spinach, it won’t release a whole bunch of liquid.
Massage kale in a citrus-based dressing to make it the perfect salad green. The acid in the citrus breaks down the fibrous texture of the kale, making it less dense and chewy when you eat it.
I’ll admit I was skeptical of how good kale chips would actually be. After all, they don’t seem like the best contender for a crunchy delicious chip. Thankfully, these exceeded my expectations.
They aren’t as sturdy as your typical potato chip, but do pack a satisfying crisp. The nutritional yeast gives them an irresistibly cheesy flavor. Yum.
Satisfyingly crunchy, deliciously cheesy, and ready in less than 30 minutes. Use your own seasoning blend to spice it up, or make as directed for an easy, nutritious snack!Vegan & gluten free.
This applesauce recipe provides a guideline to make easy, homemade applesauce. Adjust sugar and spices to your own tastes. Cut the apples according to how long you have to cook it, and how chunky (or smooth) you’d like your applesauce. Tastes great, simple to prepare and way better than store bought!
Cook the apples low and slow in a covered sauce pan. This eliminates the need to add water to the applesauce, which dilutes the flavor, and often facilitates the need for more sugar.
As Sweet As You Like It
Feel free to adjust the recipe to your tastes. Add more sugar if you’d like, or eliminate it completely for a delicious sugar-free treat.
Use any apples that you prefer. I prefer a gala or fuji for best flavor and sweetness. Taste a slice of the apples you will use. This will help determine how much sweetness will need to be added to the applesauce.
Chunky or Smooth
Just like peanut butter, everyone has their own preferences when it comes to applesauce. Whether you like it smooth or chunky, this recipe has you covered. Slice your apples into large chunks and forgo the mashing for a satisfyingly chunky applesauce. Or dice smaller apple pieces and mash (or blend/food process) well at the end for a silky smooth applesauce treat.
So Versatile You Can Eat It At Every Meal
Here’s a few ideas to serve and enjoy your tasty homemade applesauce:
Spooned over some oatmeal, topped with sliced almonds
Mixed with savory spices and served with pork chop
Layered with yogurt and granola for a filling parfait
Sealed in puff pastry for easy, flaky hand pies
On the side with some hot, fresh potato pancakes
Enjoyed straight from the jar as a midnight snack
Decadent yogurt, granola, and applesauce parfait.
Stovetop Apple Sauce
This applesauce recipe provides a guideline to make easy, homemade applesauce. Adjust sugar and spices to your own tastes. Cut the apples according to how long you have to cook it, and how chunky (or smooth) you'd like your applesauce. Tastes great, simple to prepare and way better than store bought!
1tablespoonyour favorite sugargranulated, brown or monkfruit (optional)
1-2teaspoonsground cinnamon
1-2teaspoonsground nutmeg
Instructions
Peel and core the apples. Slice and dice into medium-sized chunks. The smaller the chunks, the faster the applesauce will cook down.
Add apples to a saucepan over medium heat. Add lemon juice. Cover pan with lid and let cook 10-15 minutes. The heat will release the apple's natural juices. This eliminates the need to add water to the pan. Just ensure the pan is not too hot so the apples don't burn. Stir occasionally.
Once the apples begin to release their juices and start to soften, add in sugar (optional), cinnamon and nutmeg. Cover pan again and let cook down another 10-15 minutes.
Test the apple's doneness by poking with a fork. If the fork slides easily, they are ready. If not recover and cook an additional 5-10 minutes until ready. The cooking time of the apples depends on the type of apple and how large the pieces were cut.
To mash or not to mash. If you prefer a smoother applesauce consistency, you can now mash the applesauce into a smooth paste or use an immersion blender. If you prefer chunkier applesauce, no need to mash.
Taste the applesauce and adjust spices if desired. If it needs a touch of sweetness, add agave or honey. Feel free to add more spices if desired.
Let cool and store in an airtight jar in the fridge.
Notes
Use a six-section apple slicer to make coring the apples a breeze. Leave slices in their larger size or cut in half for faster cooking time.
The smaller the apple slices, the faster they will cook.
Add additional spices like all-spice or ginger if you’d like.
Use honey or agave in place of sugar, or go sugar-free!
If not using sugar, start with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and increase if desired.
Oh yes. Today we’re making the traditional Brazilian staple: pão de queijo. Literally translated, it means “bread of cheese” and really, that’s a great description. Soft, fluffy small rounds of cheesy goodness. Let’s get started!
Simply put, pão de queijo is a small cheese puff bread. It’s typically served with most meals in Brazil and eaten for breakfast.
There’s no exact written history of pão, of course, but it’s believed that, around 1700, women who were enslaved typically made pão de queijo for farmers (don’t forget, Brazil was a Portuguese colony before it gained independence in 1822).
Pão de quiejo become a staple of Brazilian cuisine since, growing in popularity. You can now even find frozen versions of pão available in big stores like Costco.
One of the more distinguishing features of pão de queijo is it’s flour — commonly known to us in the US as tapioca starch. Wheat crops didn’t grow well in the northern region of Brazil, where warm weather made growing the grain difficult. Instead, ground, dried cassava root was used in place of flour.
Cassava root aka tapioca starch
Cassava is an incredibly drought-tolerant plant, making it a favorite crop of warmer, tropical regions. In the United States, cassava is also called:
Yuca
Manioc
Brazilian arrowroot
Cassava root is made into cassava flour, which is also called tapioca starch. These alternative names are useful to know when you are shopping for the ingredients to make your very own pão de queijo!
Cassava flour possesses a unique, almost gelatinous quality when baked. Combined with the melted cheese, the pão de queijo becomes impossibly soft, fluffy and chewy!
Once we got the hang of it, we made pão de quiejo en masse
Tried and tested Pão de Queijo recipe
Let’s get personal for a moment. My dad’s side of the family is very familiar with Brazil and its cuisine. In fact, he lived there with my grandparents during his teenage years. So, it was a natural place for a family reunion.
In 2017, we all went down to Brazil! That’s where I tried pão de queijo for the first time, along with my husband and my parents. Brazil has incredible food, including mousse de maracujá (passion fruit mousse) and of course, the Churrascuria (Brazilian barbecue).
When we returned home, we began testing recipes to replicate the impossibly perfect pão de queijo we had in Brazil. Seriously, it seemed no matter where we went, it was perfect every time!
While we didn’t have access to the specific cheese typically used to make pão (meia cura/minas cheese), we found this substitute combination works beautifully! The sharp saltiness of the parmesan balances well with the mild, gooeyness (yes its a word) of the mozzarella.
For best results, buy the cheese whole and grate it yourself. Pre-shredded cheese sometimes gives off a chalky flavor.
Another non-traditional note: while pão de queijo is typically formed and placed in rounds on a baking sheet, I found it easier to place the dough inside mini muffin tins. The tins helped the pão hold their shape, and made the shaping process much faster than if we were to shape them by hand. Not traditional, no, but effective? Yes.
Enjoy!
Pão de Queijo
Lauren Harvey
A traditional Brazilian bread, pão de queijo is easy to make with this straightforward recipe. Parmesan and Mozzarella replace authentic Brazilian cheese that is difficult to find in the United States. The result is a delicious, chewy, puffed cheese bread!
If you purchased pre-grated cheese, skip to next step. Grate the parmesan and shred the mozzarella. After measuring out the required amount, you can mix the cheeses together in a bowl and set aside.
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Set up your stand mixer so that it's ready to go for the next step. Add the tapioca flour and baking powder to the bowl of the mixer.
In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the wet ingredients (milk, water, oil and salt). Cover and bring to a gentle rolling boil over medium heat. Once boiling, pour over the flour in the mixer.
Turn on the mixer and mix on high until the tapioca flour and wet ingredients are well-incorporated. It will have a stretchy, sticky texture that is to be expected.
Add eggs one at a time. To make things easy, you can crack the two eggs into a small bowl and whisky gently. Pour this in a slow steady stream into the mixer on medium-high speed. Allow the eggs to incorporate in small increments before adding more.
Repeat a similar process with the cheese. Working in small batches, add the cheese into the batter slowly until fully combined.
Spray your mini muffin tin with non-stick spray. Using a small scoop or spoon, scoop the batter into the muffin wells.
