Mixed Potatoes with Kale

Hello!  I'm pleased to announce that I have come back to blogging after my nearly 4 month hiatus!  Over the last couple of months Kevin and I have been getting settled into married life and the new habits and schedules that ensue.  While I was gone I've seem to have a constant inner-battle about what foods I should be eating.  One week I would be spot-on Nutritarian with no added meats, dairy, sugars, or oils... then the next it was Thanksgiving dinner with temptations, or after Christmas with tons of goodies brought home.

All I can say is making the daily decision of what to put in your body is HARD!  It's hard for me to listen to my voice of reason (my Nutritarian voice), and silence my food-addict's taunts.  I think a good first step is to admit it... right?  Well, new readers and old, I hope you continue to follow me on my journey of trying to figure out what works for me, struggling with what doesn't... oh, and all of the awesome recipes that are produced in between!

Since Kevin and I got married last September, we have finally worked out a food and shopping budget to fit our recently-graduated-newly-wed-still-want-to-have-fun lives.  As a Nutritarian, my staples have become the bulk food section with dried grains and beans, as well as frozen and fresh vegetables when I find them on sale.  Some of Kevin and my favorite foods are potatoes (oh my gosh, we can actually agree on something food-wise!).  This weekend I decided to make a potato-based lunch for the both of us.  Kevin requested mashed potatoes, and while those were cooking, I came up with something a bit more nutritious for me.  Hope you enjoy :)

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. mixed potatoes, washed and cubed (peeled if desired)
• 4 cups of chopped kale
• 1/2 red onion finely chopped
• 1 tsp crushed garlic
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1/4 tsp celery seed

Directions:

1. Prepare all ingredients.
2. In a large skillet, bring a couple of tablespoons to a boil and add the onion and garlic.  Water saute these until fragerent, but not until the onion is translusent.
3. Add all of the cubed potatoes and about 1/2 cup of water.  Cover and let it simmer/steam on medium heat, adding more water as necessary.
4. Once the potatoes have softened so that you can fork them, stir in the dried basil, dried parsley, and celery seed.
5. Next, place all of the kale on top of the potatoes and cover to steam.  Make sure that there is still a small amount of liquid at the bottom of the pan so that the potatoes don't stick and the kale has steaming water.
6. After about 3 minutes, check to see if the kale has wilted to your liking, and remove the skillet from the stovetop.  Allow to cool with the cover off.
7. Serve as a side dish for the family, or a main dish for up to 4 people.

Amy's Notes

• Feel free to use whatever potatoes you like.  I used two russets, a few red potatoes, and one yam/sweet potato.
• While cooking make sure that all varieties of potatoes are soft enough to fork before you move on to the next step.  I know my yam took a bit longer to cook than the rest of the potatoes.
• Please customize the spices to your liking.  This weekend I felt like basil, parsley and celery seed, but I bet this would be great with cumin, chili, cajun, or curry seasonings!
• I served mine topped off with a homemade "Cheeze" sauce.  I'm still perfecting this recipe, so I won't share it at this time, but there are many recipes you can find online that are anywhere from nut or tofu based, to bean or non-dairy milk based.
• Other great toppings for this dish could be salsa, tabasco sauce, vegan sour cream, or vegan shredded cheese.

What voices do you hear in your head when you are making food decisions?  Who often wins, and why?