Kale Salad with Pecans and Dates

I’m generally not the biggest fan of salad, but I love this one. Like most salads, you can modify it to best fit your preferences. I modified this recipe from here: http://www.whatwouldcathyeat.com/2012/04/kale-salad-with-apricots-and-almonds/. I changed the ingredients mainly because I didn’t have everything the original recipe called for. Then I add stuff that sounds good to me depending on what I’m in the mood for!

I suggest starting with the dressing, so it can sit out for a bit. It tends to blend better after it warms up to room temperature. Mix one part honey, one part lemon juice, and two parts olive oil together. After it sits out for a bit, beat it with a fork or whisk until it’s well mixed. You can read “part” as “tablespoon”, but I’m usually more generous than that, since I tend to add extra ingredients.

Here are the ingredients I’d suggest. Put at least the first four in there, but if you add them all, you’ve got a whole meal!

• Thinly-sliced Red Onion
• Chopped red bell pepper
• 5-8 Dried Dates, sliced
• 1/4c-1/2c chopped pecans (I crushed mine into large pieces with a mortar and pestle)
• Sliced Cucumber (optional)
• Some (1/2-1 cup) quinoa (optional – for extra protein!)

Wash a bunch of kale, tear it into bite-sized pieces, and place it a large salad bowl. After you’ve beaten the dressing, pour it over the kale and massage it gently for about 30 seconds with your hands. Add the rest of the ingredients. Toss to make sure everything is nicely coated in your dressing. Enjoy!

I ate a healthy serving of this salad with some pita chips and hummus for dinner and took the leftovers for lunch the next day.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pecan Cookies

I made these cookies for a potluck, and they were a big hit! I’ve shared them with several groups of friends, and they are always a crowd pleaser. They are some of my favorite cookies, and I discovered them through a craving that I had for chocolate chip, oatmeal, and pecans in cookies. Smitten Kitchen has a great recipe for such cookies. The main difference between my cookies and hers came about through a mistake on my part. I went a little overboard on zesting the orange and instead of getting just a teaspoon, I zested the whole thing! I realized my mistake later, but after tasting the cookies, I was happy that I made it…and really, others have been happy too!

Start by combining the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, clove) in a bowl. In a larger bowl, beat the butter, brown and white sugars, and vanilla extract until the mixture is creamy. Beat the eggs in one at a time, and make sure you beat well after each addition. Gradually beat the flour mixture in.

Then I add the fun stuff! Stir in the pecans, oatmeal, chocolate chips, and orange zest. Depending on your preferences, you can be a little flexible on just how much of each of these you add, but I wouldn’t go too far over the amounts listed in the recipe list below.

After everything is mixed in, drop the batter by the tablespoon-full onto an ungreased cookie sheet. I covered my cookie sheets with parchment paper to make cleaning up a little easier!

Bake them for 7 to 10 minutes at 375 degrees. The final and most important step is to enjoy (and share them if you can)! A trick I use if I make these just for myself: I make a batch of these, form the cookie dough into little balls, and freeze them until I’m ready to bake and eat them. I got this great tip from my friend who is the author of Life After Lucky Charms.

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (room temperature)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1.5 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground clove
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 2 cups chopped pecans
• Zest of one orange OR as much orange zest as you can stand
• 1/2 cup – 1 cup chocolate chips