Hummus Kale Chips

It finally feels like I can start planning my garden and it just hit me I need to plant a lot of kale. I have a seemingly bottomless appetite for kale chips and I can't believe it took me this long to dress up the basic recipe. It's true that this recipe isn't much of stretch from a simple roasting with olive oil and salt, but it's certainly delicious enough to be worth sharing. I chose roasted red pepper hummus to dress up my kale chips, but any flavor you like will do, be it homemade or from the store. Kale chips are addictive enough on their own, but this little flavor boost makes it even harder to put them down. It's a perfect example of a snack you realize is healthy after discovering it's delicious, so there's no reason not to snack to your heart's content. Rather than paying an arm and a leg for the now-trendy kale chips at the grocery store, sacrifice just a few minutes and make a batch at home to snack well on the cheap.

Hummus Kale Chips
serves 1 to 2

Canola or oil oil cooking spray
2 tablespoons hummus (I used roasted red pepper hummus)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces kale, washed, dried, and ripped into bite-size pieces

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

2.  In a large bowl, whisk hummus, and oil together and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add kale and toss to coat evenly with the hummus  mixture.

3. Roast for 20 minutes, tossing occasionally. Raise temperature to 450 degrees F and continue roasting, tossing occasionally, until crisp, about another 10 to 20 minutes depending on the size and type of kale. Serve promptly.

Mediterranean Salad with Hummus Pesto Dressing

It's a little strange that I chose to share a recipe for a hearty soup on day that held promise of the spring to come and this salad just a few days after the snow just wouldn't stop falling, but during the tumultuous transition between winter and spring, it can be a little hard to eat with the weather. But even though this is a salad, it certainly leaves you plenty satisfied and full of energy to tackle shoveling or more optimistically, take a long walk with the dog on a sunny spring day. Perhaps the Mediterranean Salad moniker is a bit too liberal or a bit too generic, but it is a collection of many ingredients often used in Mediterranean cooking that I absolutely love. It's a riff on my typical salad recipe, a plethora of raw and roasted veggies with cheese and nuts, but made particularly rich-feeling by the creamy hummus pesto dressing. The roasted red pepper adds an element of smokiness, the marinated artichokes spiciness and astringency, the olives and cheese both richness and saltiness, all finished with a sprinkling of crunchy, toasty walnuts. My initial instinct was to toss this salad with balsamic vinaigrette, but when I saw some lonely last bits of pesto and hummus in the fridge, I immediately thought of transforming them into a simple, flavorful dressing that became the pièce de résistance that finished this salad. It's perfectly filling as is, but if you're feeling particularly ravenous or want to stretch this to feed two, some chickpeas or grilled chicken certainly wouldn't be out of place. It may not be a warm Greek beach looking out upon cerulean waters, but perhaps these collection of flavors will take you away from the toils of winter for just a lunch.

Mediterranean Salad with Hummus Pesto Dressing
serves 1

2 cups chopped fresh spinach, lettuce, or salad greens (about 2 ounces)
1/2 jarred roasted red pepper, sliced (about 2 ounces)
4 or 5 jarred marinated artichoke hearts, drained and sliced (about 1.5 ounces)
2 tablespoons black olives
2-4 tablespoons crumbled goat or feta cheese (1/2 to 1 ounce)
2 tablespoons chopped toasted pine nuts or walnuts
Hummus Pesto Dressing, for serving (recipe follows)

1. Spread greens evenly on a large plate and top with peppers, artichokes, olive, cheese, and nuts. Drizzle with Hummus Pesto Dressing (or other dressing of choice) and enjoy!

Hummus Pesto Dressing
makes about 3/4 cup

1/2 cup roasted garlic, roasted red pepper or regular hummus
2 tablespoons prepared pesto
1/4 cup water

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl or jar and whisk or shake to thoroughly combine.