Kale and quinoa salad with oranges and candied almonds

This salad is a perfect complement to any meal, especially heavier meats like beef or lamb.

Start by sautéing some asparagus (we had some leftover that I wanted to use up - that's what's great about this salad is that you don't have to stick to the veggies I recommend). Chop the asparagus diagonally and throw in a large bowl. Chop 1 red pepper, 1/2 red onion, and 1 naval orange. Top off the large mixing bowl with chopped kale, removing all of the stems from the leaves (kale is fibrous enough without them!). Put a layer of cooked quinoa on top and dress with the below mixture. This dish sits well overnight in the refrigerator.

Dressing

In a mason jar (for shaking) mix:

1 crushed clove of garlic

1/2 cup olive oil

3 heaping tbsp red wine vinegar

1 packet if stevia

1 heaping tsp of salt 

Heavy pinch of cayenne pepper 

Spring teaser lamb kabobs

Pedro nailed it with these delicious lamb kabobs.

We ground lamb shoulder from Costco and added minced red onions, jalapeño, fresh garlic, salt, pepper and rosemary. Pedro braved the March cold to grill the meatball kabobs with red pepper, mushrooms and red onion. 

The lamb grilled so tender with the perfect kick from the jalapeño. Seriously delicious!

Sautéed bok choy soup

I recently spent a week with my sister in Washington, D.C. Both of our offices are located in Chinatown and I went on a Chinese vegetable binge for the week - constantly hunting for sautéed bok choy and backsweetened (honestly rot-gut) wine.

Well I brought the addiction home and made this delicious sautéed bok choy soup.

Start by trimming the bok choy diagonally using the stalk and leaves. If you have a wok, all the better, but I just sautéed mine in a regular frying pan. Add garlic and fresh ginger. As soon as the garlic starts to brown, add some soy sauce.

Meanwhile, cook up a couple packs of ramen. Only use one of the seasoning packets to reduce the salt (since you'll be adding plenty from the bok choy). Once the bok choy softens and the soup is ready, combine ingredients in one soup pot.

Garnish with avocado, pepper, Siracha and cilantro. Yum!

Poached egg, asparagus and pesto

This would be perfect served atop an English muffin! (As you can see, we didn't have any in stock :)

Pan roast the asparagus stalks after trimming the woody stem. Add garlic, salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile poach a few eggs, using the Bobby Flay method... Swirl some simmering water, add vinegar and drop an egg in the middle of the whirlpool. Once the eggs congeals, remove it and place it gently in an ice bath. You can leave your poached eggs here for up to a few hours before serving. Drop the egg in the hot water quickly right before serving to reheat.

Garnish with pesto, paprika and balsamic reduction.