Kale away

Who doesn't love kale? Or should I say who DOES love kale? 

 

Everyone talks about this amazing superhealthy, supergreen, superduper superfood (I reckon there'll soon be a super hero that owes his power to kale!), but no one really seems to like it. It's probably due to its slightly bitter taste and to the fact that very few people know how to use it.

Wanting to lead a healthier and better life I decided to try a couple of kale salad recipes (thanks Lisa for the input) with surprising results. The secret is the MASSAGE, as weird as that may sound! It's important to get a softer and sweeter kale to "massage" it with salt, oil and some lemon juice, so that the seasoning is well rubbed in the leaves. It's always a good idea to prepare kale salads at least a couple of hours before consumption so that the flavours are well mixed.

KALE AND BROCCOLINI SALAD 

Ingredients: 

1 bunch of kale

1 bunch of broccolini

1 handful of almonds (or other nuts if you prefer)

Haloumi or Feta cheese

mint

coriander

parsley

1 lemon

extra virgin olive oil

salt

pepper

 

 

 

Strip the leaves from the kale stems, wash, chop and place them in a large bowl. Squeeze the lemon over the kale then drizzle with oil, season with a bit of salt and massage the kale. Slice the broccolini into small pieces and sprinkle it on top. Toast the almonds, or nuts of your choice, in a non sticky-pan then simply chop it roughly and add it to your salad. Chop or tear roughly the mint, parsley and coriander leaves and add it on top. Finally cut and sprinkle the cheese on top (if you decide to use Haloumi, before cutting it

pan fry it til golden).

  

KALE AND TOMATO SALAD WITH TAHINI DRESSING

(recipe from Cooking with kale by Rena Pattern)

Ingredients:

 6 stems of kale

450g grape tomatoes

1 large red onion

black kalamata olives, to taste

 For the dressing:

60ml of Tahini paste

1 garlic clove

125ml of water

lemon juice, to taste

half teaspoon of ground cumin

olive oil

salt and pepper 

Wash and dry the kale, place it in a bowl with halved tomatoes, sliced or chopped onion and olives (you can cut the olives if you prefer). 

To make the dressing: whisk all the ingredients in a small bowl. If you find it too thick just add a bit more water. Pour as much as you like over the salad. Toss well to combine.

 

Enjoy!

A smile,

Cami 

At World's end

G'day mates! 

It was about time to update this blog! 

I know it's been a long time...a reeeeeally long time and a lot has happened in this past year and a half. 

Let's start from where I last left off! 

After having quite a few boring days, followed by busy and worried ones trying to get ready for the last Uni exams and at the same time writing my very much hated but very much loved thesis, a 60-page long dissertation about Cockney rhyming slang (I should have chosen the Australian slang, retrospectively!), I finally managed to graduate. 

That was February though and, as you may have noticed, it's already January 2016 now. Aaand I have temporarily (maybe) moved to another continent, almost at the end of the world! 
I'm in BLOODY AUSTRALIA!

My very first Australian sunset on Cottesloe Beach, Western Australia

I left my beloved Valtellina on the 30th of April and landed in sunny Perth on the 1st of May. More than 8 months have already gone by and the adventures have been many..

Wine tasting trip in the Swan Valley, Western Australia

Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House from the ferry

A view of Melbourne from St Kilda Pier

Cape Byron Lighthouse in Byron Bay, New South Wales

Pineapple growing in the Epicurious Gardens on Brisbane's South Bank

There are so many interesting things that I've discovered during my stay about Australia and I'd like to share it with the world (yes, the entire world reads my blog, am I right?). 

Let's start with driving!!

When I first arrived I had to learn to drive on the left side(and probably wrong, but who can tell..). It may seem scary to some and I must admit that the first few minutes were somehow challenging: the only thing I could do was to constantly remind myself to keep left, as weird as that might sound to us right-hand side drivers. It's also quite weird to have the indicators on the right stalk and the windscreen wipers on the left one (unless you keep driving an European car!) and that was probably the most difficult thing to get used to, no joke.

Now, after several months of practice on both automatic and manual cars (ok, that happened just once but still..) I came to the SURPRISING conclusion that driving is just driving.

However, I still don't understand why we can't all drive on the same side, whichever that would be, but I found an insteresting article that tries to explain it.

Well, my dears, this was just a little post to get back into this blogging thing.

I'll be soon back with more aussie adventures.

Talk soon.

A smile,

Cami