Cold comfort: Kale is back

I took this picture on a snowy morning last winter at the Matthews Community Farmers Market. But I almost got to replay it this Saturday at the Charlotte Regional Market: Sleet on the way there, tiny flakes of snow while I was shopping.

I had to miss a couple of market weeks thanks to that turkey-choking calendar lump called Thanksgiving. So I took a quick survey: Apples are starting to dwindle, broccoli is almost done. Winter squash were hard to find because Thanksgiving shoppers wiped them out. Brussels sprouts haven't show up yet.

But the kale is back! Dinosaur, Siberian, green.

Regular readers know that is big news at my house. Go here for a repost of last winter's story about my struggle to find a way to get my husband to eat kale. It has a bunch of cool kale tricks, including the amazing crunchy kale chips. And it has one of my favorite recipes of the year, Tuscan Kale Salad. People ask for copies of it all the time and tell me they're addicted to it.

Seriously, raw kale. It's easy, fast and packs major flavors of lemon, pepper and garlic. Kale was with us until well into March last year, so keep this one handy.

Tuscan Kale Salad

Adapted from the New York Times

1 large bunch kale

1 slice country-style bread or 1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs

1 clove garlic, peeled

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons finely grated pecorino Romano or Parmesano Reggiano, divided

About 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

Juice of 1 lemon, freshly squeezed

1/4 teaspoon coarse or kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Freshly ground black pepper

Trim off the bottoms of the kale stems and discard. Pile up the leaves and slice into ribbons about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide. You should have 5 or 6 cups. Pile them in a large serving bowl or salad bowl.

Toast the bread lightly, then pulse in a food processor or rub on the large holes of a cheese grater to make coarse crumbs. If you're using fresh bread crumbs, spread them on a pan and toast them lightly.

Pound the garlic clove into paste in a mortar or with the back of a large knife. Place garlic in a small bowl. (If I use a mortar, I just mix the dressing right in it.) Add 1/4 cup cheese, 3 tablespoons oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper flakes and pepper. Whisk to combine.

Pour over the kale, using tongs to toss well. Let stand at least 5 minutes and up to 15 or 20 minutes. Add bread crumbs, remaining 2 tablespoons cheese and a little drizzle of additional oil and toss again before serving.

What Did You Cook: Winter Edition

The only thing that could have made our icy weekend better for cooking was if the stuff falling from the sky had been flour and freezing grain. So what did you make to make the most of it?

On Saturday, I pulled an aged-out laying hen from the freezer -- a farmer connection steers them my way when he has to cull a few from the flock. They're scrawny and tough, so they're not good for eating, but they're fabulous for stock. After simmering stock for a couple of hours, I put a couple of cups in the freezer and used the rest to make chicken & dumplings, one of the great winter dishes, using some chicken breasts I also had in the freezer.

Some sources claim it's more Southern to make rolled dumplings, but I like drop dumplings. In this case, I made them from good rendered pork lard and some of my precious stash of Red Band flour. They ended up with a tender, fluffy consistency that was sort of like the Southern answer to matzo balls, floating in a rich, lightly thickened broth with a little turmeric and saffron to boost the gold color.

On Sunday, I took one look at our icy street, bade farewell to my usual activities of church and gym, and reached into the freezer again. This time, I pulled out a sirloin tip roast from Baucom's Best grass-fed beef and looked to my bookshelf for inspiration.

Back in August, professional food snarker Regina Schrambling wrote a piece for http://www.slate.com/ claiming that people who saw the movie "Julie & Julia" shouldn't buy copies of Julia Child's classic "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" because no one cooks from it. Au contraire, moan ami. The tattered spines on both of my volumes speak to plenty of usage, and this time, Child didn't let me down.

I settled on her simply named "Braised Beef," making a few adjustments. Instead of marinating in red wine, brandy, olive oil and carrots/celery/onion for 24 hours, I had to do it for three. No big deal, it worked fine. Then I seared the beef, cooked down the marinade and added beef stock, put it in the oven for 4 hours and served it up with the cooked-down sauce, glazed carrots and mashed potatoes.

Your turn: What did you cook for winter comfort this weekend?

UPDATE: Let Them Eat Ice

Update: The Matthews Community Farmers Market will be closed Saturday because of weather.

From market manager Pauline Wood: "As weather predictions have become more dire, we felt it was in the best interest of our customers and vendors to skip it this time. Our next scheduled farmers' market is Feb. 13 from 8-10am."

The Charlotte Regional Farmers Market will be open, although several vendors have cancelled, including Gilcrest Natural Farm, Grateful Growers, New Beginning Farm and Lil Bit of Heaven, Laughing Owl Farm.

Market manager Frank Suddreth said the market will be open for anyone who can make it out, though. "We put out salt around the buildings and I turn the heat on about 3 o'clock in the morning."

The Davidson Farmers Market wasn't scheduled to be open this week. Their winter market is still planned for next Saturday.

If you need to stock up and you can wait a couple of days, several farms already plan to be at the Charlotte regional market from 1-5 p.m. Tuesday. Weather permitting, of course.