alvin fails at blogging. i have insane ocd

lol.

i'm not sure if i have an irrational fear of ecoli. but since theres been news reports every other week about spinach and other such salad veggies spreading ecoli.. well. who isnt afraid?

lol today Colin and I are going to Lindy's for dinner, and i rmbed she lovesss kale salad. I had this genius kale and pumpkin salad at Marlow's and sons last year and thought it would be a really delicious salad to bring!

oh yea. back to e coli. I'm also afraid of naked food. that is..food that is just.. out in the open for anyone to just touch. why is kale always naked? dont they know people eat kale raw? not thinking, i put the kale in the basket.. the whole time thinking.. ew ew.. but not thinking.. oh maybe i should put it in a bag? fast forward i get to the cashier.. and.. facing the prospect of putting my raw kale onto the belt that has meat and all kinds of gross shit put on it all the time.. well. i put my shit down and ran back to fine bags.. came back.. realised one bag wasnt big enough to put two things of kale into the bag.. ran back... got another bag.. then. well... lets just say.. when i looked up.. the cashier and the bag man.. were laughing at me. :(

oh and it doesnt get any better, because i ended up breaking off the tip of my butcher knife.. those cuisinart f***ers

googling led me to April Bloomfield's grilled pumpkin and kale salad. (you can watch her make it here: http://www.eatdrinkordie.com/videos/fa0dea0da8/pumpkin-salad-april-bloomfield-from-april-bloomfield )

Sounds pretty good too since nyc has been a bit chilly and grilled pumpkin sounds really warm and hearty :D Well, I dont have all her ingredients since a) Associated does not sell pumpkin oil b) Associated does not sell curly kale (just normal kale) and c) Associated does not sell pecorino.

So heres my take

Grilled pumpkin and kale salad

ingredients:
1 bundle of kale
1 medium size kabocha pumkin
some parmesan cheese
lemon
olive oil
balsamic vinegar

- wash pumpkin, cut in half and scoop out seeds. cut pumpkin in to medium size pieces (or as April calls it 'rustic sizes) toss in olive oil, salt and pepper and put onto foiled baking sheet. Put into oven at 375 degree. bake until soft (about 20 mins).

- separate seeds from the fleshy meat the seeds are covered in. (i always try to clean them pretty thoroughly or else the fleshy bits burn and its a pain) Toss in olive oil place onto small baking sheet, sprinkle little salt ontop, place into oven/toaster oven at 250 - 300 degrees. bake until crunchy. Make sure to take out every 10 minutes or so to stir the seeds around so they dont stick to the foil/pan.

- remove stems, wash, cut and dry kale.

-When pumpkin is ready, remove from oven and squeeze half a lemon (approx 1 tablespoon) over pumpkin and toss.


-Af

Plating

since i'm bringing this to someone else's house, instead of plating immediately, i'm going to let the pumpkin cool down first (and nibble at the pumpkin bits a little) so the kale doesnt completely wilt by the time it gets there

- layer the kale and the pumpkin. Put a layer of kale, add a splash of lemon, and put down a layer of pumpkin. Repeat until necessary. Save some extra pumpkin on the side to add to the top for color. drizzle with olive oil (or if you have pumpkin oil use that). Add balsamic vinegar if necessary.

I havent put the salad together yet. I'm waiting to add add it together at the last minute.. i dont really want the kale to wilt too much. plus the pumpkin's still hot. (but really delicious on its own) ahhahah :D

i'll take pics later :D