happelsauce

The first time I tried a kale chip was at the Park Slope Food Coop. Love at first bite. Undoubtedly. They were called Quite Cheesey Kale Chips but were vegan and raw. Quite the contradiction. I guess the cheesy flavor comes from the nutritional yeast that generously coats each dehydrated piece of kale. They were my new crunchysaltycheesy addiction. As far as addictions go it could have been worse, but at almost $8 for a 3.5 ounce bag, I might as well have been munching on dehydrated gold.

So, when I bid farewell to Brooklyn and the Food Coop, I left my beloved kale chips behind as well. It helped that I flew immediately to Barcelona, where I immersed my taste buds in pan con tomate, jamon, calcots, cava, and non-vegancheesygoodness. It was the easiest break-up ever. Kale chips and I were over and I never looked back. Until last week.

On Friday I bought a bunch of kale. When I was in the grocery store, I envisioned the usual – sauteed in a little olive oil with lots of garlic, lemon juice, salt and red pepper flakes. I took it home and forgot about it for a few days. By the time I remembered that it was still sitting in the fridge drawer, I needed to cook all of it. Otherwise, I was bound to have a bunch of wilted, sad kale. I wanted no such thing.

Memories of my long-lost love for kale chips came flooding back to me. Could I make them? I didn’t have nutritional yeast on hand, but I was willing to forgo recreating the faux cheesiness. I just wanted a crispycrunchysaltylemony kale chip. Something to munch on that made me feel good. I googled “homemade kale chips” and found a few simple recipes that I used as my guide. I chopped my bunch of kale into bite sized pieces, tossed them with a little olive oil, lemon juice, kosher salt, pepper and parmesan. About 20 minutes later, I pulled them from the oven and ate two baking sheets worth in under 10 minutes. The world’s best snack food? Quite possibly, yes.

Parmesan Kale Chips

Serves 4 light snackers, 2 hungry snackers, or 1 bingeing kale chip addict

1 bunch of kale, rinsed, dried and chopped into bite sized pieces

about 1 teaspoon olive oil, or just enough to coat the kale

juice of one lemon, to taste

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan

kosher salt and ground pepper, to taste

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Taste and adjust seasonings accordingly.
• Spread kale evenly onto baking sheets.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes, rotating baking sheets halfway through, until kale is crispy and parmesan is browned but not burned. Make sure you check the kale while it’s baking because it will go from perfect to perfectly charred in a few seconds.
• Cool for a few minutes and serve them in a big bowl with your favorite drink. I like them with something bubbly – kombucha, sparkling water, or champagne. Kale chips deserve the best.

I had never been a member of a book club until last month. I crashed Whit’s. Her friend Kay was hosting at her apartment on Divisadero Street. The book of the month was The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan. Being a last-minute attendee, I hadn’t read it. As it turned out, I wasn’t the only one. So, we ended up having delightful non-book related conversation and a Middle Eastern inspired meal that corresponded with the book’s setting in Israel. The evening was topped off with Bi-Rite Creamery ice cream and a divine caramelized fig sauce that Kay had whipped up. Oh, and me, in my lifeisrosyaftertwoandahalfglassesofwine happy state, suggesting the next book and therefore volunteering to host the next book club. Was I even a member? Apparently, yes.

I suggested The Shell Collector by Anthony Doerr. It’s a book of exquisitely written short stories that make for a relatively quick read. Perfect for book club. I had read the book earlier on this summer and each story was still vividly etched in my memory. That almost never happens.

Selecting The Shell Collector set the wheels in motion for a mollusk-inspired dinner. Mussels in white wine? Maybe. Escargot in garlic butter? Probably not. Clam pasta? Perfect. The recipe calls for canned clams, which are admittedly a little scary in the can, but once they’re nestled in the butterywiltedoniongarlicparsleywine sauce, they morph into bite-sized sea gems. Trust me.

I served the pasta with a big salad – lettuce, sliced plums, quartered figs, goat cheese and toasted sliced almonds.

It was quite good, if I do say so myself. As was the conversation. And the wine. Next month’s book is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Perhaps there’s a potato peel pie recipe in little Happelsauce’s future?

Shell Collector Capellini

Serves 4 as a main course

5 tablespoons olive oil
2 smallish white onions, chopped
5 or 6 cloves of garlic, minced
4 oz. canned anchovies, chopped coarse
6 tablespoons of butter
2 teaspoons dried rosemary (or a little more fresh if you’ve got it)
2 10 oz. cans chopped baby clams and their juice
1 pound fresh baby clams, scrubbed
Fresh ground pepper to taste
2 teaspoons dried basil or a handful of fresh, torn
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Dash of red pepper flakes
A couple of dashes of vermouth or white wine (so the sauce is not too thick – the pasta will absorb a lot)
Fresh lemon juice, to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
Enough capellini for 4

• In a large skillet heat 2-3 tablespoons of the olive oil and sauté the onion until wilted.
• Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds or so–don’t brown.
• Add the anchovies with their oil and stir until they ‘melt’ into the sauce.
• Add the butter, another 1-2 T. oil, and the rosemary.
• Open the canned clams and drain their juice into the skillet.  Bring the sauce to a low boil and season with pepper to taste.  Simmer 5 minutes.
• Add the canned clams and the fresh clams and continue to simmer for another 2 minutes.
• Stir in the oregano, basil, and parsley.
• Thin with a little vermouth or white wine and add lemon juice to taste.  If the sauce is too thin, cook it down a bit.  If too thick, add more vermouth and simmer a bit.
• Toss sauce with hot cooked pasta, parmesan and red pepper flakes.
• Serve with lemon wedges, more parmesan and a big salad.

Time is flying. Flying! Somehow it’s been over a week since I last posted anything on my little Happelsauce. I think I’ve been in a semi-paralyzed state as of late, with a big birthday looming. Saturday, September 5th. I wasn’t sure what to do with myself. I contemplated spending the long weekend in New York or Seattle. For a few hours, I convinced myself that I should splurge on a workshop at Esalen because it would be the perfect way to ease into a new decade of life. I was a little fearful to face the long weekend in the Bay, with my best friends and family far away.  My life here is so very new and the last thing I wanted to feel was lonely. But ultimately, I decided to stay put and make the most of it. And I’m so happy I did.

I emailed friends and invited them to join me on a birthday hike to the Tourist Club in Marin. It’s a big Swiss Alps inspired house that’s nestled in the woods, owned by Nature Friends, a non-profit confederation founded in Austria in 1895 that is now composed of over 500,000 hikers, climbers, skiers and others who love the outdoors. Non-members can enjoy the club on most weekend days. Oh, and did I mention that the Tourist Club serves beer? And pickles? Danke to the genius who installed the beer tap.

I had asked friends to bring picnic goodies and their friends. The more the merrier. There turned out to be almost 20 of us perched on a shady deck, nibbling on farmers market fruit, heirloom tomato and basil salad, roasted garlic bread, olives, goat cheese and spicy nuts.

Whit surprised me with an assortment of heavenly cupcakes from Kara’s – chocolate with coconut cream cheese frosting was my favorite, with carrot cake a close runner-up.

We ate and drank and talked all afternoon. Then, just as the fog rolled in and blanketed the valley below, we headed back down.

Feeling the effects of my ripe old age, I was showered and ready for bed by 8pm. I had opened the most thoughtful presents and cards from family and friends and was sitting on my bed when my roommates burst in with a cake, singing “Happy Birthday!” I blew out the candle with tears streaming down my face. I felt so lucky and so loved. As it turned out, Ellie had ordered me a red velvet cake from a bakery in Berkeley and enlisted Dan to pick it up and surprise me with it. I cut a huge slice, ate the entire thing and promptly went to sleep. Somehow I had managed to turn 30 years old. And honestly, I had never felt better.