This recipe for “’Massaged’ Kale Salad with Lemon Dressing” is full of nutrients, packed with flavor and may make you into a kale lover. Even kids liked it!  It can be made ahead as the hardy leaves keep well, even with dressing.  Rubbing washed kale with a bit of salt and oil or fresh lemon juice tenderizes the greens.

On a hot summer day, who doesn’t enjoy a cool drink?  This festive recipe for Italian Sangria is fruity, refreshing and can be made with or without alcohol.  Sangria comes from the Spanish word sangre meaning blood, an element of life itself.  

In our after school cooking class in spring 2022, Tamra Dickinson and I shared these recipes with students at Hillside Elementary in La Crosse.  It was fun to watch them wash greens and spin them dry in make-shift kitchen towel salad spinners.  Mason jars of dressing ingredients were shaken with every muscle they had and we all enjoyed a spring kale salad!

A classmate used to create delicious-looking lunch salads from what was found in our college cafeteria!  To her meal of greens, veggies, nuts or seeds and she often added beans, cheese, brown rice or whole grains.  This kind of plate - mostly plant foods – is featured in a recipe for “Warm Farro Salad with Spring Veggies”.

May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. A very broad term, this recognition encompasses all of the Asian continent and 1000s of Pacific islands.  This week's recipe is for a refreshing Pacific Rim Salad.  Let's learn more about the food and culture of our AANHPI neighbors!

Asparagus is a sure sign of spring in the upper Midwest and home gardeners can’t give it away fast enough!   If you or your neighbors aren't swimming in it, look for fresh asparagus at your local farmer's market.  This post is not a recipe so much as a guide to preparing asparagus. 

“Meat and Bulgur Sloppy Joes” is an easy version of this famous sandwich. The recipe is followed by some facts about bulgur and its Middle Eastern origins and some history of the iconic Sloppy Joe.

Quinoa (keen' wah) is a grain native to the Americas along with wild rice, amaranth, corn and mesquite. These grains have ancient histories and provide important vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and plant protein. Try quinoa in this "tamale-like" Peruvian recipe for "Quinoa Altamalada."

Meredeth Hink shares a recipe, saying, it "should be appropriate for this time of year. I have been making these pancakes for my family since I was in high school. They are easy to make and a great way to use up leftover vegetables, especially cabbage/coleslaw mix." Discover Japan's strong values of culture, health and the environment in the way many cities do school lunch.

This delicious recipe for Maple Amaranth Cornbread is shared by Meg Paulino who has been part of maple syrup production on Saint Joseph Ridge.The recipe was posted by the Ho-Chunk Nation's Division of Health as a Harvest of the Month. For Indigenous people, both maple syrup and amaranth have many uses and sacred connections to their food sovereignty, culture and spirituality.

Christians celebrate 50 days of Easter, giving us time to consciously engage in Resurrection transformation: to be of service, forgive, prayerfully plant seeds, surrender to joy, bake bread. Use this Basic Bread Recipe to bake bread, "transformational food!" Also included: a reflection inspired by baker theologian Peter Reinhart called From Wheat to Eat.

Another ethnic meatless recipe, Red Lentil Tacos are spiced with delicious taco seasonings for a healthy alternative to ground meat. It can be whipped up with only a few simple ingredients in just 20 minutes. Read on for more meatless recipes from Earthbeat, the Sisters of Mercy and the Meatless Mondays campaign and their planet health reasons to limit meat consumption.