drive-by recipe: my pet ingredient

It seems as people develop their skills and as their tastebuds "sharpen," they are better able to isolate specific tastes and manipulate those flavors to their advantage.  I am no different.  Over the past year, I've noticed trends in specific cookbooks - ingredients that make their way into more than their fair share of a cook's recipes: Nava and her sun-dried tomatoes, Isa and her mushrooms, Robin and her soy crumbles, et cetera, et cetera.

Although garlic seems to find its way (in copious amounts) into almost all of my non-dessert recipes, it is far too common a base to be considered my signature ingredient.  My signature scent, perhaps, but not the ingredient by which people will someday recognize my recipes.  No, I believe I have discovered what ingredient (besides garlic and olive oil) finds its way into a disproportionate number of my recipes in recent months:  kale.

I love kale.  It is undeniably my favorite "dark leafy green."

Carrot and Kale Noodle Bowl
4 servings

2 Tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1 Tbsp minced ginger
2 Tbsp tamari (soy sauce)
2 cups vegetable broth
2-3 cups chopped kale
1 large carrot, julienne
2 oz capellini pasta, broken in thirds

Heat oil in a deep skillet and saute garlic and ginger on medium heat, 1-2 minutes.  Pour in broth and tamari and bring to boiling.  Stir in capellini and boil for 1 minute.  Stir in carrots and lay kale on top.  Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer 5 minutes.  Remove lid, stir and increase simmer to a light boil for 2-3 minutes to reduce liquid.

Enjoy!