Summertime is made for lazy days. And lazy days don’t always include thought out or involved meals around our place.
Here’s my theory:
By day it’s too hot (like worms frying on the sidewalk hot) to do anything that doesn’t involve a body of water. So come evening time, we’re ready to get outside and enjoy the summer nights. Dusk is my favorite time of day so we’ve been taking nice long bike rides…going for walks…chatting with the neighborhood cats, and then before we know it, it’s like 9pm (always dumfounding cause the sun has just set) and the last thing we want to do is cook dinner. So we dilly-dally around the kitchen until one of us looks at the other and says, “Wanna just eat whatever?”
Honestly, I’ve been kind of reveling in this routine lately.
Like I’m sure you do, we have a few go-to lazy meals in our repertoire. The always favorite mac and cheese with tuna and peas. An Amy’s Organic frozen pizza jazzed up with extra olives, veggies or an egg on top. Sandwiches of course. And depending on the level of laziness, we might just dump a medley of things (olives, tomatoes, cheese, sliced veggies, crackers, a can of tuna, etc.) on a platter and go to town.
This kale mash up thing was the product of one such lazy day.
What makes it so effortless is that the red potatoes cut into quarters cook really quickly and then when the potatoes are soft, I just throw the kale right in the same pot (with the potatoes still in there) and let it cook for a quick minute. I strain everything through a colander together and transfer to a bowl. From there it’s just a good drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper and a little garlic and onion powder. Toss in the tomatoes, mash it all up and enjoy. Super easy and surprisingly delicious.
Recipe
Total prep time: 10 minutes. I used powdered garlic and onion cause I was being extra lazy, but use fresh if you prefer. The cheese is also optional.You need:
- 1 bushel of chopped kale
- A few small red potatoes
- A couple hand fulls of grape tomatoes halved
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- Garlic powder to taste
- Onion powder to taste
- Olive oil
- Some grated Parmesan or Romano cheese (optional)
Directions
- Wash and chop kale and grape or cherry tomatoes. Set aside.
- Bring medium-sized pot of water to boil. Wash and cut red potatoes into quarters so they cook faster. Add potatoes to water and cook until soft. Stir kale into boiling water (with potatoes still in the pot). Remove pot from heat and let sit for about 1-2 minutes to lightly cook kale (until bright green). Pour contents of pot over a colander and let drain for a minute.
- Place kale, potatoes and tomatoes in a large bowl. Drizzle a very good amount of olive oil overtop. Sprinkle salt (about 1/2 teaspoon), pepper, garlic powder and onion powder to taste. Mash it all up roughly with a fork. Stir in some grated Parmesan cheese if desired.
14 Comments
I know all about lazy in the summer. Sometimes I get the oompff to do a bunch of recipes, usually all within a week, then it’s nada. Sandwiches anyone?
This heat has certainly hindered my ability to cook and bake whatever I want. Your mash up is so vibrant that I’m sure if you served it at a dinner party, nobody would know it took only a few minutes. That’s my kind of recipe!
Totally with you on the lazy summer days! I’ve found that some of the best things to come out of my kitchen are the ones that were just thrown together. This sounds good, plus it has great color contrast!
Isn’t it funny how that happens? I thought the same – looks like Christmas!
hhaha! this makes me feel okay with being extremely lazy lately…i have been eating popcorn with nutritional yeast for dinner and last night alex made a pot of rice, quinoa, lentil stew.
Yum! I’ll have to bookmark this one for later in the year when the Australian summer shows its face.
some of my favorite recipes are those born on lazy days when I just throw random things together. There is something so liberating when you don’t follow a recipe or instructions and just go with what sounds good. Kale, taters, tomatoes, cheese….sounds groovy to me :)
This was fantastic, thanks! I changed the dressing a bit (had a ton of basil so I mixed up a simple vinaigrette) and added some crumbled feta. I also roasted some green beans and tossed them in, but then again I’m back in Nova Scotia now and it isn’t nearly as hot/daunting to turn the oven on. Can’t wait to try some more recipes!
Looks like the perfect lazy summer dinner to me! Nothing beats minimal preparation leading to satisfying results :)
mmm…. this looks really good. all my fav. ingredients. will be trying this week! thanks for sharing!
i just made this and added tofu. so good!
Oh My!! We are just getting a peek at springtime, here in New Zealand, and I can already taste this delicious summer dish – virtually. I found your site through Ryan @ PTPR and have been drooling over your offerings. Beautiful…
Yours is the best food blog I have seen. It has replaced my previous addiction to Real Simple. We made the lazy kale mash up a few nights back and just did a post on it. Keep up the good work!
I just discovered kale and this recipe has me hooked! Easy and delicious! (I’m going to try kale smoothies next.)