lacinato kale & brown rice salad

Okay, did Summer absolutely fly by for everyone else as it did for me? This year has been one of the busiest seasons at work that I can ever remember- full of transition, added responsibilities and lots of weekends worked. I truly feel like summer slipped through my fingers. So, here we are, at the end of the Summer and I feel as if I haven't shared much of my summer goodness with you. I hate to admit, the blog this summer has been terribly neglected. Honestly, the days I had off were simply spent eating tomatoes and fresh basil by the bucket loads, soaking up the sun and reading long novels. I am however, gearing up for an amazing fall season filled with all the delicious food comforts of Fall. 

Along with copious amounts of tomatoes from the garden, I am drowning in bushels of kale. This has been one of my favorite ways to use up the never ending kale harvest- it is the green that keeps on giving Spring, Summer and Fall.

Basmati & brown rice are always on hand in our pantry. You can use any rice or grain that you keep on hand, however I love the nuttiness of the brown rice- farro would also be an awesome substitute. If you are one who plans ahead and keeps a batch of cooked rice on hand at all times, this recipe will be a breeze for you. If you don't, the hardest part of this recipe is cooking up a batch of rice.

A super quick vinaigrette is mixed up with fresh lemon, spicy brown mustard, garlic and olive oil.

You Kale loves getting a massage, don't be shy get into it. 

Hemp seeds add awesome texture, I love raw hemp hearts however toasted hemp seeds will work in a pinch.

 No hemp seeds? Sub in your favorite nut or seed.

One of the things I love about growing organic are the small imperfections left on the veggies. It is obvious that someone enjoys the Kale in the garden as much as I do. There is nothing more rewarding than the ability to grow your own food from seed to harvest- total control over what and how you grow...well for the most part, I can still not  figure out how to control the weather. 

A simple lunch or dinner that only gets better the next day. Serve at room temp or cold - I enjoyed it both ways.

The Harvest from the Garden has been pretty amazing this year- my tomato plants are well over 6' tall, some tipping in well over at 8' , no major loss in crops and my Fall Harvest is going to be epic!

Did you grow a garden big or small this year?

 I'd love to hear what you grew and how your garden did for you!

Lacinato Kale & Brown Rice Salad

serves 2 - 4

you will need:

1 cup Brown rice  + 2.5 cups water

Large bunch of Lacinato Kale- leaves removed from the stalks

2 cloves of Garlic - minced

Juice of 1 Lemon  

1/4 cup olive oil 

2 tbsp spicy brown mustard 

1/2 cup raw hemp seeds / hearts
Sea Salt to taste

assembly:
In a sauce pan, bring water to a boil and cook brown rice according to package instructions.

Meanwhile, remove kale leaves from the stalk/stem and roughly chop. In a large bowl combine garlic through spicy brown mustard and whisk well. Add chopped up kale and massage kale with your hands into the mixture- kale will soften as you massage, about 2-5 minutes should do it.

Add cooked brown rice to the bowl and mix well, add hemp seeds/hearts and mix again. Season with sea salt & serve.

Enjoy!

*Salad will keep up to a week in the fridge, can be enjoyed warm, at room temp or cold*