FAST! Moroccan Kale with Mushrooms and Apricots and Gratitude

I didn't want to get out of bed this morning.

It's Monday. My bed is cozy and warm. It's dark outside. I just wanted to go back to sleep and avoid the world and my responsibilities. The lunches to pack (again), the kids to wrangle, the bills to pay.

I needed a boost. So I started to think about a technique I had heard of: upon waking up think of things that you are grateful for.

My kids are healthy. My cat got down from high up in a tree after being chased by a neighbor's dog that got loose.

Getting out of bed got a little easier today.

And now the food.

Don't let the poor quality of this photo fool you! I was home this weekend cooking and I had forgotten my good camera at work. But there was no way I wasn't sharing this recipe with you a.s.a.p. so I used my iphone to capture the moment.

This is great, healthy, FAST, food. So fast that I would even recommend it for a busy weeknight Nutritarian dinner. So delicious that I can recommend you serve it to the most discerning adult Plant-strong dinner guest. And maybe the not-so-plant-strong ones too.

Now that's a recipe to hold on to.

HGK's Moroccan Kale with Mushrooms and Apricots
serves 4 as a main course, 8 as a side dish

Printable Recipe

vegetable broth
1 large onion, diced small
4 small cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp ground coriander
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (1/2 or even 1 tsp if you like it it hotter)
12 ounces mushrooms, sliced
11 ounce box of prewashed baby kale (available at Whole Foods) or the equivalent of washed and cut greens of any variety (either pre-done or self-prepared)
1 can diced tomatoes, fire-roasted is optional
1/2 cup dried apricots, julienned

Heat a dutch oven or large soup pot over medium heat and coat the base of the pot with vegetable broth. When broth is boiling, add onions and stir. Saute onion for 12 minutes, stirring infrequently, adding more broth or adjusting heat to prevent burning.

Add garlic, stir and cook for 3 minutes. Add cinnamon, coriander, cumin and crushed red pepper and stir, scraping bottom of pan. Spices will be toasting as the pan is quite dry.

Lower heat a touch. Add mushrooms and stir well. Add 1/2 cup vegetable broth, stir and cover. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring once or twice during that time.

Add kale, tomatoes and apricots. Stir well and cover. Raise heat a bit. Let simmer for 5-10 minutes, depending on the type of greens that you used. Dish is ready when greens are wilted.

Serve with whole grain of your choice.

What are you grateful for?