Goat Cheese-Stuffed Grilled Sweet Potatoes

If you’d like to get a bit of crisp on the edges of your sweet potatoes, just open the foil on the top of each after about 10 minutes of cooking.

These sweet potatoes also are easily prepped ahead of time. Just slice, smear and wrap them up to a day ahead, then refrigerate until ready to grill.

Goat Cheese-Stuffed Grilled Sweet Potatoes
Start to finish: 40 minutes
Servings: 4

4-ounce log goat cheese
2 tablespoons butter, softened
Zest of 1 orange
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 medium sweet potatoes
Olive oil
Kosher salt

1. Heat one side of the grill to medium.

2. In a small bowl, mix together the goat cheese, butter, orange zest, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, the pepper, thyme and garlic. Set aside.

3. One at a time, cut deep slits crosswise into each sweet potato. The slits should be spaced about 1/2 inch apart and cut down to within about 1/4 inch of the base of the potatoes. Don’t cut all the way through; you want the potato slices to remain attached at the bottom.

4. Microwave the potatoes for 5 minutes on high.

5. Use a thin spreading knife to carefully spread a small amount of the goat cheese mixture between each of the slices in the potatoes.  Brush each sweet potato all over with olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

6. Wrap each potato in foil, then place on the cooler side of the grill.  Cook, moving them occasionally to prevent burning, for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender all the way through.

7.  Allow to remain wrapped and rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe from Alison Ladman, Associated Press writer.
Nutritional information per serving: 260 calories; 130 calories from fat (50 percent of total calories); 14 g fat (8 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 30 mg cholesterol; 680 mg sodium; 27 g carbohydrate; 4 g fiber; 5 g sugar; and 8 g protein.

Lomi Lomi Kale Salad

For years, I kept getting kale in my Community Supported Agriculture box, and for years was befuddled.  I didn't like kale chips.  I didn't like kale salad.  I could put up with it sauteed, but only barely.

But bit by bit, I found a few recipes I actually liked.  And last weekend, I found myself PURPOSELY BUYING kale, because I couldn't wait for it to show up in my CSA box! 

Here's one of the recipes that won me over, courtesy of Don and Joan at Dancing Hen Farm, who in turn say they got it from someone named Claudia. "Lomi Lomi" in Hawaiian means to squeeze or massage, they report.  The massage step is critical to making the leaves tender.  After all, who among us doesn't feel more tender after a good massage?

One word of warning - if you do this right, you'll be very safe from vampires. It's also an excellent way to make long-winded interviewees find excuses to keep their answers short, especially if you ask questions with a lot of "h" sounds in them.

Ingredients:

1 large head of fresh kale, washed and torn into pieces discarding the spine and stems
1 bunch of basil, chopped
3 cloves of garlic (I told you you'd be safe from vampires)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. sea salt or kosher salt
1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds
1/2  cup feta or goat cheese
1/2 cup grape tomatoes

You can vary this recipe, I'm told, using sunflower seeds instead of pumpkin seeds, adding diced apples soaked in lemon juice, adding garbanzo beans and adding apple cider vinegar with a little honey mixed in.

Place the first five ingredients in a large bowl and mix well, massaging them together with clean hands.  Then lightly toss with the remaining three ingredients.