2½ -3 cups kale ragout

1 can cannellini beans (white kidney beans)

4-5 cups vegetable stock

1/3 cup chopped parsley

Heat all ingredients except parsley in a medium soup pot over medium-low heat until just heated through.  Add parsley just before serving.  Serve with crusty bread

I decided against just sauteing the kale and serving it on the side of something – too hardcore for a first-timer like myself. The man at the farmers’ market said something about polenta when I bought the kale, so I started with that. Then I used onion, garlic, tomatoes, and the kale to make a ragout to serve on top. I have to say, it was pretty tasty.

½ cup polenta

2 cups water

1 tsp salt

¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese

2-3 Tbls. Extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium to large onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

Pinch red pepper flakes

28 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 bunch kale, stems removed and torn into ½-1 inch pieces

Bring the water to a boil over high heat and add the polenta and salt. Wisk to blend. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally until the polenta starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, 10-15 minutes. Transfer into a baking dish, top with parmesan, and bake at 400° for 15 minutes. Let set for at least 10 minutes. In a large pan, sauté the onion in the olive oil until soft. Do not brown. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, breaking up the tomato with a spatula if desired. Add the kale and cook for 1-2 minutes. Serve over the polenta.

My first thought was to use it to display travel souvenirs and keep it in the living room.

Kinda cool. But then where do you put all of the tchotchkes when you actually want to use the cupcake stand for… I don’t know… cupcakes?

Then I hit on this idea -

use it for pantry produce! I usually keep all of my lemons, limes, shallots, onions, garlic, etc. in a big bowl on the kitchen table, which I’m sure doesn’t help the shelf life of any of them. I’m not too worried about the onions and garlic, but I know I could use a better way to store my citrus. It will also help me remember to buy more when I’m running low.

Other ideas? Candle holder? Hors d’oeuvres when I have a fancy party? What have you used your cupcake stand for?

The AeroGarden comes with an herb seed kit – cilantro, chives, two kinds of basil, parsley, mint, and dill. I really with there was some thyme thrown into the mix, but we’ll see how much I use the included herbs. I set it up yesterday; it was really easy and took about 5 minutes. Filled it with water, popped in the nutrient tablets, turned on the light, and I was in business! I’m a little concerned because the nutrient tablets didn’t seem dissolve completely, even on day 2.

Alicia