Cooking unprocessed

Ingredients:

4 cups fairly packed kale leaves

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

⅛ to ¼ teaspoon sea salt, to taste

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Wash and trim the kale by ripping out the stems and ribs from the center of the leaves.

Lay them out on a cookie sheet and sprinkle them with the olive oil. Using your hands, toss the leaves around to evenly distribute the oil, then spread them out in single layer on the cookie sheet.

Bake for five minutes. Turn the kale pieces over and bake them another five to seven minutes, or until the kale turns brown, paper-thin and brittle. Watch them bake carefully, as they can go from perfectly cooked to overdone very quickly.

Remove the kale chips from the oven and toss them with sea salt. Serve immediately.

Whole-Wheat Tortillas

makes 12

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups whole-wheat flour

½ cup oil (avocado oil works well)

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup warm water (heat in the microwave one minute)

Instructions:

In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer set with a dough hook, pour in the flour, oil and salt. (A hand-held mixer with dough hooks will also work.) Beat it with the paddle until it’s crumbly: about three to five minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.

With the mixer running, gradually add the warm water and continue mixing the dough until it is smooth, about three minutes.

Take the dough out and divide it into 12 equal pieces. One way to do this is to shape the dough into a long log, then divide it into 12 pieces.

Using the palms of your hands, roll each piece into a round ball, then flatten them out on a baking tray or board. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes or up to an hour.

Heat a cast iron skillet, griddle or 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. The pan should be fairly hot before cooking the tortillas.

Grease the pan with a touch of oil and carefully transfer each tortilla, one at a time, to the pan. Cook the tortillas until they are puffy and slightly brown, about 30 to 45 seconds per side. Set cooked tortillas aside on a plate to cool slightly. Eat, refrigerate or freeze them within an hour.

Chicken Nuggets

Ingredients:

1 pound local or organic boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 egg

1 cup whole-wheat breadcrumbs

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

½ teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

cooking oil

Instructions:

Chop the chicken into small chunks and sprinkle them with salt and pepper, if desired.

Lightly beat the egg in a shallow bowl.

In another shallow bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs, cheese, paprika and garlic powder with a fork.

To bread the chicken, use one hand to toss some chicken into the egg mixture until they are coated on all sides and drop them in the bread crumb mixture. Use your other hand to coat the chicken with the breadcrumb mixture, then set the chicken aside while you finish the rest.

Heat a thin layer of oil in a large sauté pan over medium-low heat.

Cook the chicken nuggets for several minutes on each side until they are golden brown. The nuggets should be cooked all the way through by the time they are brown on the outside. Cut one down the middle to make sure it is fully cooked.

Transfer the nuggets to a plate lined with paper towels to help drain off any excess oil.

Serve with organic ketchup or homemade honey-mustard sauce, which is equal parts honey, mustard and mayo.

Homemade Breadcrumbs

Ingredient:

stale bread

Instructions:

Breadcrumbs are best made with stale bread. Spread the bread out on a baking sheet and leave them on the counter for a few hours or overnight so they get stale.

Once your bread slices are ready, make sure they are in one even layer on the baking sheet.

Place them in a warm oven set at 200 F. Bake for one to two hours or until they are dried out.

The bread can then be ground up into breadcrumbs by running them through the grating blade in a food processor or with a hand grater.

Whole-Wheat Pizza

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water

2 teaspoons yeast (active dry yeast)

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cups whole wheat flour

tomato sauce

grated mozzarella cheese

cooking oil spray

other toppings, such as sausage, mushrooms, vegetables, Parmesan cheese, pesto, goat cheese, arugula, olives, etc.

Instructions:

Drop the yeast into the cup of warm water and let it go to work for a few minutes. It should foam up a little bit. Stir the salt and olive oil into the yeast mixture.

Pour the flour and yeast mixture into a food processor with a dough blade or into a mixer with a dough hook and turn on the machine. Or, mix the dough by hand.

You should end up with a ball chasing itself around the food processor. If the dough is too dry, add warm water one teaspoon at a time. If it is too wet, add flour one teaspoon at a time.

When you’re ready to make the pizza, preheat the oven to 500 F. Use a rolling pin to roll it out to the desired shape, but don’t make it too thin. Put the flat pizza dough on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking oil. Top the dough with homemade or organic tomato sauce, cheese and other toppings. Bake for eight to 10 minutes, or until the crust and cheese are golden brown.