Kale with Banana, Potato-Artichoke Salad, Chickpeas

It's great to be cooking again! I have to get my kitchen restocked but my wife had some green kale in the refrigerator that I thought I would use. We were at an awards ceremony (a friend was given a grant for her artistry as a pupeteer and story-teller) and it was getting late, so we made a quick stop at Whole Foods Market.

There, I found an intriguing combination in the prepared foods area, potato artichoke salad with lemon and leeks. Its ingredients are listed as potatoes, artichokes, leeks, tomatoes, canola oil, lemon juice and zest, and (unspecified) spices. I purchased it and served it after heating it, first separating out the tomatoes, over low heat in my toaster oven, adding the tomatoes in just for a few minutes at the end. It was good, and I will try to make a side dish like this in the future.

For the main dish, simplified but somewhat inspired by an African kale and sweet potato dish that I made in January 2007, I tore the leaves coarsely off of the kale into roughly 1" squares. I sauteed the kale, as well as 3/4" chunks of a banana, in a little Floribbean Foods' Key Lime oil. While getting over my recent virus, I had a slight aversion to onions, and thought I would continue to avoid them today - I thought that the banana might build up a kind of texture that onion otherwise might have. That was about it, other than some salt and tangerine zest. I also served some chickpeas that my wife had soaked. It was a good dinner.