Quinoa and Sausage One-Pot Supper

1 lb. sausage (I used loose sausage: recipe calls for cubes)

1 yellow onion, chopped
2 TB chopped sage
1 cup organic apple or pear hard cider (I used non-alcoholic organic Knudsen Sparkling Pear)
1 cup quinoa, rinsed & drained
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 tsp fine sea salt (I omitted this)
2 cups chopped kale or spinach leaves, lightly packed

In a large pot, cook sausage, onion & sage over medium-high heat until just browned, about 10 minutes.  Add cider, quinoa, cranberries, salt & 3/4 cup water & bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits.  Cover, reduce heat to medium-low & simmer until liquid is just absorbed, 25 -30 minutes.  Stir in kale, cover again & set aside off the heat for 5 minutes.  Uncover, fluff with a fork & serve.

Holiday Kale Salad!

Full of beautiful greens and reds!

Serves 4 as a side, or 1-2 as a larger salad

  • 1 head kale, rinsed and de-stemmed (I like curly kale for this recipe)

  • ½ tsp sea salt, plus more to taste

  • 1 small green apple, diced

  • ½ red onion, finely sliced (or 2 radishes, finely sliced or diced)

  • ½ avocado, diced

  • ½ cup roasted pumpkin seeds/pepitas (on any kind of seeds or nuts)

  • 4 tbsp raw honey

  • 1 lemon, juiced

Chop kale into bite-sized pieces and put in a large bowl. Sprinkle salt on the kale and with clean hands, begin massaging and squeezing it so it softens. Massage for a couple minutes, until it has reduced in size and is tender. Add apples, red onion, avocado and pumpkin seeds to the bowl (I might add pomegranate seeds as well! – Emma). In a separate bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and honey. Pour over the salad and mix gently. Season to taste.   Note: make plenty for leftovers, as this salad will keep for a couple of days in the fridge!