Kale Stew Hearty But Not Too Filling

If you’re a seasonal cook, you know all too well that the calendar is no indicator of summer. Summer comes when you can finally indulge in your favorite seasonal foods.

It comes when the strawberries are so tender and sweet that sugar would be an insult.

It comes when tomatoes are truly appreciated as a fruit.

In the Midwest it comes when there’s a wealth of robust, firm-leafed greens in the farmer’s market.

Now, I admit that kale, a very nourishing vegetable, isn’t everyone’s harbinger of spring. But, if you haven’t tried just-picked kale, my favorite green, you’re in for a treat. I use it often for warm-weather recipes when I want a dish that’s light, yet satisfying.

Kale with butterfly pasta and freshly grated Asiago cheese makes a savory combination. Kale and beans is a nourishing and economical entree or side dish. And for a hearty, but not too filling stew, I match kale, potatoes, bell pepper and turkey. For a vegetarian version, I just switch to vegetable broth and omit the poultry.

I also have other cravings - berries and whipped cream - this time of the year. And what better way to indulge them than with a Double-Berry Shortcake?

A buttery biscuit, chock-full of blueberries, split open, packed with raspberries and topped with cream is as delicious a sign of summer as I can imagine.

Turkey and Kale Stew

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, thinly sliced and halved into semicircles

1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced

1 cup tomato puree

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon crushed thyme

1 bay leaf

2 cups cooked turkey chunks

2 medium red potatoes, cooked, peeled and diced

1 packed cup kale leaves, cut into bite-size pieces

Salt, freshly ground white pepper

Heat oil in medium pan. Add onion and red bell pepper and saute until tender, about 10 minutes. Add tomato puree, broth, thyme and bay leaf and simmer 10 minutes.

Add turkey, potatoes and kale and simmer, covered, until kale is tender, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Yield: 2 generous servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 514 calories, 12.4 grams fat (22 percent fat calories), 64 grams protein, 37 grams carbohydrate, 98 milligrams cholesterol.

Double-Berry Shortcake

1-1/4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons sugar, divided use

1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

6 to 7 tablespoons milk, divided use

1/2 cup fresh blueberries

1-1/4 cups fresh raspberries

Whipped cream

Place flour, baking powder, salt and 4 tablespoons sugar in bowl of food processor and pulse 20 seconds to mix. Add butter and pulse 30 seconds to cut in. Remove lid of food processor and sprinkle dough with 5 tablespoons milk. Cover and pulse just until dough forms. Dough should be slightly sticky; if dry, sprinkle with additional 1 tablespoon milk.

(To prepare by hand, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and 4 tablespoons sugar into bowl. Cut in butter until mixture forms coarse crumbs. Sprinkle with 5 tablespoons milk and stir briefly with fork to form dough, adding more milk as necessary.)

Remove dough from food processor bowl to work surface. Gently work in blueberries. Pat into an oval 1 inch thick. Cut with 4-inch round cookie cutters into 2 shortcakes. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Brush tops of biscuits with remaining 1 tablespoon milk. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.

Bake at 425 degrees until light golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove and cool on wire rack.

For each shortcake, split biscuit. Spoon on 1/2 cup raspberries. Close biscuits. Add dollop of whipped cream and another 2 tablespoons raspberries.

Yield: 2 shortcakes.

Nutrition information per serving: 814 calories, 38.5 grams fat (43 percent fat calories), 12 grams protein, 109 grams carbohydrate, 114 milligrams cholesterol, 674 milligrams sodium.

Note: If desired, sweeten the whipped cream and/or the raspberries.