Using Pickled Mustard Seeds and Pickled Kale Stems

So now that I have those pickled mustard seeds, what to do with them? I happened to have a bunch of kale in the fridge - so decided to use the mustard seeds as a finisher. I'm not from the south and so like to do a quick saute of kale rather than the long cooking of greens that is commonly done down there.

So the first thing that needs to be done is to remove the leaves from the stems. You can cut the leaves but I usually tear them up as I remove them from the stems. I also like to give the leaves a quick rinse and don't shake off too much water.

In a skillet, add some coconut oil and garlic over medium high heat. Once garlic is fragrant, add all of kale - it may not fit well in the skillet but it will cook down. Try to toss it so the garlic does not burn. Add salt and pepper. Put a lid on your skillet, turn the heat to low and let the damp kale steam for 15 to 20 min.

As you can see the kale has cooked down. Taste for doneness. As a finishing touch I usually add some red wine vinegar for a bite at the end. Since the pickled mustard seeds had a vinegar forward flavor, I thought this would be a good addition, which it was. I added two big spoonfuls. Word of caution - the white peppercorns in the pickle were somewhat hard to pick out in this setting and I got a mouthful of pepper...so I don't think I would add whole peppercorns to the pickle the next time around.

Now the next question is what to do with the kale stems? Usually I would just throw them out, but I recently listened to an interview of Damaris Phillips (the winner of the Next Food Network Star) on the Alton Browncast where she said she pickles kale stems...so the pickling continues! Seeing this as my opportunity to capitalize on this idea I searched the internet for a recipe and found one on Bon Appetit - plus they are called Sriracha Fridge Pickles!

I was a little hesitant about the amount of sriracha in the pickle but decided to follow the recipe to the letter. Also there was a LOT of sugar so I thought it would calm the heat. I decided to put my bowl with the vinegar and sugar in the microwave so facilitate the sugar dissolving and the pickle was very viscous. My jar was a bit too small for the amount of pickle so there was some that I ended up throwing out.

Into the fridge it goes!

After a few days in the fridge - I had to taste them. Not overly hot, pretty sweet. Actually pretty good for eating right out of the jar. Crunchy, sweet, spicy. It would be a good topping for hot dogs or in a salad or I might continue to just eat them out of the jar! Don't think I will ever throw away kale stems again!