potato

Kale and Potato Hash (Updated)

| Zoe Wong

Do you ever just have leftover kale…maybe from making Kale and Butternut Squash Orecchiette?

Shameless plug aside, I’m honestly not the biggest fan of kale. I know that my previous statement is contradictory since I now have two published recipes with kale as a main ingredient- but, you have to admit that when kale is stir-fried with garlic and other veggies, it transforms into savory goodness. If you’ve yet to experience the formidable flavor pairing that is kale and garlic, I commend you to try out this recipe!

I think that the key to making kale appetizing is to de-stem it. I once bought bagged kale on accident and was appalled to find that kale from the bag came with their stems on. Some people do eat kale with the stems, but I can’t seem to bring myself to enjoy the stem part even after pan-frying it with heaps of garlic.

Since finding ways to make kale taste good, kale has become a staple in my fridge. I’m also glad that it’s a pretty cheap vegetable at 99￠a bunch during the spring and summer. Somehow, its presence in the fridge is also a reminder to feed my body healthier food.

Be sure to thoroughly wash and de-stem your kale leaves. You can either use a knife to cut around the stem, or slide the leafy part off like so:

I love this breakfast idea because it’s hearty and healthy. So, if I have time and leftover kale, chances are, I’ll be making this for brunch. Plus, it’s a breakfast idea that doesn’t have spinach for once. Nothing against spinach, but variety is very welcome in my kitchen. Then again, if you would like to substitute kale for spinach, go for it. Speaking of substitutions, sweet potato hash instead of potato would also be yummy too.

Rinse off the starches for a crispier hash.

Whatever your choice of starch, be sure to rinse the chopped cubes in a bowl of water a couple times to remove the starch on the outside. Then, pat dry the cubes as much as possible. Removing the starch and drying them will help the cubes fry up faster and more evenly.

After cooking, I recommend serving it in a big bowl fit for a hearty meal. I love my breakfasts in bowls because it makes it easy to consume by the spoonful- real classy, I know- but such a simple thing makes me feel so free and happy. So, I’m going to recommend that you serve this in a bowl too. Thank me later.

Feeling something sweet instead? Try this:

Kale and Potato Hash

  • Servings: 2 bowls
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients

  • 3-4 Kale Leaves, de-stemmed and cut into 1″ pieces
  • 1 large Russet Potato, cubed, rinsed, and dried
  • 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
  • 2 Eggs
  • 2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
  • 1/4 Cup Water
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

  1. In a large skillet, infuse the garlic in vegetable oil by heating together over medium-low heat until fragrant.
  2. Add the potatoes, and crank up the heat up to medium-high. Let the potatoes sit untouched until the bottom begins to crisp and brown, about 3 minutes. Flip the potatoes and allow the other sides to crisp and brown as well until all sides are nicely browned.
  3. Add kale, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper, and water. Put a lid over the pan and let everything cook for about 5 minutes or until kale is cooked.
  4. In a small frying pan, make sunny-side up eggs to top the hash with.
  5. After cooking the hash for 5 minutes, open the lid and continue to cook to evaporate any excess water.
  6. Serve hash in a bowl and top with a sunny-side up egg.

  • Substitute kale with spinach and/or potato with sweet potato.
  • Make scrambled eggs instead of a sunny-side up egg and mix it into the hash.
  • When eating the hash with a sunny-side up egg, break the yolk and mix it with the hash for a creamy texture.

While I was writing this updated recipe and looking over the old version, I got a bit emotional at the note I had written at the bottom of the old recipe.

I initially published this recipe on March 17, 2019, almost a complete year ago. I had written that I was proud of how far I had come since the thought of making a cooking blog back in November 2017. Now, in February 2020, I’m in disbelief that blogging has been with me for this long, granted I wasn’t regularly updating until January 2019 when I moved the blog here on WordPress. Regardless, I am still proud of myself for sticking with this blogging thing.

In the old post, I also wrote about starting an Instagram account. Not to keep tooting my own horn, but yeah, I did that and I’m doing pretty good!

Once again, I am so thankful for my friends, family, and other online supporters that continue to motivate me to keep going!

Original note left at the end of the old recipe post

As always, let me know if you’ve tried out this recipe! I’d love to know how it goes.

Sweet Potato / Ube Latte

| Zoe Wong

A couple of years ago, I heard that sweet potato lattes were popular in Korea. While making a drink out of potatoes may seem strange, I think it’s one of those uncalled for inventions that no one knew they needed until it existed. It’s the perfect drink during the colder months– because the latte base is sweet potato, the latte is thicker than other flavored lattes, say, a green tea latte, which means that this drink fills you up and retains its heat much better. Additionally, since sweet potatoes are sweet by themselves, you don’t have to add much sugar to the drink, making it a relatively healthy treat!

Another “healthy” treat:

Avocado Smoothie

Avocados contain four grams of protein, making them the fruit with the highest protein content!

That said, I chose to use purple sweet potato (aka ube) this time instead of regular sweet potato. Since the purple coloring is pretty, I also decided to try to do a layered effect and make it a bit fancier than the normal sweet potato latte.

I’d imagine that any other sweet potato variety would also work for this, but keep in mind that the sugar levels differ depending on the type of potato, so adjust the recipe as needed.

Since I’m doing a layered effect, I separated the latte into three parts with the densest layer on the bottom: paste, milk, and whipped cream respectively.

If you want to re-create this recipe normally and don’t care for appearance, go ahead and blend the paste and all the milk together. This is what I usually do with normal sweet potato latte.

  • Denser ube paste at the bottom of the mug.
  • Slowly add hot almond milk.
  • Top with whipped cream and chopped walnuts.

Unfortunately, I would also like to be able to have pretty milk foam floating at the top, but I haven’t found a successful way to froth milk without a milk-frother yet. If you know how to froth milk, by all means, do it!

3-Layer Ube Latte

  • Servings: 1 cup
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print


Use whatever milk you prefer.

Ingredients

  • 1 small Purple Sweet Potato, steamed and peeled
  • 1 Cup hot Almond Milk
  • 2 Tbsp Condensed Milk
  • Whipped Cream for topping
  • Chopped Walnuts for topping (optional)

Directions

  1. In a blender, combine the small purple sweet potato, 1/4 Cup of almond milk, and 2 Tbsp condensed milk. Blend until smooth. Strain mixture if needed. Pour mixture into the bottom of a mug.
  2. Slowly and carefully add hot milk on top of the sweet potato paste.
  3. Top with whipped cream and walnuts, if desired.

Sweet Potato Latte

  • Servings: 1 cup
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print


Use whatever milk you prefer.

Ingredients

  • 1 small Sweet Potato, steamed and peeled
  • 1 Cup hot Almond Milk
  • 2 Tbsp Condensed Milk
  • 4 Walnut Halves, chopped
  • Whipped Cream (optional)

Directions

  1. In a blender, combine the sweet potato, 1 Cup of almond milk, 2 Tbsp condensed milk, and 4 walnut halves. Blend until smooth. Strain mixture if needed.
  2. Pour mixture into a mug. Top with whipped cream and more walnuts, if desired.

By the way, I got my pretty glass mug from Ikea! 😊