By Kim Ragosta 

Something I have always wanted as a child is my very own garden. I can remember my grandparents having a small garden on the side of their house and the joy I felt from picking fresh green beans and cherry tomatoes. The taste of eating a fresh green bean or cherry tomato off of the plant on a hot summer’s day was something that will always tickly my taste buds and tug at my heart. I get a nostalgic feeling when I work in my garden now. I love it! It also brings me much happiness playing in the dirt while feeding goodness to my family. My children are able to see the process of a growing plant which is a beautiful thing. They each worked in the soil to prepare the grounds before planting and now are able to help mommy pick the fruit of their labor. This whole process really helps them to enjoy the vegetable that they are eating. Whether it is chives in their omelet, onions on their pizza or kale in their wraps…they are learning to love vegetables!

One of my most favorite things to grow is kale. Not only is it easy to grow but it is one of those vegetables that my entire family enjoys. Whether we cook it for a wrap, juice it, or turn it into chips, it is definitely a family favorite. In the summer I tend to cook quicker meals as I find that the summer nights are busy with summer tutoring or swimming with the children. Easy has become the name of the game when it comes to cooking in my house! I am always looking for healthy and easy summer recipes. I came across this recipe in my Giada’s Feel Good Food cookbook. What I like about this recipe is that you can easily substitute any vegetable for the ones in the recipe – which works for me as my garden vegetables are ever changing. I just picked my last bunch of kale today and this was a big hit with everyone tonight! May you enjoy your family, cooking and eating!

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 small shallots (I used onions/scallions from my garden)

2 medium leeks, white and pale green part only, rinsed and thinly sliced

16 oz white mushrooms, sliced

½ kosher salt

½ freshly ground black pepper

10 oz kale, steamed and coarsely chopped (you can buy bagged kale at Trader Joe’s or use kale from your garden! Farmer’s market kale is great too!)

¼ cup vegetable broth

½ cup unsweetened dried cranberries (sweetened okay if you can’t find them unsweetened)

4 oz goat cheese, crumbled at room temp

8 multigrain wraps

Directions

1. In a large skillet heat oil over medium heat. Add shallots, leeks, mushrooms, salt and pepper.Cook stirring frequently until veggies are soft, about 8 minutes.
2. Add kale and cook until wilted, about 8 minutes
3. Add broth and cranberries. Bring to boil for 1 minute and scrape up brown bits. Turn off heat.
4. Divide filling among wraps and sprinkle with goat cheese. Wrap them up and serve hot!