Apple-Hazelnut Yogurt with Maple Syrup & Smoked Salt

This is less of a recipe and more of a description, but as I've mentioned before, I love yogurt and am always looking for new combinations of flavors to put in it. So this is plain yogurt, chopped apples, chopped hazelnuts, a drizzle of maple syrup and a sprinkle of applewood smoked salt. It was so good I made a second bowl. 

Kale Slaw

I've started really liking raw kale salads. I know, I know. It started with a grapefruit, kale and sunflower seed salad at Acre. But I recently wanted to make a cole slaw, realized I had a bunch of dinosaur kale in the fridge, and got an idea. This combination of flavors works well to balance out the kale taste (I know some people don't like it), but you're welcome to try other things if you like them.

INGREDIENTS
1 bunch dinosaur (lacinato) kale
1 large or 2 small carrots
1 large, crisp apple
plain yogurt
salt & pepper to taste
sunflower seeds

Wash the kale and remove the ribs with a knife. Slice it into very very thin strips and toss it into a bowl. Grate the carrot(s) (grating a bigger one is easier, but use what you have) and apple and toss them in. Pour maybe 1/4 cup yogurt it and toss everything together with tongs. If the yogurt lightly coats everything, you're good. If not, add a little more and keep tossing and adding until everything has a bit of yogurt on it. Sprinkle some salt & pepper in, toss again, and taste to see if you've added enough. Sprinkle the top with sunflower seeds, or another chopped nut or seed if you prefer.

Yogurt

I love yogurt. I eat it a couple of times a day -- no joke. But I love putting stuff in it -- fruit in the morning and maybe seeds, sweeter fruit or trail mix or something else in the afternoon. This particular one is based on a dessert at Samovar Tea Lounge in San Francisco. Take plain Greek or regular yogurt, mix in rosewater (for a 1/2 cup or so of yogurt, I used about a tablespoon). Add some diced apple, walnuts. Drizzle with honey and molasses, and sprinkle a few leaves of chopped mint over the top. I love the combination of flavors.