Kale A Mung Us Overindulged by Tailor, Alex Kelly and The Happy Hippo Family
I’m not Italian. I’m also not a big fan of processed foods. This makes carbo loading for a half marathon a pretty dull thing. I beat the doldrums for a while by changing up the sauces I used. When that started to grow stale, I experimented with the types of vegetables and flavors that I worked around the pasta. But after 17 weeks these too became redundant. I was still a few weeks short of the race and the thought of one more bite of pasta caused me to swell up to the point that people began mistaking me for Milo (my sister-in-laws dog who overindulges on pasta and then must be rushed to the emergency vet in order to have his gluttonous belly pumped). Then, somewhere just north of the live eels and crabs in my local Chinese grocery store, a thought occurred to me. Why don’t I change up the noodles a bit? It was a brilliant thought. During this time I grew a slight affinity for mung bean noodles (namely because I couldn’t find sweet potato ones anywhere). This kale dish was crafted with those noodles:
Kale A Mung Us (adapted from That Was Vegan)
(printable version)
-8 Tbs. soy sauce
-2 Tbs. peanut butter
-2 Tbs. brown sugar
-4 tsp. white vinegar
-4 tsp. sesame oil
-1 Tbs. garlic, minced
-dash of powdered ginger
-1 Tbs. chili oil
-8 ounces of mung bean noodles
-2 bunches of kale, stems removed, rough chop
-1 bunch broccoli, diced
-salt
-4 Tbs. peanut butter
-sesame seeds
1. Mix the first 8 ingredients. Set aside.
2. Boil the noodles according to the directions on the package. When they are finished, drain them and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
3. Saute the kale and broccoli in water for 4-5 minutes. Drain. Place the veggies back over the heat source (which should now be turned off) and allow them to dry out over the warm burner for a few minutes.
4. Pour the noodles into the kale. Mix. Add the sauce, additional peanut butter and sesame seeds. Do the running man.
A dish like this offers an escape to your typical pasta meal. It pairs gorgeously with Tailor nee Melanie Le Roux’s haunting songs of escapism. She invites her listeners to disrobe, remove the Earthly shackles that weigh them down and free their selves to float sonically through space. Amidst purring whispers and belting chorus, Tailor shows a versatility that hints at Patti Smith, PJ Harvey, Feist, Florence Welch and Kate Bush. Moods range from lush to downtempo to cinematic to sparse to simple to rich, paying a visit to all points in between. “Step Back” and “Wolf” both come from her debut full length The Dark Horse.
Back in June New York City’s Alex Kelly released her first full length album Orange Circle. Her brand of politico electro power pop is a refreshing burst from a genre overburdened by pointless lyrics, cheap hooks and not enough guitar. “Catalyst” is the second single from Orange Circle. It is a love song that will hook “anyone who has ever truly been smitten.” It also comes with a steamy video.
The steamy video:
7 months ago Jacqueline Music (I saw that like I have any sort of clue who this is) posted The Happy Hippo Family’s track “Mustache” on soundcloud. A week ago, I found it. My life will never be depressing again (no matter how much pasta I’ve ingested or how many miles I’ve ran).
