The blessing of having an abundance of Kale in the garden led me to discover two new delicious quick and easy snacks.

1. Kale and Sweet Potato Balls

This is adapted from a recipe by Hallie Klecker.

• 6 cups of cubed sweet potato
• 2 cups finely chopped kale, de-stemmed
• a bunch of chopped chives or 2 to 3 finely chopped spring onions
• 4 tablespoons of coconut paste (try coconut cream if you can’t get coconut paste)
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
• For sprinkling: ground flaxseed and paprika

Preheat oven to 200C (400F). Steam sweet potato until soft, then transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Mash the sweet potato and mix in the rest of the ingredients (except the flaxseed and paprika). The coconut paste is easy to stir through if you do it while the sweet potato is still hot.

Wet your hands with water so that the mix doesn’t stick to them and shape the mix into 5 to 7 cm balls (or about 1 to 1.5 inches).

Place on a baking tray lined with baking (grease proof) paper and sprinkle with the ground flaxseed and paprika.

Bake for 15 minutes, then turn the balls over, sprinkle with more ground flaxseed and paprika and return to the oven for about another 10 to 15 minutes or until the balls are firm on the outside but still soft on the inside, and the flaxseed has developed a nice crunch. Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.

These are really tasty warm or cold. I’m aiming to try them with pumpkin next time so that they have a more local flavour (local to Southern Tassie), and I think you could use a variety of different seasonings and herbs with them.

Kale and Cacao Brownie Balls

These are adapted from a recipe by Meaghan Tarrant

• 4 leaves of kale, de-stemmed
• 1 cup of nut/seed butter – this time I made a butter in the food processor with almonds, hazelnuts and sunflower seeds.
• 12 fresh dates, pitted (or dried dates that have been soaked to re-hydrate)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup cacao powder
• 1 tablespoon coconut paste
• Sea salt to taste
• If necessary, just enough water to get a consistency of mix to shape it into balls. (I didn’t need it).
• If you like, some nice organic raisins or dried berries  or 1/4 cup fine coconut, to mix in after blending and some extra cinnamon or coconut for sprinkling afterward.

Let me know if you try and enjoy either of these recipes!