Our friends Lew and Kim from business school were coming out west with their kids for spring break, so I wanted to start thinking about the food.

Me: Anything you guys don’t eat? I was planning on cow eyeballs wrapped in bacon but just wanted to check.

Lew: We only eat wild grown grass-fed eyeballs.

We were planning a day at the pool so I had to prep a meal that wouldn’t require too much work once we got back. Our local farm is bursting with kale and bok choy, and so is my fridge, so I went for this quick and simple but healthy and tasty side dish. I’m sad to say that I served it with steaks that did not come with eyeballs in the package.

You’ll need some bok choy, kale, ginger root and cilantro:

I prepped the kale ahead of time by separating the leaves from the tough center rib. Just hold it upside down by the stem and run a sharp knife along either side of the rib. I like to pretend when I’m doing this like I’m an ER surgeon. So I am deft, decisive and quick. But not too quick. Better to be the surgeon than the patient.

Chop up the kale and bok choy into rough 1-inch pieces. Mince a tablespoon of ginger, and finely chop a 1/4 cup of cilantro.

That’s all the prep! Now you can go to the pool with your friends fully dressed and take pictures of them from the sidelines because you refuse to get into the water unless it’s 100 degrees outside:

And then come back and look longingly at these glasses because two years ago you developed a tragic allergy to red wine.

So you might as well start cooking. Heat up some oil in a pan over high heat — I’m Chinese, so I have to use a wok. When it’s nice and hot, throw the ginger in and let it cook for about 30 seconds. You will see that the ginger appears to be delighted to be swimming in an oil bath, and may jump around a bit.

Next, toss the bok choy and kale into the pan, stirring quickly and constantly. Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the greens while they’re cooking.

Add in a teaspoon of low sodium soy sauce and cook for another minute, stirring the vegetables constantly to prevent burning. Off the heat, throw the cilantro on top and mix in with the kale and bok choy. Remove from pan and serve immediately. Maybe even outside, with people trying to eat normally while you are photographing them.

In this next picture I instructed them to “smile like you’re on an organic farm.”

Got any other suggestions for ways to cook kale or bok choy? Would love to hear them!

GINGERED KALE AND BOK CHOY

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of kale leaves, center rib removed and chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 1 large head of bok choy, or 5-6 heads of baby bok choy, chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 1 TBSP ginger root, minced
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped fine
• 1 TBSP vegetable oil
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• salt to taste

Preparation

Heat oil over high heat in a wok or frying pan until shimmering. Add in ginger and cook for one minute. Add in the kale and bok choy, stirring constantly to prevent burning, cooking until leaves just turn a vibrant green. Sprinkle in a pinch of salt.

Continuing to stir, add in the soy sauce and cook for another minute. Off the heat, stir in the cilantro and transfer to a serving dish. Add salt if desired. Serve immediately.

Serves 4-6.