Smashed Potato Salad with Kale & Greek Yogurt Caesar

& finding Pinterest AI rip-offs of my recipes

Hi! Welcome to “good mood food” from Kale Me Maybe’s Carina Wolff. If you’ve made it here and aren’t yet a subscriber, come join! You can expect recipes, musings, and faves in your inbox every Wednesday! Paid subscribers get even more on Fridays — right now I’m doing a 30-minute budget meal series! Learn more about the paid tier of my newsletter here. You can also try a week for free!

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I have been wanting to chit chat about AI for a while, but I haven’t really had much direction in how I wanted to approach it. I’ve been generally surprised (but actually, not that surprised) at how much people have embraced ChatGPT and how little concern people show for what that might mean for us as a society. At the same time, it’s one of those technologies that we will have to learn to live with and embrace. I personally choose to not use it at this moment, but that’s not really the point of this week’s post.

I was browsing Pinterest over the weekend, and I was floored at how many AI recipes were popping up. The scary part was that some of these recipes were clearly a rip-off of my own recipes.

I wish I took more screenshots of what I was seeing in the moment, but the first one I found was of my Salmon with Avocado Feta Salsa. The image looked a little wonky, and someone had even commented that it was stolen from "good mood food.”

You can see here in the one and only screenshot I took that there’s a telling quality to the AI photos — it’s a bit uncanny valley. Thankfully, on some of them, Pinterest notes the image as “AI modified.” You can also see on this one that they took the concept of my Grilled Zucchini Chickpea Salad and just slightly modified it so it’s considered different (yogurt or burrata or whatever that is on top of the salad versus under it). My original recipe is suggested below it on the bottom left.

The more I scrolled through Pinterest, the more I started noticing these AI recipes. It’s quite a bummer because it’s clear that these AI posts are taking real people’s recipes.

All that being said, I don’t believe that food bloggers are going to go extinct because of this. AI can’t taste test these recipes like real people can — at least not yet. And there’s something to be said about watching real people make food and tell their stories. I think that’s why more people on social media are showing their face, their kitchen, their lifestyle, etc.

But we need to take AI seriously! I’m not saying get rid of it entirely because that’s not realistic. In many cases, it can be helpful, and it is going to become a part of everything we do, inevitably. I am, however, in the camp of people who strongly believe we can’t let it just run loose and unregulated, and we need to start paying attention to its many, many flaws.

THINGS I’M LOVING!

Last year, around this time, I was in Alaska, and after getting this package from Barnacle Foods, I am itching more than ever to go back! They sent me their their shortbread cookies, jelly, and jam from Alaska, and it made me so nostalgic! Their Spruce Tip Shortbread Cookies are incredible, and if you want to be extra, you can spread some Spruce Tip Jelly on top of them.

I’d been eying this 100% linen striped dress from LA Relaxed for a while, but I didn't pull the trigger until it was finally discounted during their archive sale. I sized up to a large to accommodate the bump, but it was quite loose, and I could’ve probably stuck to a medium. However, I still love it on its own or over a tee. It also comes in navy and the ever-so-trendy butter yellow. Don’t forget to use their discount code SPRING15 for extra 15% off (this code has no connection to me at all, it’s just a hot tip).

Pregnancy has made me very cognizant of my body (duh), and it’s really been a great lesson in maintaining all areas of my health. My pelvic floor therapist recommended a squatty potty, which I’ve actually been thinking about getting for years. I went to Amazon to see if I could find one that was better looking than the classic, white plastic one, and I found this wooden squatty potty that looks nice in our bathroom and folds up if you don’t want to keep it out!

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RECIPE!

I love seeing smashed potato salads trending because I LOVE potatoes and I LOVE salads. That means I REALLY LOVE potato salads, and I actually have a few smashed potato salads of my own from years prior (Honey Mustard Smashed Potato Salad; Herby Smashed Potato Salad; Ranch Smashed Potato Salad).

This one takes it to a whole new level because it’s a kale caesar, another one of my staples and forever obsessions. I like to add chickpeas to my smashed potato salads so they can be a full meal, and I love that the kale adds some greens in there too. Plus, the Caesar dressing is made with Greek yogurt for extra creaminess and even more nutrients.

Smashed Potato Salad with Kale & Greek Yogurt Caesar

Ingredients (serves 2 as full meal, serves 4 as side)

Salad

• 1 1/2 lb baby gold potatoes

• 3 tbsp olive oil, divided

• 1 tsp onion powder

• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (plus more shaved or grated, to top)

• 1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

• 1 tsp paprika

• 1 bunch of kale, stems removed and roughly chopped

• 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion

• 1/4 cup roughly chopped parsley

• 2 tbsp chopped dill

• Salt & pepper

Greek Yogurt Caesar

• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt

• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard

• 1 tsp anchovy paste

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• Black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Add potatoes to a large pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Cook for 30-40 min until potatoes are tender and can be easily pierced with a fork. Drain in a colander, and let potatoes set for 5 minutes to cool.

2. Line a large and small baking sheet with parchment paper. Add potatoes to a medium bowl and toss with 1 tbsp olive oil, onion powder, and garlic powder. Add potatoes to the baking sheet, and use the back of a glass to smash them down flat. Drizzle with 1 more tbsp olive oil, making sure all parts of the potato get some oil on it, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Add chickpeas to the small baking sheet, and toss in 1 tbsp olive oil, paprika, and salt and pepper. Transfer both potatoes and chickpeas to the oven. Bake chickpeas for 25-30 minutes until crispy and potatoes for 35-45 minutes or until potatoes are golden and crispy.

4. While everything is roasting, prepare the dressing. Blend ingredients together in a blender on high until smooth.

5. Add your kale to a large bowl, and add a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Massage with your hands until soft.

6. When potatoes are ready, let them cool slightly so they're no longer hot, and rip apart into pieces using your fingers. Add to the bowl with the kale along with chickpeas, red onion, parsley, and dill. Toss in the dressing, and serve topped with shaved Parmesan, if desired.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT!

Last week, paid subscribers received a recipe for Philadelphia Hand Rolls! This one was another 30-minute budget meal, and we use canned salmon to make this fun little twist on a sushi roll!

Just a reminder!!! Anytime you become a paid subscriber, you get access to ALL of the past recipes in the archive, plus one exclusive recipe a week! You can always do a free 7-day trial as well!