When life (or your CSA) gives you Kale ...
                                     

Fresh kale from Cecerelli's

YOU EAT IT!!! I don't care if you hate all things green.. you still have to try your kale. Kale is amazing, you feel healthier even just looking at it. Kale is so packed with good things that I can't even consolidate it for this post... I'm just going to go straight into trying to convince you that you can love it.

Here are my Top Three favorite things to do with kale - tell me how you like to use yours!!

Kale Chips
What you do:

• pre-heat oven to 300 °
• remove the tough stems and ribs from your kale and rip the leaves into chip-size peices ( note: they will shrink a little in the oven so maybe make them a little bigger)




Kale chips I baked last night!


• If you rinse your kale peices make sure you dry them really well.
• toss the peices in olive oil and pressed garlic, make sure to coat each peice.
• lay the kale peices out on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. (many people with add other seasonings too .. pepper, or parmesan cheese etc.)
• bake in the oven until crispy (about 15-20 minutes or so) .. make sure you check them often and flip them around / stir them so they don't burn.

*my advice with these is that you make them right when you want to eat them, they do not store very well.



Sauteed Kale
What you need (for basic sauteed kale, recipe from Food Network):

• Bunch of Kale
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock or water
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

What you do:

• Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
• Add the garlic and cook until soft, but not colored.
• Raise heat to high, add the stock and kale and toss to combine.
• Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
• Remove cover and continue to cook, stirring until all the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add vinegar.

*If you feel like getting fancy, try sauteeing it with other things you like ...other vegetables, sausage, beans, scrambled with eggs etc.  I like sauteeing mine with mushrooms.


Smoothie!

Okay.. I will admit it is not for everyone, but making smoothies with your greens is a really great way to get all the nutrients fast & easy!

There are many different ways to mix fruits, greens, nuts and berries into a healthy smoothie and it all kind of depends on what you like. Since kale tends to be bitter, I would suggest blending with really sweet things like honey or pine-apple or bananna. This is one I made this morning with whatever I happened to find in the house and it came out pretty good:


My Kale Smoothie ingredients before I tossed 'em in the blender!

 Two stalks of Kale chopped up   
Cup of frozen blueberrries
One frozen banana, cut into slices
A handful of almonds
Small handful of cranberries
Small handful of Goji berries
Small handful of Flax seeds
Little bit of honey

Blend it all together with as much water as you like (to make it whatever consistency you prefer).





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Again, These are just my prefered way.. there are still SO many more things you can do. Many people like it steamed, cooked with pasta or in raw salads. I found this on www.thektchn.com and I plan to try out tonight:

       Kale Salad with Apricots, Avocado, and Parmesan

What you need:                                         

6-8 ounces of kale (Tuscan or dino kale are particularly fantastic)
6-8 dried apricots
1/3 or so cup cooked beans (I love Good Mother Stallard beans, but also try cannellini or pinto beans)
1/4 or so cup almonds
8-10 flakes of Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 avocado    &    salt and pepper



I took both of these photos from www.thektchn.com

              What you do:

Fold a piece of kale in half lengthwise and use your fingers to tear out the tough inner stem. Repeat with the other leaves of kale (you can save the stems to use in stir-fries, sauces, or soups). Tear all the leaves into bite-sized pieces and put them in a medium-sized mixing bowl.

Cut the apricots into little bits and add them to the bowl with the kale, along with the beans, the almonds, and the cheese. Whisk together the oil and vinegar (or shake it in a small canning jar). Pour the vinaigrette and a healthy pinch of salt over the salad and use your fingers to toss and rub everything together. Transfer the salad to a bowl or a lunch container (if eating later).

Just before eating, slice the avocado into cubes and spoon them over the salad. This salad will keep for about 24 hours, preferably refrigerated.

Happy Cooking!!!

-B