So what is up with all this talk about kale?
Kale is a 'dark leafy green vegetable' and dark leafy green veggies (DLGV) are chock full of nutrition and super great for you.
Kale is one of the SUPER DLGVs out there.
Kale is just packed with great nutrients for the body (a little protein, fiber, vitamins A, C, K, B, folate, omega 3, lutein, calcium, potassium, phosphorous, zinc) and it's pretty easy to grow (hint: give it a try).
The easiest way I find to get my kale in is by making kale chips.
I've tried a number of kale chip recipes on the internet but didn't really jive with any of them. So here's MY take on KALE CHIPS:
(preheat oven to 300 degrees F)
1. Wash kale thoroughly2. Remove the hard stem part that runs down the
center of the kale leaf - just tear it right out and leave the green leafy bits. I've read that some people prefer to CUT the center stem out, and that's fine too.
3. Tear leaves into the size you want for your kale chips (maybe a little bigger to allow for shrinkage)
4. Throw them all in a gallon sized ziploc baggie
5. Drizzle olive oil into the bag onto the kale leaves.
6. Add sea salt and powdered garlic to the bag (to taste)
7. Close the ziploc bag leaving plenty of air in there and then shake the nelly outta that bag. This is to coat each leaf with olive oil. I don't like to drizzle oil onto the leaves directly on the cooking sheet, I end up with huge clumps of oil in just a few select places and always use way too much oil. Another alternative would be to lay the leaves flat on the cooking sheet and spray them with olive oil from a Misto Sprayer.
8. Dump all those nice and evenly coated kale leaves onto a cookie sheet (I like to spray my cookie sheet with a little olive oil non-stick spray first). Spread the leaves out evenly on the sheet.
9. Bake at 300 degrees for 20-25 minutes - give the kale chips a shake every 10 minutes or so and, if the chips are piled on top of each other on the sheet be sure to turn them so the bottom chips don't get too soggy.
10. Allow them to cool for a couple of minutes and voila.
You just made kale chips.
And, hey - play with the seasonings. Use your favorite spices. You could make yellow curry kale chips, cinnamon kale chips, the possibilities are endless. Have fun with it.
Bon Appetit