Do you hear the word kale and run for the hills?  Well, hang in here with me.  Kale is packed with a combo of vitamins and minerals that will help keep you going for the long term.  And I have recipes that can get you through the actual flavor of it.

Why is kale good for you?

It’s anti the big three:  Aging, Cancer and Inflammation.  All green leafy veggies are.  It’s also good roughage.  You can’t ever get enough roughage.

To read more nutritional details about kale, check out the Whole Foods website.  It has a nice summary of recent scientific research supporting it’s health benefits.  And the studies were not sponsored by Kale Growers of America.

How do you cook it?

4 easy, top notch ways to make kale that even your children will eat.

1) Sauteed Kale and Onions

• Take the small softer leaves of one head of kale and chop small.
• Saute 1 medium onion in 2 Tablespoons (Tbs) of olive oil and 1 Tbs of butter ( or any ratio of oil and butter you like)  with a pinch of sugar over high heat until they start to brown.  Add 2 cloves of chopped garlic.  Saute until you start to smell the garlic (about 30 sec).
• Add the kale.  Stir and saute until kale is thoroughly cooked and onions are browned, about 10 minutes.

2)  Simple Steamed Kale- easy- you can do this same recipe with spinach, or any green leafy vegetable.

• Wash a head of kale, pull out the stems from the mature leaves only, then tear or chop all the leaves into bite size pieces.
•  Heat a large saute pan with 3-4 Tbs of olive oil.
• With the leaves still wet,  put them into the pan with 2-4 cloves of chopped garlic.
• Stir and cover, checking regularly until wilted.
• Add 2 Tbs of lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste, and serve.  Can be served hot or lukewarm.

3)  Kale and Potatoes a la Home Fries.

• Take 1 lb of smaller red potatoes cut in quarters and boil until they are easily pierced with a fork.  Cool and cut to a 1/2 inch dice.
•  Wash a head of kale, pull out the stems from the mature leaves, and chop the leaves into smallish pieces.keeping leaves wet, stir also coat with olive oil (about 2 Tbs) and salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside.
•  Chop a medium onion, and saute it in 2 Tbs of olive oil (or any combination of oil and butter) and a good pinch of sugar over high heat, stirring constantly.
• When the onions just start to brown, add 2-4 cloves garlic, and the potatoes.  Add salt and pepper to taste, and saute over med- high heat, browning the onions and potatoes.
• Add the kale, stir, cover, and lower the heat.  Stir occasionally until the kale is cooked through, 10-15 minutes

4)  Roasted Kale with olive oil.

• Wash a head of kale, pull out the stems from the mature leaves, and coat with olive oil.  Place in single layer on a cookie sheet.
• Roast in a 375F oven for 12-15 minutes, turning once.  Kale will be brittle and brown.
• Remove from oven and sprinkle with salt.

Bonus:  You can also add coarsely chopped kale leaves to soups in the last 15 minutes.

Little known facts about kale.

Kale belongs to the Brassica family, a group of vegetables including cauliflower, cabbage, collards and Brussels sprouts.

The earliest recorded existence of kale is in 600 B.C., when Celtic wanderers brought it to Europe from Asia Minor.  It is known to have been eaten by ancient Romans, and peasants of the middle ages.

Like brussels sprouts, kale tastes sweeter when picked after the frost, and freezes well even uncooked.

Ornamental cabbage is actually a form of kale.

“A whole culture around kale has developed in north-western Germany around the towns of Bremen and Oldenburg as well as in the land of Schleswig-Holstein. There, most social clubs of any kind will have a “Grünkohlfahrt” (”kale tour”) sometime in January, visiting a country inn to consume large quantities of kale, sausage and schnapps. Most communities in the area have a yearly kale festival which includes naming a “kale king“.’  ( from wikipedia)

Long Live King Kale!  And long live us, if we eat healthy.

Note: I follow the 80:20 rule - if I do it 80% of the time, I’m good.

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