If more presidential candidates had a campaign slogan like that one…
So! Kale.
10 years ago, if you’d have told me that one day I will LOVE eating this pile of greenery, I would have laughed in your face.
“No thanks”, my 23 year old self would have said.
Or better yet, “No way.”
In fact, 10 years ago if you showed me these green leafy stems, I wouldn’t have had the faintest idea what they were.
I don’t know, some kind of… lettuce? Yes, lettuce. That’s my final answer.
Kale? Isn’t that a university in Connecticut or something?
Yup, it’s kale and yes, I’ve written about it here many times before.
A few days ago I made sauteed kale with onions and garlic and I realized that once upon a time, I NEVER would have eaten this pile of green slop. I definitely wouldn’t have squealed and jumped up and down and turned cartwheels in my kitchen when my sauteed kale was ready either.
Cartwheels, people.
So if you look at kale and think “yeah, right”, it’s true. You can turn cartwheels over kale too. You just have to know to make it.
Knowing how to do cartwheels helps too.
Kale is so stinking good for you, you MUST eat it! Vitamins A, C and K, calcium, iron, antioxidants, potassium, folic acid. You better tell me when to stop because I could keep going. Do you see why Kale should run for president? Kale keeps its promises. Kale is completely qualified to make you feel awesome.
To start, I prep kale just like I do lettuce. Tear it up, give it a shower and then give it a couple turns in the salad spinner to dry it off.
In a large, deep pot like a dutch oven, heat up a couple tablespoons of oil (coconut or olive) while you dice an onion and slice (or mince) a couple cloves of garlic.
I was in a garlic slicing kind of mood today. Or more accurately, I was in a I-don’t-want-to-wash-the-garlic-press kind of mood today.
Let your garlic and onions saute on medium low heat until slightly soft, your rinsed kale will wait patiently.
(I’m not sure I can say the same thing about myself and waiting patiently.)
When your vegetables are ready, start piling your kale in. Don’t fret that it will quite likely fill your entire pan. This is normal and expected. Do not panic. DO NOT PANIC!
Keeping the heat at medium low, gently stir your kale around to coat some of it with your oil, garlic and onions. Put the lid on your pan and then twiddle your thumbs and/or practice your cartwheels.
When you peek under the lid in about 5 minutes, you’ll see that the kale is cooking down the same way kale chips do.
Top with a little salt and garlic powder too. Yes, there’s garlic in the pan already, but at my house, we don’t know the meaning of “garlic breath”.
Come closer so I can breath on you.
Continue to stir kale, garlic and onions with a spatula or spoon. When it looks like this (about 15 minutes), it’s time to eat.
This was my lunch today, served with two over medium eggs (that were supposed to be over easy) and one slice of sesame Ezekiel toast,
(360 calories, P.S.)
I am totally voting for Kale.
Do a cartwheel (or two), and then it’s Time! to Eat! Your! Kale!
Kale cooked this way is so wonderfully chewy and delicious, knowing how good it is for you is simply icing on the kale cake.
Try it, and if you don’t like it, I will give you your money back (that you spent reading this post) and/or invite you over to laugh in my face. That will probably make me laugh too though, and since I’ll probably be eating kale when you get here, I will likely spray you with the kale and onion juice that is going to come flying out of my mouth when I laugh.
Sorry about that.
I’m not sorry I made you try kale though! You won’t be sorry either.
Ok ignore this if you already know. I threw my garlic press out after I learned this method of chopping garlic:
put the unpeeled clove on a sturdy cutting board, preferably wood. Place the flat side of a big chef knife on top of the clove. Smack the top flat side with one hand . Hard. Smashes the garlic, magically peels it, and then you just take the peel away and run the knife through the garlic. This releases the oils in the garlic and you don’t have to scrape anything out of a garlic press. Smells great too if you like garlic!
I didn’t know this technique for one clove, I will try it! Reminds me of this video for peeling a whole head of garlic at once.
Holy crap! Noisy, but what a cool solution! I guess the trick to garlic is to beat the hell out of it!
I LOVE KALE. I should have written it in at the polls 😉 I can’t wait until I can go make my own over Thanksgiving break. I love topping steamed kale with guacamole. Nomlicious! Your method looks so good, though, I’ll definitely be trying it. Also anything with garlic is fabulous.
I’ve massaged raw kale with avocado, I must try steamed kale with guac. It’s hard to go wrong with either!
I would vote for kale, too! Every time I am eating brussels sprouts, I always stop and think about how my former self never would have craved them like I do now. It’s funny how tastes change. And delicious.
YES Brussels sprouts are another one of “those” vegetables. Who’d of guessed that one day we’d be so in love with those little green heads!
I like to substitute kale for spinach in certain recipes, especially soups and egg quesadillas ala Alison Spath In fact, that’s what I’m making right now. Kale. It’s what’s for dinner.
Ooo, egg quesadillas! Long time, no eat. Must fix this!
I’ve been having kale and eggs for lunch a lot lately, too. I’ve added apples into the mix, which is fantastic.