The Mighty Green

Kale; the wonder vegetable, the superfood, one of the few crops that will grow under in our raised beds near our (toxic!) Black Walnut tree. If only a few things are going to grow well near that massive tree, due to the toxins it sends out through it's roots and it's leaves, well, then, I'm glad kale is one of them.

Due to the abundance of kale we've had for months now, I've tried lots of kale recipes. Here are my favorites:

• The ubiquitous kale chip--a favorite with kids of all ages. How do I make mine? Wash and dry a big bunch of kale (more than you'd think - these shrink down alot). Drying the kale well is an important step. I tear the kale off each side of the leaf (composting the stem and thick middle rib), put all the kale strips in a bowl and thoroughly rub with a big glug of olive oil and lots of good salt. Heat oven to 350, put kale in a single layer on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper (to ease clean up) and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes, tossing the kale halfway through. I like to sprinkle it with lots of nutritional yeast right when I take it out of the oven. No matter how much I make it's usually gone in 5 minutes. Not that I'm complaining one bit about my boys shoveling kale in their mouths. 

• This kale salad with almonds and golden raisins is amazing.

• My friend, Andrea, has a great whole foods blog. Her kale salad was the first kale dish that I loved and my introduction to massaging kale.

So, get started, friends! Go buy some kale and plan on planting some in your garden this summer - your body, kids, friends (I had my neighbor picking my kale to make kale chips of her own after I gave her the recipe) and family will thank you!