Need Kale recipes

[so lucky]

I am SO gonna have to get a dehydrator. I know I should be eating kale and other good greens, but ----Yuck! Dried kale chips and powdered greens sound so much easier to eat.
I love that blog. She seems to know so much to be so young! (no offense to all the young people out there)

 

[seedcrazy]

So lucky I never liked them either then last year I grew some and thought what will I do (the kale chips IMO were awful, maybe I messed them up) but that soup, OH MY, you talk about good, I caught myself picking the kale out and eating it. Its SO good for you, tender from the garden you can mix it with your salad greens.

 

[plainolebill]

We grow and eat a lot of kale in the winter. Usually we just steam it and scoff it down but it's good in soups too. Lots of recipes for Caldo Verde on the web, uses leeks normally, here's a version that just uses onions and we like it just as well:

Caldo Verde Onion Version
Boston Phoenix
ca. 1986; a Portuguese recipe
Serves four to six
1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped fine
1 large garlic clove, peeled and minced
4 tablespoons (60 mL) olive oil
6 large potatoes
2 quarts (2 L) cold water
6 ounces (170 g) chorizo or similar [I like Silva linguia]
2 1/2 teaspoons (12.5 mL) salt (to taste - this is a lot of salt)
1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) pepper
1 lb (0.5 kg) kale
Saut the onion in !2TBS oil and add the garlic after onion is transparent and cook about a minute morel. Add potatoes and water, cover, and boil gently for 20 minutes until potatoes are soft, add kale and cook until tender. Fry the sausage in a skillet and drain. Add the sausage, salt and pepper to kale. Simmer 5 minutes. Serve with bread bread.

***I like it with less oil and we generally make it with no sausage and more garlic. Mash some of the potato chunks against the side of the pan to thicken the soup. Lots of pepper is good too.

****Edited to add: We grow Red Russian Kale, the flat leaf kind. If you use that, here's a tip: Don't bother to cut the rib/stalk out - hold a leaf upside down in one hand and with the other grip the leafy part between all your fingers and the edge of your hand, beginning at the top 'fins' start tearing downward, when you get into the main part of the leaf at some point the rib will break off. That part is tender enough to cook, do the other side. I can prepare a pound of kale in about 5 minutes, I don't even chop it - just tear it up and drop it into the collander.

 

[journey11]

SeedCrazy, your soup sounds awesome...thanks for sharing it! Another good reason to look forward to fall. I can't wait until my kale is ready so I can try it. I believe I could even get my husband to try it due to the sausage. But no really, after quite a bit of persistent persuasion I finally got my family into eating greens, although I pitifully lack imagination in how to cook them. I usually just simmer with a little salt and sometimes chicken broth. We just love our kale with real apple cider vinegar on it.

 

[seedcrazy]

Journey, I brought a pot of this to work one day (kept it hot in my crockpot - blistery cold winter day and no one wanted to go out). Couple girls said ewwww, what is that green stuff, told them kale and turned their nose up but didn't want to go outside to find lunch, BOTH of those girls came back and said I LOVE kale. LOL It sucks up the flavors and like I said, its just me at home so I cook a pot and put TONS of kale in (I keep kale going by putting a PVC/plastic homemade tent over it so I can gather it in dead of winter and then it starts growing again in spring) and catch myself just spooning a bowl of the cooked kale out, so I'll have you know they came asking me to bring them kale in with a copy of the recipe. LOL You could change up and add other veggies too I'm sure (I was thinking maybe turnips or parsnips and last time I added a sweet potato) or use all hot sausage. LOL I'm always concocting something and then can never replicate it cause my thinker gets stuck and I can't remember the next time what I changed or added. LOL

 

[ninnymary]

seedcrazy, can't wait for dinner tonight. I have my sausage defrosting and plan to make your kale soup for dinner. Will let you know how it turns out.

Mary

 

[so lucky]

OK, refresh my fading memory, please: Was the kale planted in the spring, or can it be planted and harvested still this year? I'm loving the sound of those recipes, too!

 

[ninnymary]

so lucky, I guess it depends on where you live. In my cool climate and mild winters, I can plant year round.

Mary

 

[Teka]

When I mentioned this recipe to my hubbie, he turned up his nose -- but when we ate it, he and my son loved it, as have everyone I have made it for!

Kale and Apple Salad with Bacon and Pecans
http://www.sassandveracity.com/2012/04/04/kale-and-apple-salad-with-bacon-and-pecans/ salad

2 apples such as Fuji, Braeburn, Pink Lady, etc.
1-2 bunches kale
3 -4 slices of bacon, crispy and chopped
1/3 sweet white onion, chopped
1/2 c. pecans

Dressing Ingredients
2 T apple cider
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 T honey
1 tsp. Dijon
1 T shallot, minced

Remove any thick stems from the kale and chop the leaves into small bite-sized pieces. Place in a large bowl for a crowd, or storage container if youre making enough for fewer people over several days. Chop the apple, leaving the peelings on and add it to the kale. Crush pecans in the palm of your hand and sprinkle over the kale and apples. Add the onions and bacon to the mix. Make the dressing by adding all ingredients to a small jar with a lid and shake vigorously. Taste and adjust flavors by adding a bit more Dijon or honey to your preference. Finish with salt and pepper if desired. Pour about half the dressing over the whole large salad and toss well, or if making ahead, toss a small amount over the salad just to moisten the apples to keep them from browning and then store in the fridge.


I did make it the night before, and it kept well.

 

[ninnymary]

seedcrazy, I made the soup and it was ok. I think I have to tinker with more spices to make it alittle bolder.

Mary