Curious about KALE

Curiosity has gotten the better of me and I decided to jump on the Kale band wagon to see what all the fuss was about and you know what??? ....  I love it!!!  I have always been a a fan of cabbage and frequently munch on it instead of crackers or chips when I crave a crunch so when I read that Kale was from the Brassica oleracea family and was a cousin of cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower I knew I would likely become a follower.

I have heard a lot about Kale Chips and have even purchased some super yummy versions at our local Farm Boy store, they come in various flavours but my first try was with Rythm Superfoods Zesty Nacho rendition and they were fabulous.  I shared them with a coworker but he wasn't nearly as excited as I was but then I guess if you are expecting nachos you might be a little disappointed!  They had lots of flavour, some crunch and you can't beat the health benefits associated to Kale.  That was a few weeks ago, this past weekend I picked up a bunch of Kale and decided to experiment on my own!

Start off by tearing up Kale into large pieces (they shrink as they bake so don't make them too small) and toss them in a bowl of water to thoroughly clean them.  Be sure to dry the pieces off well to reduce the amount of moisture that needs to bake away.  In a large bowl toss the Kale pieces and 2 tablespoons of olive oil and dig in with your hands!  Really massage the Kale ensuring that easy piece has some EVOO on it.  Fight the urge to add more oil, just more to cook off and potentially burn, remember .... less is more!  On a parchment lined baking sheet place the Kale in a single layer .... if you double up the process will just take longer or not work at all.   I sprinkled my Kale with some Garlic Powder (not garlic salt! Salt of any kind will draw the moisture and leave your chips chewy ... not good!) and Paprika that I had mixed up in a shaker.  This was straight flavour without the sodium content and really perked these babies up!  Experiment with different spices and if you feel you must use salt, save it for the end and sprinkle it on your chips once they have crisped up :)

Place your baking sheet in a pre-heated 275 degree oven for roughly 20 minutes.  I checked on them after 15 minutes and did some flipping and rearranging to ensure they were all getting equal baking time.  I also pulled a few out early, if you let them go too long they will brown up and get too bitter.

Remember how I said these little babies shrink up?  Hard to believe what a huge bunch of Kale can be reduced to in less then an hour eh?
I left them on the baking sheet for quite a while to be sure they were "dry", store them in a container and much away!!!


Because I couldn't stand to part with the tasty stalks and a few leaves that I had left over I decided to try "steaming" them .... I chopped up the stalks getting rid of the thicker, woodier ends and added a crushed clove of garlic and some water to a non-stick frying pan and sauteed them until the stalks were tender.  Texture wise they reminded me of asparagus, taste wise more like broccoli!  I'm glad I didn't throw them into the compost bin!!!

I'm not sure that the kids would go for Kale Chips or Kale on their dinner plate but I will definitely be having it much more frequently.  High in Calcium, Vitamin C, Potassium and a show stopper on the Vitamin K front (the cancer fighter) I feel foolish for not jumping on this band wagon sooner!