A few words about Kale....

It's no secret:  Runners like to eat.  That's part of the reason why I love it.  I run and get to eat what I want (with moderation and the occasional splurge.)  While tapering (like I am right now) I make it a point to eat a little extra healthfully because the dramatic decrease in weekly mileage (along with other health factors) makes it a little easier for me to put on weight quickly.  This is also the time of year where greens start showing up in our farm share.  Greens like kale.

picture from wikipedia.org

Yes, I am on the kale bandwagon that seems to be going around lately.  And you can actually make it taste awesome.

Kale is part of the brassica family of veggies which includes a lot of the vegetables that tend to stink up your house when cooked like broccoli, mustard, cabbage and cauliflower.  And of course, kale is no exception.  There are two ways I love to cook kale:  crisp them up in the oven as chips, and for salads.  This green is kind of weird in that it tastes a lot better if you bruise it up a little bit before or during the cooking process.  So whenever I get ready to cook it, I toss it at least in a little bit of olive oil and use tongs to bruise it up.

I started cooking kale for salads after seeing this recipe pop up on the Runner's World website.  It had all my favorite things, so why not?  The first time I made it, I was hooked!  Now for a simple salad for myself I love to de-stem and cut up 8-9 leaves (or one small bunch.)  At first it looks like a lot, but don't let that fool you!  In the end it becomes about 1-2 cups of wilted kale. Then lightly wilt the leaves in a pan (while tossing it with tongs) with a vinaigrette salad dressing.  It gets just slightly warm and if done right, the bitterness goes away and you're left with a very tasty salad!  As an added bonus I'll toss in any extra veggies I have on hand and a protein (usually chicken or even cut up turkey lunchmeat.)  

What are some of your favorite recipes for kale?