Oh Kale Yeah!

My husband bought a cookbook for me this Christmas called Salad for Dinner. by Jeanne Kelley. I have enjoyed flipping through it over the past few days and planning future meals.  In the introduction, I found a great little pie chart showing seasonal vegetables.  It’s a nice visual representation of what to look for in the grocery store during each season of the year.   While it’s not an all inclusive list, it does help with meal planning on a budget, especially when it comes to buying fresh produce. 

So, I thought of Mark and his upcoming challenge.  I talked about seasonal produce in a previous post, and gave Mark his first recipe which included winter (butternut) squash.  Mark’s second recipe uses another great in-season vegetable, kale!  Now, kale is a staple in my household.  It usually shows up in a meal in some shape of form at least once a week.  It may show up twice if we have leftovers. 

Nutritionally, kale contains a host of micronutrients to include vitamin A, beta carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin K.  It also contains iron and is a source of dietary fiber.  Kale is very versatile and can be eaten fresh, or cooked in many different ways.  It tastes similar to collard greens, and like collards, it is sweetest after the first frost.  For Mark’s purposes, we’ll keep the recipe simple so he can stay within his budget.  On a recent trip to the grocery store, I found kale for $.99 a bunch, which equates to about 10 leaves ($.09 per leaf).  Because the leaves are fairly hearty, Mark can probably get away with using only 2 per serving (a mere $.18).

The simple recipe is as follows:  First rinse the leaves in luke warm water.  It’s best to rinse only the leaves you intend to use at one time.  Next, strip the leaves from the stems, discarding the stems.  Place the leaves in a vegetable steamer.  If using the microwave, steam for only 2 minutes.  If using a stovetop steamer, steam the leaves until they are slightly soft (3-5 minutes).  Don’t overcook the leaves, as the flavor diminishes once they are mushy.  Eat them plain or with a bit of sea salt sprinkled on top, or a couple drops of vinegar.  Enjoy!