Kale is just starting to appear in the garden. I have two types --- green and purple.
Kale is so delicious --- I have converted many people to loving kale and sent them home with a bag of fresh kale. It has a mild nutty flavour and does not get slimy like spinach does when cooked.
Kale is one of the healthiest vegetables you can eat. According to Dr. Beliveau (the highly regarded Canadian scientist who writes about using foods to prevent and cure cancer), the one most important thing you can do to prevent or cure cancer is to eat plenty of cruciferous vegetables.
Kale will continue to produce into late winter at least. It can be added to salads, soups, and stews. It is so easy to grow, so be sure to buy transplants in spring and plant some. Four plants are adequate for an average family.
My favourite way to cook kale as a vegetable is with oil and garlic and bacon. This method works well with other greens such as Swiss chard and spinach. Another variation is to substitute nuts for the bacon. Oil and garlic alone are also just wonderful.
I have some wonderful bacon from a farm in Delta. You can buy it at the Westham Island Herb Farm (a source of many wonderful things).
Equipment tip: Tongs. I have metal ones and wooden ones and use them every day for sauteing and turning things in the oven or moving things from pan to plate. It's probably best not to use silicone or plastic (especially after reading Slow Death by Rubber Duck). My latest metal ones have a lock on the end --- very handy.
Kale with Bacon and Garlic
Ingredients:
Large colander full of kale
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 oz. bacon, sliced, and cut into lardons
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Instructions:
Cut a large colander full of kale just before making dinner.
Bring it into the house, rinse thoroughly, drain, but don't dry --- you want moisture on the kale. As the season goes on, you may have to wash the kale more and more carefully as tiny bugs or eggs attach themselves..
With a pair of scissors, cut the larger stems out or just tear the leafy parts off the stems.
Tear the very large pieces of kale into smaller pieces.
Heat a saute or frying pan on medium heat.
When the pan is hot, add the oil.
Brown the bacon and keep tossing it around.
Add the garlic and be careful not to burn it.
Pile all the kale into the pan, pressing it down as best you can to keep it all in the pan. It will tower high above the edge of the pan.
Using large tongs, constantly turn the kale over, bringing the bottom pieces to the top. Keep putting any pieces that fall out back into the pan.
After about 2 or 3 minutes, the kale will be cooked down but still bright green. You have almost no lee way here --- it goes from undercooked to overcooked very quickly.
Turn off the heat, and remove the kale from the pan to a serving bowl. Pour any remaining oil, bacon, and garlic over the kale and serve.
Best fresh but pretty good as leftovers too.
Kale is so delicious --- I have converted many people to loving kale and sent them home with a bag of fresh kale. It has a mild nutty flavour and does not get slimy like spinach does when cooked.
Kale is one of the healthiest vegetables you can eat. According to Dr. Beliveau (the highly regarded Canadian scientist who writes about using foods to prevent and cure cancer), the one most important thing you can do to prevent or cure cancer is to eat plenty of cruciferous vegetables.
Kale will continue to produce into late winter at least. It can be added to salads, soups, and stews. It is so easy to grow, so be sure to buy transplants in spring and plant some. Four plants are adequate for an average family.
My favourite way to cook kale as a vegetable is with oil and garlic and bacon. This method works well with other greens such as Swiss chard and spinach. Another variation is to substitute nuts for the bacon. Oil and garlic alone are also just wonderful.
I have some wonderful bacon from a farm in Delta. You can buy it at the Westham Island Herb Farm (a source of many wonderful things).
Equipment tip: Tongs. I have metal ones and wooden ones and use them every day for sauteing and turning things in the oven or moving things from pan to plate. It's probably best not to use silicone or plastic (especially after reading Slow Death by Rubber Duck). My latest metal ones have a lock on the end --- very handy.
Kale with Bacon and Garlic
Ingredients:
Large colander full of kale
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 oz. bacon, sliced, and cut into lardons
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Instructions:
Cut a large colander full of kale just before making dinner.
Bring it into the house, rinse thoroughly, drain, but don't dry --- you want moisture on the kale. As the season goes on, you may have to wash the kale more and more carefully as tiny bugs or eggs attach themselves..
With a pair of scissors, cut the larger stems out or just tear the leafy parts off the stems.
Tear the very large pieces of kale into smaller pieces.
Heat a saute or frying pan on medium heat.
When the pan is hot, add the oil.
Brown the bacon and keep tossing it around.
Add the garlic and be careful not to burn it.
Pile all the kale into the pan, pressing it down as best you can to keep it all in the pan. It will tower high above the edge of the pan.
Using large tongs, constantly turn the kale over, bringing the bottom pieces to the top. Keep putting any pieces that fall out back into the pan.
After about 2 or 3 minutes, the kale will be cooked down but still bright green. You have almost no lee way here --- it goes from undercooked to overcooked very quickly.
Turn off the heat, and remove the kale from the pan to a serving bowl. Pour any remaining oil, bacon, and garlic over the kale and serve.
Best fresh but pretty good as leftovers too.
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