Nadine Feldman, Author

celebrating strong female characters and whatever else strikes my fancy

K is for Kale #AtoZChallenge

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Welcome new A to Z friends! If you’re new to this page, my topic is Dishing the Dirt: Life and the Garden. I invite all readers to visit as many of the other A to Z blogs as possible. It’s fun!

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Spinach pisses me off. I can grow it, but before I can gather it all, the weather gets too warm and the plant bolts. I have tried placing it in different parts of the garden, but so far it’s just too finicky for me. If a plant is going to make it in my garden, it has to toughen up a bit.

baby-spinach

Finicky and fragile. Sounds like me.

Kale fits the bill. It’s both prolific and sturdy, and though it’s from the cabbage family, it doesn’t seem as sensitive to the scourges that have destroyed my broccoli and Brussels sprouts (cabbage worms — ick).

Prolific and sturdy. Maybe I want to be kale when I grow up.

My kale is just planted, so it doesn't look like this...yet!
My kale is just planted, so it doesn’t look like this…yet!

Filled with antioxidants, calcium, and cancer-fighting agents, kale is a powerhouse food. Yet I know a lot of people who turn their nose up at it, even if they haven’t tried it.

For them, I prepare a batch of kale chips. We Americans are a snacky people, so when in doubt, fry it up.

My favorite recipe comes from a now-out-of-business health food store. It’s a simple one: sauteed kale with pinto beans and cornbread. It’s a quick meal (although I soak my beans overnight) to make, simple, colorful, and tasty.

Kale works great in frittatas and soups, too. There are plenty of salad recipes available, but if you’re new to kale, I would cook it first.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I have learned to like Kale in salads and stir-fries. I still haven’t figured out how to eat/fix Kale chips. As for growing this stuff… I rely on you gardeners at the Farmer’s Markets! 😉 Keep up the great work on your blog.

    • Thanks, Gwynn! Kale grows like crazy in my back yard, while I have less luck with some other veggies. I guess it’s a good environment.

  2. I LOVE Kale, in all its forms. I haven’t tried a kale recipe that I don’t like. I haven’t tried growing it though! You are brave! My step dad grows it and I love eating it when we visit. I want to learn how to make Kale chips in the oven, as I don’t do much fried foods. I’m SO sorry I haven’t been commenting here more often. The link on my blog for you goes to an empty page and I’m just now smartening up enough to “google” you to get here! Learn something new every day….Thanks so much for commenting on my blog. I’m following you now and pinned your link on my A to Z board on Pinterest. That’s how I keep up with the blogs I want to go back to! Lisa, co-host AtoZ 2015, @ http://www.lisabuiecollard.com

    • Thanks for visiting — and for letting me know the problem you’ve had getting to my blog! I had no idea, so I’ll take a look at that. I’m really enjoying your blog.

    • Kale is a tougher green than lettuces or spinach, so it’s not a common ingredient in salads…depends on where you get them, I think. Thanks for stopping by! I see you’re writing about the 80s this month. I’ll check it out.

  4. I first tried kale at my day job. My boss got a green smoothie recipe that had it and spinach and OMG IT IS DELICIOUS. I got a blender so I could make my own at home. I haven’t eaten kale in much else, but one time I had no spinach and substituted kale in a recipe and it tasted great.

    ~Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
    Member of C. Lee’s Muffin Commando Squad
    Story Dam
    Patricia Lynne, Indie Author

    • Other great greens to eat! I love playing with all of them. My Swiss chard is really yummy right now, too.

  6. We just made a green drink with our Vitamix using kale and other good stuff.

    Stephen Tremp
    A to Z Cohost
    Twitter: @StephenTremp

    • Yum! I was out and about today and had a green smoothie, but they didn’t offer kale. Boo!

  7. I’ve tried kale chips, but they didn’t overwhelm me. Any tips or favourite recipes that are tried-and-true?

    I love these posts–thank you for commenting on my blog so I could find you. 🙂

    • Thanks, and thanks for visiting! Now that I know what kale tastes like, I would miss it if I couldn’t have any.

  9. Mmmm, kale, especially black kale/dragon kale/cavolo nero. Easy to grow, tasty to eat. I have a great pesto type sauce recipe that is absolutely amazing with pasta. Basically: wilted kale, garlic, pine nuts and parmesan whizzed till pretty smooth (I like flecks in mine).

    My boys like their kale as it comes, though. 🙂

    • That pesto recipe sounds fantastic! We’ll have to try it. Always nice to hear about kids eating their veggies, too! Thanks for visiting.

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