“Kale Is The New Spinach”
Yes I borrowed this line from Modern Family…..”Guess what the new spinach is?”
Kale is an underappreciated vegetable and well I am trying to change all that….I think the perception in the south is that it is not as good as collards and well I don’t know what the northerners are thinking because I don’t live there but I know in this area a lot of people don’t embrace kale the way our family does!
My favorite way to serve kale is to roast it. I just toss it with olive oil and sea salt and roast it in the oven at about 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or so I like it a little bit crunchy at the ends…..YUM! But if you don’t like it this crunchy just cook it for about 10 minutes or so. Another great way to serve kale is to toss it into Italian soups it actually can kind of substitute spinach but I prefer to say that spinach substitutes for kale 😉
Not everyone knows this but some think that kale may have been one of the first forms of cabbage to be cultivated. Kale is an ancient food it has been around for forever until around the end of the middle ages kale was the most common green vegetable in Europe. (Wikipedia) and many believe the curlier the leaves the tastier it is for human consumption. More kale has been fed to livestock than people so it is often called “Cow Cabbage.” For those of you who live near the sea like me kale has an affinity for being seaside which is probably why the Scot’s love kale so much too by the way it is also loaded with Vitamin C. and very high in Beta- Carotine and Vitamin A.
Kale freezes well and tastes much better after a winter frost and I can vouch for that!
So if you have not had a hankering for kale lately….try it…it might just surprise you!
Fondly,
If you liked this post you might also like a couple of my other blog posts:
The Most Wonderful Time of Year – The Adventure Begins In The Garden
I suggested trying this one to the Handyman. I got the worst sour puss face. I guess we’ll be sticking with spinach.
We are so going to have to do something about this….;)
Hello Karen Lynn,
I hope you know that I really enjoy reading your blog posts. I have just awarded you the “VERSATILE BLOGGER AWARD”. Congratulations! You deserve it! Please go to my blog to pick it up. Heidi
http://mysimplecountryliving.blogspot.com/2012/02/versatile-blogger-awardees.html
Heidi thank you so much for the award! I love that it has the word Versatile in it for some reason I think it is one of my favorite blogging words 😉 I appreciate that you enjoy my posts I always hope that someone will discover something new. I sure will hop on over!
I think I’m gonna get a bunch from the store the next time I go grocery shopping. I really like the idea of roasting it. Sounds delicious!
I have to admit I’ve never tried kale before. As much as I like salads and greens I do not know how to prepare most of them so I stick to regular cabbage and a few kinds of lettuce. Last time when I tried to change it I bought arugula. I hated it.
I hope you will really enjoy it! Uh-oh I like Arugula so tread cautiously 😉
I haven’t tried kale myself, yet…but it is a popular food where I live, especially kale chips…but I’m guessing only people into healthy eating like kale chips 😉 🙂 Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather 🙂
Heather my daughter and I love kale chips! I guess I am an unprocessed food nut or working on becoming that not a health nut at all and I love them! Hope you are having a wonderful Monday!
Yay! Another kale Lover! I have a few converts to my name, not counting my children…and husband even says it’s not too bad. I grew up with collards, and mustard, and to me, kale beats all other greens except beet greens(and there I loose my following, and my husband refuses to even try them-green dirt, he says). I haven’t tried kale roasted yet. We just steam them in a waterless cookware pan w/ a wee bit of olive oil and salt. They end up almost crispy-probably close to the roasting flavor.
I love anything from the cabbage family.
If you haven’t already, don’t forget to throw a handful in a pot of bean soup.
Jessica it is interesting because I don’t remember eating kale growing up but I just grew it, ate it and loved it! I will definitely try them in with beans sometime! Nice to know I am in good company 🙂 Thanks for stopping by….
We are originally from the north and never had anything other than spinach. We recently tried collards and kale both simmered together with a ham bone…LOVE IT! I bought a juicer and must admit that kale as an ingredient in juice is totally NASTY! I have not tried it roasted though…that will happen this weekend for sure! Thanks for the suggestion!
I hope you like it Jessica definitely let me know…….I don’t know if I would try kale juice so I have to say you are braver than I am 🙂
Here in the Ozarks, there are several of us Kale lovers. We juice it every day in our Mean Green drink and wow does it pack a punch! Run about 8 Kale leaves, 4 stalks of celery, 1 cucumber, a handful of fresh parsley, 1/2 a lemon, 1″ ginger root and 2 or 3 granny smith apples through a juicer and you have a power packed lunch full of more micro-nutrients than you could eat in one sitting. Thank you for your recipe, it does sound delicious! I’ll be sure to try it in order to get even more of the Kale in our diet.
Sharon that does sound like a powerful juice recipe….maybe the apples help it go down a little easier….I will mention this to my husband we have plenty of kale right now and he is the one who formulates the juice recipes. Thanks for sharing!
This is the juice I was talking about in my comment! I cannot stand it! Blech! Although, when I put less kale in it, it is a little better! 🙂
Thanks for the review Jessica I will try it and let you and Sharon know.
I just found your blog last week and I enjoy your ideas for sustainable living. I’ve never tried kale much, but find this very interesting. I’m wondering if it can be eaten raw in salads as well.
Thanks so much Rose Petal I so hope I share some ideas you might find useful! I think can be eaten raw but its extremely tough raw I think that is why most people cook it and or juice it! I hope you stop in again soon!
Hi Karen Lynn,
You just taught me something. I didn’t know that a freeze improves the flavor of kale. I have never grilled it before either. I can’t wait to grow some and try it. Thank you for the great information and for sharing this on my lil’ hop. Have a great night.
We adore kale here in Alabama! 😀