Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Kale in the Garden




Kale in the garden, I really can't believe it myself.
I have never been a veggie person, but somewhere along the line
the following recipe caught my attention and I am enjoying kale in the garden.
Yes, our little veggie garden is quite small.
It was the only place with lots of sun to help it grow.
What a treat it has been to have fresh tomatoes each year,
along with a few other things.  
New this year is kale and fennel, plus leeks too.
There will be a few potatoes, one zucchini plant,
and then among the flowers will be pumpkins and squash.
The marigolds are always planted in the veggie garden as a natural pesticide.
I guess those pesky bugs don't like the fragrance.

So as promised, here is my, thanks to a friend, kale salad recipe:

1 bunch of kale: any kind will do.
1 teaspoon salt
juice of 1 lemon
olive oil (I use equal parts lemon/olive oil)
black pepper to taste
1/4 cup red onion, chopped fine or thin slices
This is the basic recipe, now for the fun:
cheese:  parmesan, ricotta salata, grana padana, or whatever you like.
dried cranberries, toasted walnuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds

Wash, de-stem and finely chop kale.  Massage salt into the leaves:  this is to
help them begin to soften up a bit.  Whisk together lemon and olive oil to emulsify.
Add pepper and other toppings and toss all together with dressing.
It works very well to make ahead and let sit in refrigerator for 1/2 to 1 hour.
Enjoy!

9 comments:

Jeanie said...

I'm not sure I've ever had kale -- this looks like a good way to start. And I would say you have quite a big garden! And fennel! My fave! Looks like the Millers will be eating well this summer!

Anonymous said...

I can hardly believe that Kale is all the rage. When I was a kid, we grew Kale to feed to the cows!

Deb said...

I love Kale and add it to my smoothie every day. Deb

Catherine said...

How exciting!! I can't wait for my garden to begin growing too.
This is wonderful to experience the freshness of home-grown veggies.
Sounds great. Blessings, Catherine

La Tea Dah said...

You know I love this post! Smiling --- because of the veggie-love!

Adrienne said...

I have just learned to enjoy kale! We are late getting our garden in this year because of so much going on in the rest of our lives. My sweetheart is planting the rest of the garden today and it will include kale. Thank you for the recipe. Have you tried baked kale chips? They are wonderful!
~Adrienne~

Angela McRae said...

Good luck with your vegetable gardening! My husband is just starting to plant ours -- hope we're not too late. And you know, I read an article in just the past week (where?) that showed the loveliest "floral" arrangements made of vegetables and their foliage. You could do that now!

Jeanne said...

I love kale and it is so good for you. Love Jeanne X0X0

Linda P said...

We love veggies! I think kale would be a great addition to many vegetable-based soups or as an accompaniment to a main meal.