An ode to kale

For those of you who can't stand posts about meals on Facebook, clearly you don't understand my love affair with food. At least now, you can selectively read about my eating habits, right?

Kale is one of those vegetables that I have never acknowledged much, it used to be mere decoration on meat and cheese platters, then just another leafy green I didn't venture to learn much about.  I'd certainly eaten it, knew the nutritious benefits of those curly leaves, and even attempted to use it in my juice cleanses (it doesn't juice well) but I never craved it like I do now.  I have to credit my friend Darcy for my new affinity for kale. Darcy brought kale back onto my radar when she bought the most delicious snack I'd ever indulged in- kale chips! At $7 dollars a bag my cravings have been left unsatiated. I would walk the aisles of The Living Earth drooling over the produce section, have dreams about growing an entire garden full of kale.... Finally, I bought a massive bag of it with the intention of making all things kale, including these beloved "healthy chips". I am a sucker for savory. Screw chocolate! I mean, give me a bag of tortilla chips or salt and vinegar! But a bag of chips that I won't regret or wonder whether Monsanto made them with the dreaded (and creepy) homogenized corn? Victory! Tonight, having had a pretty exhausting day in the retail world, I decided kale salad would suit my deficit of energy. I found this recipe for "Tuscan Kale Salad" on Pinterest from 101cookbooks.com. Believe it or not, the photos are what tempted me most. I have never seen a salad really look so comforting and delicious... and that's exactly what it was. Call me crazy for writing a blog post about salad, but until you try it and pair it with my friend Andrew's homemade pork rillet (which is a pork product I truly never thought I'd eat) spread on brown rye with butter- don't even think about judging me! I love being surrounded by an assortment of friends who are both health nuts and foodies, I get super lucky in the meal department. So, I just finished this vitamin packed dinner and am utterly full and now I think I'm ready to tackle some major cleaning and hopefully my next art project before bed. Huzzah for the mighty kale!... Oh and huzzah for pork fat too!


Tuscan Kale Salad Recipe:

Dressing: Lemon juice, olive oil, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, and a drop or 2 of balsamic vinegar

Giant mound of organic kale
Grated Peccorino Romano Cheese
Toasted garlic bread crumbs (I just threw some in a skillet with olive oil and minced garlic)

images and recipe from

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/raw-tuscan-kale-salad-recipe.html