Eat more kale, they say.

And I finally figured out how!

I have known for some time that kale is good for you.  That we should eat more. Loaded with anti-oxidants and all that.  And last summer I was turned on to kale chips, which was fine and all, but I find that they become fairly intolerable if not eaten fresh. And who wants to turn the oven on in the middle of summer to bake them - even if it is only at 275...  Globetrotter came up with the idea of storing them with the freshness packets (silica, I think) found in vitamin jars and seaweed snacks.  I've yet to try it, but I have some hope anyway.

Today, I think I came upon a winner, though!  I can't take credit for the idea (the thanks goes to a random lady at our CSA pickup), and I've yet to tweak the dressing to perfection, but this worked so well, even Mozart ate his entire serving!!  And there was NO COOKING involved.  Not one hot burner or pot holder to contend with on this ninety degree day.  I did not take pictures - somehow I've managed to take the allotted 1500 photos my SD card will hold (again), so I need to download the good ones, and delete the others so I can start over.

Basically, you wash it, cut the hard spine out, and then massage the raw kale until it loses its chalky appearance and turns bright green. Rip it into bite size pieces, toss with your dressing and enjoy as you would any salad.  I used sesame oil and lemon juice, which was quite tasty, but I didn't measure and it could have used a bit more zing, so I'll let you experiment with your own dressings - and do let me know if you find one that works well!

We will be having this again.  And I am no longer afraid that nearly all of our kale from the CSA will go to waste as it has done every year in the past.  Nor will I avoid it like the plague if it is one of the offerings!