Friday, September 7, 2012

Massage Some Love into Your Kale!

Kale 2012
Kale can be a tough green to love. It is naturally bitter, and the leaves can become quite coarse if they are picked too late in life. Have you evertried to serve kale to your family and been left holding a full bowl? Well, I've been experimenting with my homegrown kale this week.

I readily admit that my family doesn't love kale, but earlier this month I decided to plant an abundance of kale seeds in my little kitchen garden. Alas, those seeds now seem to be multiplying overnight, and I am enjoying a plethora of kale. A few days ago I was trying to figure out how to tackle the abundance andrecalled a reference to "massaged kale" that I had read somewhere. I didn't bother to find that reference I just decided to rub a bunch of kale leaves between my palms. Much to my delight, the raw kale softened within seconds. It also changed color. On that day, I simply decided to roll the leaves up into a cigar shape and then slice them crosswise into strips. (This is basically called a chiffonade.) I added the massaged kale to a chickpea salad that day. I was mighty impressed and ate more than my fair share of that salad for lunch.

Kale salad
This morning, I picked a big bunch of kale and decided to make Cynthia Lair's Massaged Kale Salad with Apples and Gorgonzola. I had all of the ingredients on hand and watched Cynthia's fabulous video before I got started. Cynthia basically cuts her deveined kale into strips, sprinkles it with sea salt, and then massages the leaves in a big bowl for a whole two minutes. She then adds apples, onions, sunflower seeds, apple cider vinegar, olive oil and a final flourish of blue cheese.

I tweaked the recipe a bit. I followedCynthia'stechnique exactly, but I substituted dried cherries, scallions and pine nuts. I must say this is without a doubt my new favorite kale salad! Sublime! The kale softened and lost all of its bitterness during the "massage session" and the cheese added a rich delicious counterpoint. When I tasted the kale BEFORE adding the vinegar and oil, I thought that it was too salty, but somehow the flavors balanced out and the saltiness didn't seem overpowering in the end.

So, if you want to learn to love your kale, give it a full bodymassage!

Photos by Melissa A. Trainer

--Melissa A. Trainer


Massage Kale Salad Snack Girl ... on The Planet Some Love 17 ... candles, put on some Barry White, and MASSAGE your kale. ... smoothies (after your suggestion) I throw it into soup, and I also massage my kale ... Massaged Kale Salad: Three ways - Cook Bake Nibble Massage the kale with olive ... flair with some seaweed and sesame. 1/2 large bunch kale, washed, dried and torn into ... and judge your reaction! I understand I love me some ... Cookus Interruptus - How to Make Massaged Kale Salad - Fresh Local ... Add salt, massage salt into kale with your hands for 2 whole ... roadside farm stand to pick some some kale ... told them you could massage kale! As a massage therapist, I love ... How To Massage Kale The Wannabe Chef - Love the ingredients, not ... Add in your avocado. Then its time to gently massage the avocado into the kale ... I love Kale! ... give your kale a massage. Really. Massaging kale breaks down some ... Massage Your Kale Salad - A Healthy Passion a wholesome life ... Wash kale, remove stalks and tear into bite size pieces. ... half a lemon onto your kale. Using your hands massage 2-3 ... Love Kale! Just made some the other night! Chef Meg's Massaged Kale Salad Recipe - Free Diet Plans at SparkPeople Even kale needs some love. Massaging an acid-based dressing into the fibrous green leaves ... and lemon juice over the greens, then massage the dressing into the kale ... vegan tomato: Massage Your Kale Massage Your Kale ... into salad and continue massaging kale. (The avocado will start to coat the kale and make it extra yummy.) Massage some more. ... 17: Love ... I kale: Massaged Kale Salad with Grated Root Vegetables and ... ... roll up your sleeves, and massage the oil and salt into the kale for 2 ... in sharing some of recipes to us or share your ... came across your site... love the kale ... Massage your Kale Salad The Grecian Garden Go pick up some kale what are you waiting for? Massage Your Kale ... slice your kale or tear it into ... eating the raw kale after putting on the awesome olive oil (I love ... Frederick Foodie: Kale & Butternut Squash Salad: Massage Your Kale ... at my local grocery but would love to locate a bit of Dinosaur kale) ... salt over the kale and begin to massage the salt into the kale ... food personality (3) Gotta Break Some ...

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...