Kale Chips

The kale was growing really well, but in the past few weeks its taken on a load of diseases and pests: unknown fungus (causing the leaves to yellow), leaf miners (causing white spots and tunnels), aphids, and now the new leaves are growing in stunted and deformed. Poor suffering plants. So I chopped it all down and will plant something in its place. Arugula, peas and gai lan (Chinese broccoli) are the top contenders, due to their quick growing and cold tolerant nature.

Now I have a serious amount of kale to consume. I can’t give them away; some of the leaves are diseased and deformed. Enter kale chips.

A friend at work turned me onto this recipe. I made a batch from 2 big handfuls of kale, and the resulting chips just disappeared into my mouth. You can also make the chips in a dehydrator, if you like raw food. You can substitute for other green leaves, like chard or spinach. I love recipes that are versatile like that.

Kale Chips
Season: Late spring, summer, autumn

Ingredients:

1 bunch of kale
Vegetable oil --- e.g. olive, or locally sourced oil
A sprinkle of salt
Seasonings (optional) --- e.g. cayenne, curry powder

Directions:

Wash, dry and cut off the thick stems from the kale. If desired, tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces.

Brush leaves with oil. If you don’t have a brush, oiled fingers also does the trick. Lay on a flat cookie sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle salt and seasonings if desired. Bake for 10 – 15 minutes, until leaves are crisp and slightly browned. Cool.

Thank You, Kale

Last week, I returned from vacation to a very empty fridge. Luckily, there was still one plant left in the garden: kale. I had left it growing in the garden even as the weather turned cold, since I read that kale tastes sweeter after a light frost.

I sauteed the dark leaves and piled them on top of a hot bowl of sweet potato ginger soup. It's nice to be back home.

Urban Foraging

One brisk autumn evening, I was downtown with 2 friends, walking home after dinner and a couple of drinks, when a spontaneous foraging moment reared its head.

Me: "Hey --- look over there, by that office building.... it's KALE!"
Friend #1: "That green plant? Are you sure???"
Me: "Helllll yeah I'm sure. It's definitely kale."
Friend #1: "Ok, be cool". Looks left and right, waits for other pedestrians to walk past.
Friend #1: *pick pick pick pick.....*
Me: "WHAT ARE YOU DOING???? Are you crazy??!?!"
Friend #1: "Hey, it's just going to go to waste anyway. This office building is just using it for decoration."
Friend #2: "......."

Well, Friend #1 was right. We walked by the same spot a couple of weeks later, and the remaining unharvested kale plants were wilted and dried up, ready to accept their wintery death.

Urban foraging ---- ethical or not? Discuss amongst yourselves. I'm not letting this kale go to waste. So here's a make-shift recipe if you ever find yourself with questionable kale in-hand.


Stir-Fried Kale
Season: Summer to autumn

Ingredients:

Leaves of 1 kale plant
2 cloves garlic --- minced
soy sauce
oil for frying

Directions:

Rinse the heck outta that kale. Not knowing how the kale was grown (... pesticides? fertilizers?), or what it absorbed from its surroundings (... car exhaust? doggie poo?), each wash will ease your mind a little more. Roughly chop leaves and blanch in a large pot of boiling water (30 sec). Heat a frypan or wok on high, add a little oil and garlic. Add kale leaves, and stir fry for about 2-3 mins. Add soy sauce to taste.