Ideas for Kale

I guess I grew up eating slow-cooked canned kale. My Mom threw in smoked bacon and sausages and we ate all that with boiled potatoes and lots of dijon mustard on the kale. That was my favorite meal as a kid and because kale tastes the best after the first frost we ate this only in November....all November long! This is why I am so infatuated with kale...i just love the flavor, although I do not use canned and do not cook it for long times these days. But I still love the way it tastes.

Here is how I prepare it for my family. It is not really a recipe but all four of us gobble it up like this.

1. Wash bunch of kale. On a cutting board fold leaf in half lengthwise and cut out the hard midrib. Chop up coarsly.
2. Steam for 7 minutes.
3. Serve with plenty of melted butter poured over and sprinkled with sea salt.

If you want more of a recipe here is a link for soup with kale. There are several bean soup recipes out there that call for chopped kale.
http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2009/11/the-healthy-1-menu-peasant-lentil-kale-soup.html

Here is a recipe from the food network:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/sauteed-kale-recipe/index.html

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds young kale, stems and leaves coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
1/2 cup vegetable stock or water
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Directions
Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until soft, but not colored. Raise heat to high, add the stock and kale and toss to combine. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove cover and continue to cook, stirring until all the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add vinegar.

One final note on kale: Since it is in the crucierous vegetable family such as broccoli it has some anti-nutrients that are best neutralized by brief cooking such as sauteeing or steaming, rather than eating raw. Also, make sure to eat it with fat such as butter or a cream sauce so your body can absorb all the fat-soluble vitamins in it.