Fun Fact about Kale

flowerbug

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i like most foods, but a few i would need extra work to enjoy them so i don't eat those very often. we don't grow kale or eat it, but i think i would enjoy it if we did but i'd probably have most use of it adding it to other things in small amounts for color and general greenage.

tofu i can eat cold out of the container plain. it's just fuel at that point, but i can get through that just fine.
 

heirloomgal

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i like most foods, but a few i would need extra work to enjoy them so i don't eat those very often. we don't grow kale or eat it, but i think i would enjoy it if we did but i'd probably have most use of it adding it to other things in small amounts for color and general greenage.

tofu i can eat cold out of the container plain. it's just fuel at that point, but i can get through that just fine.
Yes, I actually like the texture of the kale more than the flavor when it comes down to it. It's one of the few green that has some body and doesn't go limp. I love it with potatoes in Colcannon. I seldom eat mashed potatoes because there isn't much nutritional in that and I'm feeding kids, but if I do it this way I feel like we can indulge.
 

Dahlia

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Yes, I actually like the texture of the kale more than the flavor when it comes down to it. It's one of the few green that has some body and doesn't go limp. I love it with potatoes in Colcannon. I seldom eat mashed potatoes because there isn't much nutritional in that and I'm feeding kids, but if I do it this way I feel like we can indulge.
That recipe looks crazy delicious! 😋
 

digitS'

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Yes, I actually like the texture of the kale more than the flavor
The texture is what people, not just @seedcorn , complain about most!

Texture does improve with freezing weather. Do you eat it during those months @heirloomgal ? Young, not fully developed leaves are also more tender. We have raided the 12 plants that we have for this Winter as much as we dare. It will be back and growing vigorously before we take it out by Summer. Before that time, we will also harvest leaves and appreciate them.

I always marinade tofu but hadn't thought of a "crispy coating." The standard way we have it would likely make some folks complain about tofu's texture.

BTW. I was recently reading that cooking does not decrease available fiber. That seems a little difficult for me to believe but the idea was expressed on some reputable websites. It was pointed out that vitamins were both lost and made more available by cooking. I am not interested in eating kale raw and I suppose that vitamin C is lost but, there is apparently lots of nutritional value with cooked kale.

Steve
 

heirloomgal

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The texture is what people, not just @seedcorn , complain about most!

Texture does improve with freezing weather. Do you eat it during those months @heirloomgal ? Young, not fully developed leaves are also more tender. We have raided the 12 plants that we have for this Winter as much as we dare. It will be back and growing vigorously before we take it out by Summer. Before that time, we will also harvest leaves and appreciate them.

I always marinade tofu but hadn't thought of a "crispy coating." The standard way we have it would likely make some folks complain about tofu's texture.

BTW. I was recently reading that cooking does not decrease available fiber. That seems a little difficult for me to believe but the idea was expressed on some reputable websites. It was pointed out that vitamins were both lost and made more available by cooking. I am not interested in eating kale raw and I suppose that vitamin C is lost but, there is apparently lots of nutritional value with cooked kale.

Steve
That's surprising to me! My daughter and I both love the texture kale adds to soups and roasted vegetable trays, but without some better vegetable companions for the kale neither of us is really wild about that taste, sort of musky or something. I have been harvesting the kale all winter until recently; twice it survived temperatures of -30C but this last hard cold snap has made the plants look real burnt. I'm guessing the outer leaves are not good anymore because they had no snow cover, but maybe what's underneath is still edible.

I love when the kale is frozen & eat it standing outside that way, the exposed leaf growths. I bizarrely enjoy the texture of the little ice crystals embedded in the leaves. It's more crumbly or something, easy to chew. When I cook with it I almost always do a chiffonade so that chewiness is rendered.

We bake tofu, and so getting a crispy coating is natural to that method. Some people deep fry it for a crispy coating, but I don't deep fry so never tried it at home that way. Lately we use a little bit of rice flour sprinkled across some cubes and then a quick sautee in a bit of olive oil, and then Frank's Hot Sauce on top, that makes a nice outside crispiness. The only thing i find is if the tofu gets mixed in with veggies you lose the crispiness! So I sprinkle the cubes on top of the entree. I'm guessing you add the tofu to the vegetables in a stir fry?
 

digitS'

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That's it, @heirloomgal – stir fry. It replaces meat.

I have had tofu other ways but can't remember at the moment. Yes, I have had kale as a soup. Some-years-ago. I believe it was with sour cream.

The marinade for tofu is real simple and just equal parts of soy or teriyaki sauce, vinegar and oil. Usually, I go lightly on the oil. The marinade variations are within those ingredients.

Steve
 

heirloomgal

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That's it, @heirloomgal – stir fry. It replaces meat.

I have had tofu other ways but can't remember at the moment. Yes, I have had kale as a soup. Some-years-ago. I believe it was with sour cream.

The marinade for tofu is real simple and just equal parts of soy or teriyaki sauce, vinegar and oil. Usually, I go lightly on the oil. The marinade variations are within those ingredients.

Steve
Sounds a bit weird, but peanut butter added to the marinade ingredients you list works well too. A take on the traditional raw spring roll sauce. Rich and satisfying.
 

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