what is kale

[miron28]

OK .....well i was in a hurry.. . well really i was excited to start my garden a while back and i thought i picked up some broccoli...well i got kale instead and i have no idea what kale is or what it is used for. but let me tell you what it is growing like crazy!! but what is it used for? and is it to late in the year to plant broccoli?

 

[digitS']

Look, if you like broccoli, you will probably like kale.

Cook it the same way. (No, you probably don't want it raw with a dip.)

It should be around all year and by that I mean - right up until New Years Day!

Don't miss out, enjoy your kale!

Steve

 

[Greenthumb18]

You could make a soup out of kale and sauteed with olive oil and garlic but you would have to blanch them first in boiling water. Kale are great greens to have, Enjoy!!

You could plant some broccoli seeds by the first week of August to get a fall harvest. Its not too late.

 

[valmom]

I love Portuguese kale soup- I am freezing my kale this year so I can have soup this winter. Last year I actually got sick of eating kale, and I wanted soup in the worst way in Feb!

Kale is very un-fussy and grows well into the fall up here.

 

[aquarose]

I think I read once that kale is the most nutritious veggie there is. Saute garlic in olive oil, add kale, stir around, let it steam a bit with the cover on. You could probably eat very young leaves raw in salad.

 

[wifezilla]

Exactly.

Use it like spinach.

It is very high in vitamin K.

It grows like crazy in Colorado.

 

[me&thegals]

Here are a few of my favorite ways to use kale:

Colorful Chicken n Squash Soup (can be cut down in size)
1 chicken (4 pounds), cooked and cut up (or equivalent in breast meat). Do this ahead of time or use leftovers from a roasted chicken meal
13 cups chicken broth
5 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cubed, about
10 cups (or pumpkin) Frozen works fine, too.
1 pounds fresh or frozen kale, chopped
6 medium carrots, chopped
2 large onions, chopped

Place all ingredients (except kale) in a kettle. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 15 min. Add kale and simmer another 5-10 min. Yield: 14 servings (5 quarts).

Potato & Kale Soup
1 T olive oil
1 c chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, diced
2 - 4 medium potatoes, peeled & cubed
4 carrots, diced
1 - 2 quarts veggie stock
2 c shredded kale leaves

Heat the oil in stockpot over med heat. Add onions and saut until translucent, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and carrots and saut about 1 min. Add the stock and potatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes. Add kale and simmer for about 1/2 hr longer, covered.

Homemade Kale Chipssuper easy
Wash and dry the kale. Rip it into bite-sized pieces. Place in a bowl and toss with olive or canola oil and salt. Spread it on a baking sheet and bake in a 300 oven until crispy.

Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana
1 cups sausage links, spicy
cup diced onions
6 slices bacon
2 t minced garlic
2 T chicken stock (about 6 cubes)
1 quart water
2 medium potatoes, cut in half, then slices
4 cups kale (or spinach), cut in half and then sliced
1/3 cup heavy cream

Fry sausage in slices. Cook onions and bacon over medium heat until onions are almost clear. Add garlic and cook additional 1 min. Add chicken base, water and potatoes. Simmer 15 min. Add sausage, kale and cream. Simmer 4 min. Serve.

Swiss Chard Pie
1 onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon oil
1 bunch Swiss chard (or kale!!)
6 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 piecrust (see below for no-roll crust recipe)

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Brown onion and garlic in oil. Trim and chop chard (can include greens and stems), add to pan and cook down until wilted. Beat eggs and milk in bowl. Mix in salt and chard mixture. Pour into piecrust. Sprinkle cheese on top, pushing slightly into chard mixture. Bake until knife inserted into center comes out clean, about 30-40 min.

1 piece (including 1/8 of crust below): 367 calories,
13 grams protein, 5 grams fiber
Vitamin A 170% Vitamin C 42%
Calcium 24% Iron 23%

Whole-wheat, no-roll piecrust
1 cups flour (whole-wheat pastry flour best, whole-wheat flour okay)
1 tsp sugar
tsp salt
cup oil (I prefer mixture of canola and olive for health benefits)
3 tbsp milk

Place all ingredients in pie pan. Mix with fork until well blended and pat into the pan. Push pastry up the sides and form a nice edge with thumb and finger. Prick to avoid bubbling during baking.

 

[Greenthumb18]

I love Portuguese kale soup- I am freezing my kale this year so I can have soup this winter. Last year I actually got sick of eating kale, and I wanted soup in the worst way in Feb!

Kale is very un-fussy and grows well into the fall up here.

Yep that soup is good to, its called Caldo Verde since i'm portuguese i'm familar with it.

 

[patandchickens]

I don't care for it in large amounts (unless there are similarly large amounts of good sausage involved) but it is very good chopped and added to anything you'd add chopped cooked spinach to -- soups, rice, casseroles, pasta, meatloaf, meatballs, spaghetti, lasagna, fritattas, etc etc.

It supposedly tastes best after a couple light frosts but I've never grown it, only bought it, thus far.

Have fun,

Pat

 

[Catalina]

I dried a bunch last Fall and used it sprinkled in soups through the winter.

Just watch out for web worms. I know this website says that webworms are only a problem in southern states, but I swear that's what I had all over my kale last year http://ipm.ncsu.edu/AG295/html/cabbage_webworm.htm

Or maybe it's called something else?

But it's gross! And the worm/cocoon is hard to see. Don't eat it raw and in the dark!