Kale--the Perfect Leafy Green...........

Kale is my favorite vegetable! It's a gorgeous, leafy green and chock full of vitamins and minerals. In fact, it is so good looking that many restaurants and buffets use kale for decorative purposes. A few years ago I went on a cruise and big serving bowls of food rested on beds of kale! I asked the chef to reserve a portion every evening and lightly steam it for me at dinner. He reluctantly did as I asked but couldn't believe I wanted to eat a "decoration"! Why wouldn't I? Kale is delicious and one of the healthiest foods around. It's full of vitamins A, C and K, and it is a great source of manganese, calcium and iron. It has no cholesterol and offers a nice serving of fiber and protein.


If you have never tried kale, here are two of my favorite recipes to try. The kale in these recipes is roasted....a great way to bring out the flavor in this tasty veggie. Enjoy!!

Roasted Kale with Sea Salt

•4 cups firmly-packed kale

•1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

•1 tsp. good-quality sea salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Wash and trim the kale: Peel off the tough stems by folding the kale leaves in half like a book and stripping the stems off. Toss with extra virgin olive oil. Roast for five minutes. Turn kale over. Roast another 7 to 10 minutes until kale turns brown and becomes paper thin and brittle. Remove from oven and sprinkle with sea salt. Serve immediately.

Makes 2 servings.

Per serving: 186 calories, 14 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 0 mg cholesterol, 13 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 4 g protein, 412% vitamin A, 268% vitamin C, 18% calcium, 13% iron

Beet-Kale Salad Recipe (serves 4 as a main dish, or 6 as a side)

•6 large beets, chopped into bite-size pieces

•6 kale leaves, roughly chopped

•I garlic bulb

•1/2 cup olive oil

•1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

•feta cheese

•1/2 cup walnuts

•course salt

•pepper

Assemble The Salad

•Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

•Toss beets with olive oil, pepper and coarse salt in a baking dish

•Cut tips off garlic bulb and lay it flat in the midst of the beets

•Cook for 45 minutes

•Add walnuts and kale

•Cook for another five minutes

•Let cook for 10 minutes

•Move salad to a bowl and toss with vinegar and crumbled feta

•Enjoy at room temperature, or cold

Mix it Up

Every recipe is made to be messed with. Try replacing the kale with different green vegetable, like green beans, broccoli or spinach. Replace the walnuts with pecans or pine nuts. Use goat's cheese instead of feta, or try lemon juice instead of vinegar. Cooking the nuts with the vegetable does a fairly good job of toasting them, but If you want them even tastier, try toasting them in a frying pan or in the oven, alone, before adding them to the salad.

And this is my Daily Cyn......