Kale
Oh, Kale. You are so pretty! You look great whether the weather is hot or cool, and your curly leaves look like they are waiting for dressing, or butter, or bacon grease. You are so yummy! You are so good for me! And you grew so great this year, I’m still eating you!
No one else in my house likes kale. But that’s okay. I’m happy to eat it all by myself. Lately, I’ve been making a huge batch of it on Sundays, and eat it for breakfast throughout the week. Kale for breakfast? You bet! Extremely nutritious, substantial, and full of good taste. Why not? Here’s my favorite way to cook it. For breakfast, I put some in a bowl and heat it up, then scramble up a couple of eggs to toss on the top. So delicious!
Basic Kale
Ingredients:
8 cups fresh kale, spines removed, torn into 3 to 4 inch pieces
1/4 cup bacon, cut into small pieces
hot water (if your tap water is hot, not warm, use boiling water
Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Directions:
Brown bacon in a large pot (I use a dutch oven) until crisp. Do not drain. Add in kale and allow to sautee for a minute or two. Add hot water slowly while mashing the kale into the water as it wilts. You don’t want too much water – just enough to barely get it all wet. Add light salt and pepper. Remember that the bacon has salt in it so you may not need as much salt as you would think.
Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or so, until kale is reduced and tender. Young kale needs less cooking, older (tougher) kale needs more cooking. Taste and add salt if needed.
Keeps for one week in the fridge. Reheats well in the microwave.
I use it in place of spinach sometimes in casseroles and soups – it has a nice texture and doesn’t wilt down as much as spinich. Especially in the potato soup that they serve at Olive Garden – I have the recipe and it calls for Kale.