Hooray for kale, kale and more kale!

We have kale in absolute abundance in our garden - when added together in all the places we've planted it, we have nearly 3 of our raised beds filled with kale.  That's a lot of kale.  But, we love kale (and our chickens can't get enough of it either), and it keeps well in the ground, long into the cold months that are ahead.  It's a pleasure to go out in January, when the garden is deeply buried under snow, and dig out a patch of kale to harvest for supper - still fresh and crisp as if it had been kept in a refrigerator.  Yes, kale is likely the plant we grow the most of here (a close race with tomatoes).  Crinkly dinosaur kale, red Russian kale, green curled kale, we love them all - and such a versatile plant to cook with - made into potato-kale soup, thinly sliced with tofu in miso soup, or added into chili; blended in fruit smoothies; stir-fried with tamari, or steamed with a little hemp oil; served on toast with eggs, added chopped into pasta; made into a warm kale salad with balsamic dressing and toasted nuts; tossed with tahini-garlic sauce; kale stands up well in most dishes.  Here's a quick simple recipe we made up for dinner this evening, using all our current garden harvests - carrots, eggplant,  red peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, kale (of course)!

Fall Harvest Kale Stew
1 large bunch kale, chopped
2 large carrots, cut into half moons
5-6 large tomatoes, chopped (we used orange and red ones)
1 large onion, chopped
1 red pepper and 3 small eggplants, roasted with olive oil and sliced
3 potatoes, diced
1 large zucchini, cut into half moons
8 cups water
2 vegetarian soup cubes, or homemade soup stock
dash of tamari
dash of sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper
1-2 red cayennes, sliced finely
1-2 cloves fresh garlic, sliced finely
large handful of fresh garden herbs (basil, chives, parsley, etc)

This is a versatile recipe - it's a guideline, but add what you have that needs to be used up in your garden.  Let everything cook slowly, simmering for about an hour in a large pot.   So simple!  Serve this thick stew over whole grains like brown rice or quinoa, or with hearty slices of homemade bread.

Kale chips

I've seen "raw" kale chips at various health food stores - they are basically dehydrated kale leaves with assorted delicious healthful seasonings such as tamari, hemp seeds, parsley, omega rich oils, garlic, hot pepper flakes, etc.  We have abundant kale in the garden, and though we try to eat our share with most dinners (steamed, in soups, stir-fried, etc), we are always looking for new and exciting ways to use it.  I thought I'd try out some kale chips myself, drying them for use over the winter months.  Here is my recipe, a compilation of various recipes I found in several raw cookbooks and online.  I found this dressing to be a bit rich for my taste (it's very strongly "cheesey" in a raw, vegan kind of way), so I think for the next batch I make I'll just use hemp oil, hemp seeds and some sea salt for a lighter flavour.  Yum!

Kale Chips
2 heads of kale, washed and torn (I suggest discarding the stalks)
3/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup tamari
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 green onions or scallions, sliced thinly
1 clove garlic, minced
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced

Combine all ingredients other than kale in a blender, and blend until smooth.  Pour over kale and mix well using your hands to completely cover the kale pieces evenly.  Dehydrate at 115 degrees for about 12 hours (depending on how thickly you layer the kale on the dryer tray).  When completely dry and crisp, let cool and store in glass jar for winter snacking.