Sweet chili chicken and kale with garlic and bacon. Yum!
I told my husband, Sax Guy, last weekend that I wanted to try kale. Until I started reading and listening to the Joy the Baker blog and podcast, I’d never even heard of kale.
He looked at me with a blank expression. “Ka-what?” he asked.
I shuttled him to the produce section of the grocery store and pointed to the leafy green, sitting there all sparkly with water droplets next to the spinach. To the untrained eye, it looks the same. He eyed me skeptically because he hates cooked spinach; Popeye be damned. I convinced him that I was going to cook it with bacon and that it would taste marvelous, even though I’ve never tried it myself and was totally lying. But, what doesn’t bacon make taste better? I couldn’t fail if bacon was involved, right?
I cooked up Kale with Garlic and Bacon found at Epicurious.com and Sweet Chili Chicken from blog Barely Poppins. I served sliced strawberries with raw sugar for dessert and added some leftover homemade biscuits with homemade blackberry jam. Verdict? He liked it! The kale was much better when topped with a little bit of coarse sea salt and red wine vinegar.
I’m going to try kale chips this weekend. What’s your favorite way to eat kale?
April 21, 2012 at 3:02 pm
I did not grow up eating kale so it took some time before I got used to it. I often braise it in homemade chicken broth, sometimes with a pinch of Indian curry seasonings. It’s strongly anti-inflammatory and is a powerhouse of nutrition. I would not let a week go by now without having kale.
April 29, 2012 at 5:14 pm
I will have to try it with curry. Curry is one of my favorite spices.
April 21, 2012 at 5:50 pm
It sounds like you enjoyed the kale, it has a much more robust flavour than spinach. I like the way you cooked it too. I make chinese crsipy “seaweed” with it – YUM!
April 29, 2012 at 5:14 pm
That sounds good! Is there a recipe on your blog for it?
April 29, 2012 at 5:17 pm
Hi Julie, if it’s ok with you here’s the link – http://promenadeplantings.com/2012/02/10/a-5-minute-wonder/
Claire
April 29, 2012 at 5:19 pm
Absolutely! Thanks!
April 21, 2012 at 5:51 pm
I love kale! I use it for stews and stir-fries a lot, but it can be *soooooooooooooo* hard to get over it aus!!!
April 29, 2012 at 5:15 pm
Mmm….I will have to try it in a stew. I bet it would be really good in a minestrone!
April 21, 2012 at 8:10 pm
I’m thrilled that you used my recipe. How exciting! Ok, calming down… I am new to kale too. And because I grew some in the garden I feel obliged to work out how to cook it. I made a kale and chorizo soup that was well received (recipe also on my blog). I put it on a pizza once, with tomato, that was pretty good too. Thanks again and happy kale adventures!
April 22, 2012 at 6:23 pm
It was really good! My husband and I loved it and will make it again. We’re trying kale chips tonight.