Leafy Greens

We've recently learned about kale and all of its amazing health benefits, and over the last couple of weeks have been incorporating it into our meals. I made kale chips twice - once using an online recipe's recommended amount of oil (which ended up being way too much), and once with an oil reassessment. The second turned out ten times better than the first, and next time I might sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top and see what magic happens in the oven.

Kale is an excellent salad green. Its sturdy nature means it can withstand heavy dressings and multiple add-ins without wilting. Costco has a wonderful kale salad right now that my mother-in-law, Sweet E, got me hooked on. Kale and thinly sliced cabbage with pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and dried cranberries on top, plus an incredible poppyseed dressing. I was lucky enough to have it every day for lunch last week, and I loved it so much it's on this week's lunch menu as well. So refreshing, so very tasty.

Today I was feeling very lazy, but I wasn't in the mood to just pick something up. I needed a quick and easy yet veggie-friendly addition to the rotisserie chicken I had picked up this morning (oh rotisserie chicken, let me count the ways I love to eat thee). Then I remembered I had a bag of pre-washed, pre-cut kale in the fridge. Such a smart purchase on my part. Enter recipe for Sauteed Kale.

If you don't have a bag of prepared kale, don't worry. It's really easy to get it prepped. The main thing to remember is that the center stalks are pretty much inedible (unless you're planning on cooking them down to a manageable chew level), and all you have to do is either strip the leaves from the stems with your hands in one fell pull, or just cut the leaves off of the stem. Once this is done, tear the leaves into reasonable bite size pieces and submerge in a bowl of water to dislodge any dirt that might be on the leaves. Rinse, dry, and your kale is ready for use.

I saw some shallots at the store a couple of days ago and thought, "I wonder what those taste like." These little purple-red onion babies seem to be the sophisticated older sibling to the rustic red-white-yellow onion triplets. As far as I'm concerned, it's like an onion and a garlic cross pollinated to create this little guy. Maybe it's what I'm cooking, but in the end the shallots tasted exactly the same as a yellow onion. So if you don't keep shallots on hand, you're not missing out on much. Just dice up one of your onion triplets and get ready to throw it in a high-walled pot. In that pot (the high walls will come into play in a minute) drizzle some oil and about a half a tablespoon of butter. I find that even though an all oil composition would be healthiest, I really love the flavor butter adds, so I just 90%-10% the oil and butter and call it mostly healthy. Oh, and I've noticed you don't need all that much oil either. A surprisingly small amount can cover three to four cups of raw kale.

To that oil, add some red pepper flakes (a little goes a long way) and some thyme. I find that thyme really brings out the earthy nature of the kale, and while I don't use this particular herb all that much, it definitely works here. I also like to put some salt and pepper in now - this way I know that the salt is evenly distributed throughout the oil, and will therefore be evenly distributed across the kale. Throw in those shallots or onions, and let them cook just about all the way through. Quick fun fact: shallots lose their purple color as they cook. Once it's all gone, you're ready to put in that kale.

This is where those high walls make a difference. The higher the sides of the pot, the more delicious kale you can eat later. The picture above has a 5 quart pot and what the greens will look like before their cooked. Stir or fold the kale several times, or until the volume has noticeably decreased. Make sure every piece is covered with your flavor-packed oil, and that those shallots are evenly distributed as well.

This is what the greens will look like after everything is coated. The leaves are super shiny, and they have wilted to just about half their original volume. Give one of the leaves a taste, and see if it needs more salt, or if it needs to be steamed a little longer because it's still a little crunchy. Otherwise, you're all done. Pair with some kind of protein, or just eat as is - kale is surprisingly filling for being a vegetable.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a super detailed recipe for Sauteed Kale. For the rest of the day, I'll be cheering for my fantasy football team which needs at least twenty more points if I'm going to beat my opponent for this week and have a perfect 3-0 record to start the fantasy football season. If Peyton Manning has another seven touchdown performance this week, I promise to eat lots of tasty kale for the rest of forever.