One day my kids went to visit a friend who is a vegetarian. When they came back they reported that she was doing great, but that she was eating a “bowl of weeds.” Upon further investigation I found out what she was eating was kale. And really, I couldn’t argue in kale’s favor.
I’ve never been a big fan of your leafy green things. I love salad, and have embraced the spinach (especially the baby variety) but collard greens, mustard greens, kale, etc. leave me baffled. I don’t really know what to do with them, and truthfully, I’ve never really liked them. When I have had them, they have been cooked to slimy lumps of science project green that leave me with no appetite.
BUT.
One of my goals in the last year has been to teach myself to like some new foods. Foods that I have previously either disliked or really never eaten. Especially foods that are really good for you. Like your dark leafy green things. Hello, Kale.
So I was watching a food documentary the other day, and Rip Esselstyn, author of the Engine 2 Diet, was showing some people a few recipes and one of them was a kale salad. I was actually intrigued. It looked good. Kale looked good? Yep. So with this new revelation and very simple recipe in hand, I ran to the store and bought myself a wad of kale.
I will not say that kale will be on my menu every day from now on. I didn’t looooooove it. But I liked this recipe. It was simple, crisp and refreshing. I ate this one day as my lunch and then again as a side dish with pasta the next day. I’ve made my peace with kale and I have a feeling we’ll be meeting again soon, maybe even with a little heat involved.
Kale & Avocado Salad
Kale & Avocado Salad
1 small bunch of kale (I used dinosaur kale)
1 avocado
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt & pepper
Chop up the kale into small pieces. Stop when you get down to the stem area unless you want to do some extra chewing; the stems are tough. Put the chopped kale in a bowl. Peel the avocado and scoop out the insides into the kale bowl. Squeeze the lemon juice in with it. Add some salt & pepper to taste. Using your hands, mash the avocado and kale together like you were making a meatloaf. The mashed avocado and lemon juice make a sort of salad dressing consistency that should coat all the greens. Adjust the seasoning if needed and make like a rabbit.
This will make 2 main dish servings or 4 side dish servings.
3hungrymonkeys 