Friday, June 26, 2009

My kale pep talk.

I've hit my first real obstacle with my CSA. Allow me to explain.

In 1998, my sister and her soon-to-be-husband brought home an adorable little dwarf bunny named Duncan (RIP, Duncan). Duncan really lived the high life. Yes, he had a cage, but my sister would also let him peruse the apartment, sniffing here and there, occasionally leaving a small "present" for her to find (although Duncan was largely housebroken, which is another story on its own). He would recline on the floor while they watched TV or studied (they were both grad students at the time. Meaning my sister and her husband, not my sister and Duncan. He was a smart bunny, though. They even taught him some tricks).

Duncan did eat those bunny pellets that looked suspiciously similar to what he left in his liter box, or around the apartment as the case may be. (Are you wondering if I actually just said "liter box" when describing a bunny cage? Yes, Duncan had a liter box. See comment above about being housebroken. Crazy, but true.) In addition to his pellet food, since he was such a well-loved, pampered bunny, my sister always had treats stashed in the kitchen to make the little guy hop for joy. He really did do little joyful hops, too. For such a small bunny, he sure had a lot of nervous energy.

Guess what his favorite treat was.

Kale.

Not only did my sister always have kale, but only Duncan ate the kale. This was not because he was a diva and would shun us if we tried to sneak his precious treat. Although, if Duncan could speak English, I have a nagging feeling that he may have chastised us for sinking so low. The reason, though, that only Duncan ate the kale was because it was kale. Kale is bunny food. Or so I thought.

Fast forward 11 years. Over the past two weeks I started seeing posts about kale on the Google group I belong to for Cooking Away My CSA. I was secretly wishing that maybe I wouldn't be confronted by any kale. However, on Wednesday I eagerly clawed through my second CSA delivery and discovered my own bunch of Duncan's bunny crack: kale.

I've been keeping my eye on posts about how to use kale, and I'm seeing the words delicious and nutritious repeated. I saw one recommendation for a recipe that may just be the best way to start my kale adventure. I'm planning on trying this out over the weekend. Regardless of the end result, I know Duncan would be proud.

From AllRecipes.com

Baked Kale Chips
1 bunch kale
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon seasoned salt

Preheat an oven to 350°. Line a non-insulated cookie sheet with parchment.

With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems or tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with salad spinner. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoned salt.

Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10-15 minutes.

2 comments:

  1. Wow, interesting! I've never had kale either, you'll have to tell me how those work out.

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  2. Oh, the memories, dear little Duncan. We miss you. Maybe the kale was the secret to your 10.5 year life (making you about 120 in bunny years). Maybe it will work for Jessie and fam and all those other kale eaters out there!

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