New Member

[bidge]

Hi.
Just joined so hi to eveyone
I have a HUGE organic vege garden currently full of healthy Dinosaur Kale.
This is the first time I have grown Kale and not sure what to do with all of it
as there's way too much to eat.

Any suggestions?
Cheers
bidge

 

[Tom L.]

I don't know if you've ever frozen your own produce, but you could do that. Or you could dehydrate it... I think there's some sort of recipe for "kale chips" but I've never tried that. Have you eaten any of it yet?

I just steam or saute kale, or cook it with rice (I add it when the rice is nearly cooked so that everything will be done at the same time). Most recipes for kale advise you to cook it for longer than I like to. I like it cooked just so it's still vivid green and a little crisp (not grayish and mushy). Some eat it raw, some add it to smoothies, and others like it cooked more thoroughly than I do.

 

[Clueless Git]

Hello Bidge

I'd buy/beg/borrow/steal a dehydrator if I were you!

Edited to add; Like Tom said.

 

[bidge]

Yes...I have eaten it and its delicious but theres way too much for me to eat. One interesting thing I did was make a kale tea sweetened with Stevia (I have a lot of that in the garden too) and it was awesome. The wife makes smoothies out of the Kale. I might look into a dehydrater as Tom mentioned and try turn it into a powder maybe?

bidge

 

[Amy SF]

to Veggie Views!

I love raw kale salads. If you like salads, that's always an option.

 

[bidge]

Yes...it is actually nice raw! I have a munch on a leaf or two when Im watering

Cheers
bidge

 

[KLS52]

Kale chips seem to be all the rage, now.
http://www.thekitchn.com/snack-recipe-cheesy-and-vegan-kale-chips-179037

http://www.yummly.com/recipes/vegan-kale-chips-nutritional-yeast

Oh yeah...hi and welcome!

 

[bidge]

We had a go at making Kale chips and they were nice but found them a little thin. If you could thicken them up somehow maybe they would be more like a chip. Hmmm... I can feel a tasty experiment coming on

bidge

 

[KLS52]

I'm actually not a fan of kale chips myself but I never tried making them. I only had store bought ones. I should try one of the recipes in the link.

 

[bidge]

I just went out and bought some store ones to see what the difference is....I'll keep you posted.

bidge

 

[bidge]

Well...I must say they're not bad...I bought the "Zesty" variety and the spicy coating is a little overwhelming after about 3. They are made from the curly variety of Kale swhich gives the chip a little more body that the Dinosaur Kale. Mine come out as thin as dried paper I might have to experiment a bit more with coatings etc.

bidge

 

[Pirate]

You could make the kale chips then crumble it and use it as a topping on salads and things?

I've never tried kale, it isnt as big in the UK so I've never seen it.

 

[bidge]

Nice suggestion Liz Definately will try that one.

cheers
bidge

 

[Clueless Git]

I've never tried kale, it isnt as big in the UK so I've never seen it.

Whaaaaaaaat?

It's everywhere Liz!

Looks like spring greens that just paid a visit to an Afro-Caribbean hairdressers ...

You must have seen it a hundred times and simply not realised.

 

[shyvas]

You could make the kale chips then crumble it and use it as a topping on salads and things?

I've never tried kale, it isnt as big in the UK so I've never seen it.

I have seen it once in Sainsbury's but didn't buy any. I have never tasted kale so have decided to try it during my trip to California.

Welcome to the forum bidge.

 

[bidge]

Thanks for the welcome shyvas and everyone. There are a few varieties of Kale, Curly, Lacinato (or Dinosaur Kale), Red Russian and Rebor so keep your eyes peeled on your trip

bidge

 

[Tom L.]

I forgot to mention... 3 years ago, someone in my community garned had a kale plant that survived the winter! The winbter had been very mild, and kale is quite cold-hardy, so the nexst summer it had practically grown into a small tree as tall as I am. It almost looked like a triffid! It put out about a jillion little yellow flowers and then seedpods, so I collected a lot of the seeds to plant. But last year they didn't come up I still have lots of seeds and will try again this year.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triffid

 

[KLS52]

Haha...made me think of this. Fun movie for its time.

 

[thefadedone]

Welcome Bidge! I'm so jealous of all your kale. I go through so much kale. I eat it with almost every meal or even on its own as a snack. Have you used it in soups? It reduces down a lot so it's a good way to make it disappear if you have too much of it.

 

[PTree15]

Hi Bidge, and welcome to VV! I put kale in soups all the time. Love that stuff.