I have known for years that kale has been hailed (rhyme intended. Pretty good, huh?) as a superfood. Rich in all things good. Today was the first time I had tried it.
My kale experience started when I decided to Google more healthful alternatives to potato chips. I can down a bag of Kettle Chips in one sitting. (Yes, I know. It's disgusting.) I was looking for something to satisfy the craving for salty, crunchy goodness. Kale chips was the main item appearing on every web page. I remember watching a Rachel Ray show years ago in which she makes kale chips. At the time, I was weirded out by the fact that a leafy veggie could become crispy. Aren't veggies supposed to wilt and shrivel when heated? It was time to find out.
After a trip to the grocery store, I set to work. (Sorry, no pictures. I'm not a professional food blogger, after all!)
The first step was to thoroughly wash the kale. I had heard that soaking vegetables in a solution of vinegar, lemon juice, and water would remove pesticides, so I gave it a try. I poured some vinegar and lemon juice into a bowl (no, I did not measure) and filled the rest up with water.
Before adding the kale, I had to remove the thick stems. Now, in my reading beforehand, several things were mentioned including tearing, knives, and shears. Because I suffer from chronic laziness, I opted to do it the easy way. a grabbed the bottom of the stem with one hand, then used my other to grab just above my first hand and pulled up the stem, quickly and easily separating the leaf from the stem. Kind of like the way you would stroke a feather. (Admit it, we all played with feathers as children.) I put the leaves on to soak. While I waited I ate dinner. (Spinach salad with green peppers, mushrooms, green onion, and a freshly made honey mustard balsamic vinaigrette if you must know.)
After I finished eating, I decided that the kale had soaked long enough. Whether pesticides were removed or not, I shall never know. I rinsed and drained the leaves. Next came the hard part.
Apparently, if the leaves are wet, the will steam instead of crisp. I had the task of drying the kale. I tore it into pieces, shook the water off, and laid them on a kitchen towel. I used a second towel to press off the excess water, then a paper towel for the remainder. After it was dry, it was time to spice it up! (Well, I guess the "hard part" wasn't that hard after all.)
After reading several recipes, I decided to keep it simple. In a bowl, I mixed the dried kale with a splash of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The goal was to completely coat each leaf without soaking them. After the leaves were coated, I laid them in a single layer on a baking sheet and sprinkled them with coarse salt.
I had set my oven on 350. I used both of my oven racks and set the timer for six minutes. (Most recipes suggested total cooking time of twelve minutes or so.) While the chips begin cooking, I prepared my pie.
I'm not a fan of pre-foods such as microwave dinners and the like, but on some occasions, I make an exception. For example, this week Food Lion had Banquet pies on sale 10 for $8. I love their chicken and turkey pot pies, so, of course, I had to grab some. In the process, I found out that they now make breakfast and dessert pies. I added a few of those to the pile to try. The dessert pie I chose was Cherry Berry. The box said it was a combination of cherries and blueberries. I put the pie in the microwave for four minutes. Then it was back to the kale.
At the end of the six minutes, the pans on the bottom rack were already beginning to burn. I pulled those out immediately. I left the top pan in for about a minute longer. NOTE: There is a fine line between proper kale chips and burned kale chips...a matter of seconds.
The results were delicious. The kale was crisp and crunchy. The salt and vinegar gave it a great flavor--though I did add a bit too much salt. That will be corrected next time. I have already eaten most of the chips already!
My conclusion is that kale chips are a wonderful, filling snack. I would never have eaten that many greens in the course of a normal day. No, they will never be able to fulfill an intense chip craving (they are much too thin to compete with potato chips, much less kettle cooked chips), however, they will be great for normal crunch cravings. As an added bonus, they are healthier and much cheaper! I'm already making plans for my next batch. Imagine a garlic blend. Or a spice blend with chile powder and red pepper. Or mustard. Oh! the possibilities!!!! But for now, back to the pie....
In the time it took me to pull out and eat my kale chips, my pie had finished cooking and had had several minutes to cool. First impression on pulling it out of the microwave--it had not leaked or exploded. Always a good sign! I settled down in front of my TV, pulled up Lie to Me on Netflix (you should watch that some time), and poked in my fork.
Even after standing for so long, oodles of delicious steam wafted from the pan as I pierced the crust. It actually wasn't bad. I mean, I probably won't buy it again, but it tasted pretty good. I ate the whole thing, then proceeded to run my finger around the pan to make sure I got all of the filling. (Don't judge! You do it too!)
Cons: The crust was not as good as the pot pie crusts. I assume this is due to the fact that the berry pie wasn't as moist as the pot pies. Also, the pie was mostly syrup, very few actual berries. And, as with any pre-made food, there was a lot of sugar. (It included concentrated cherry juice. Concentrated always hikes up the sugar content.)
Pros: The sugar was real sugar--none of the high fructose corn syrup or artificial junk. There was a very short list of ingredients. (You know how obsessed I am with reading ingredients and pointing out the doom and gloom!) There were only two or three of said ingredients which I could not pronounce (all in the 2% or less group). It tasted good.
And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, marks the end of my first food blog post. I am now one step closer to blogger completeness. I'll have to do a political post next--and I have just the thing in mind! (Political correctness counts as political, right?)
Buon Appetito
Kale chips are so good! I've only had them once. I'm glad they're easy to make.
ReplyDeleteNext time you should include a pic of the actual pie (or whatever you're having) for comparison. Box food rarely looks the same as the picture.
Have you tried Claim Jumpers frozen chicken pot pies? They're my favorite, but I can't find then anywhere anymore.
This is your second cousin Liz, btw.
I would have added a pic, but the pie was long gone by the time I decided to write. Just look at the picture. See the berries coming out of the pie? Those are the only berries in the entire pie!
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