Kale Chips

With the gardens in their full glory, we've been harvesting lovely, huge boxes, filled with greens. One green in particular, however, can sometimes be a bit of a challenge for a someone who's never used it. That green: Kale!!

Kale is a member of the cabbage family and is filled with nutrients, particularly iron and folic acid. It's supposedly even more nutritious than spinach! Yet even we sometimes get stumped on what to do with it.



The kale we've been growing this year is a tender, flat-leaf variety called Red Russian. Once it's de-stemmed, it can often be substituted instead of spinach with just a little bit of extra cooking.

However, one of our favourite methods of using this versatile vegetable is to make it into kale chips. Yes! Crunchy, salty chips that are just as delicious as anything found in a bag at your grocery store.

They're so easy to make, you'll wonder how you did without them.

First, de-stem your kale. You can do this with a knife but often, if you just encircle the stem with your thumb and finger making an "O" and run it down the stem, the leaves rip off easily.

Next, chop up any large pieces, but not too small. The kale will shrink when cooked.

Put all the chopped kale in a bowl and drizzle with about a tablespoon of oil and salt to taste. Toss until all the kale is coated.

Place the kale on a cookie sheet and slide it into the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes. Take out, flip - see if any are ready. You may need to put it back for another 5 minutes but that's it. Be careful not to let it burn.

Once cool, place in a bowl and watch it disappear.