Kale, It’s What’s for Breakfast….(Lunch and Dinner too)
This is one of those simple meals that qualifies for the phrase, “Bang for your Buck”. It’s quick to make, tastes great and gives you a good amount of nutrients. Kale is one of my all time favorite vegetables. Pair it with some onion, Nitrate-free smoked bacon, for it’s smoky salty goodness and an egg…viola, great for breakfast lunch or dinner!
There are several varieties of kale , but the three most common are curly kale (the kind we always thought was not edible…just for garnishing plates and salad bars) , red kale, and Lacinato kale . Curly kale has ruffled leaves with a bright green color, a lively pungent flavor with bitter peppery qualities The Lacinato kale is the most common. It is also called “dinosaur kale.” It is made up of dark blue-green leaves with a slightly sweeter, more delicate taste than curly kale. I usually go for the Lacinato when I can find it…easier now that it seems to be “trendy”. If you have a Twitter account follow me…I “tweet” under the name @crazy4kale.
Kale and Eggs
4 slices of smoked bacon (cut into bit size pieces)
1/2 Lg onion chopped
1 bunch of Kale (cleaned and cut into ribbons)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. (crushed red pepper if you like a “kick”)
Cook bacon until crisp tender remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add onion to bacon dripping and cook until soft and a bit caramelized. Add Kale and saute until softened. Season to taste.
Cap it all off with an egg. I like over easy fried in olive oil or poached with a soft loose yolk, but you could certain scramble this all together. Such a quick meal that I can now make even faster since I found the “Cut n Clean” Greens at Whole Foods triple washed and ready to go.
Kale is an alkaline food, full of fiber and sulfuric compounds, which have been found to help prevent a wide variety of cancers. Research suggests that the phytonutrients found in these foods also help activate detoxifying enzymes in the liver, which work to neutralize potentially carcinogenic substances. What a great addition to recipes you already make, sneak it into soups and pastas. Move over spinach!
Our favorite salad is, Massaged Kale Salad. When I posted this recipe the first time we liked it…but now we LOVE it. The beauty of the recipe is that it’s more of a technique. You can substitute what you have on hand and make different combinations. The one we like the best is a combination of apple, golden raisins, toasted pecans and a smoky blue cheese. I brought it to a food blogger dinner and the host Stephanie of FreshTart.net took this great photo. (scroll down…it’s after her killer White Bean Gratin recipe).