Green Leafy Goodness: Kale Chips

I'll be the first to admit I wasn't forced to eat a lot of veggies growing up. I have weird taste buds, not a lot appeals to me veggie wise, and those that do appeal aren't often that healthy. I like corn, potatoes, and peas, but they have to be fresh. I like lettuce in salads but not in other things. So that makes including healthy veggies a challenge for me.

Because of this I read a lot of articles and I like to experiment in the kitchen, and when I'm traveling or visiting friends I'll eat what they've prepared, even if its not my favorite thing, because who knows, it might become one of my favorite things.

That's the way it has been with Kale. I never liked anything but non-nutritious iceberg or boring Romaine lettuce. That is until I tried kale. I went to an event where there were kale chips being served. I was admittedly hesitant at first. What are those dark green, dry, crunchy thing they're serving? Taste, nibble, nibble. Wow these are good! I later took a risk and asked the cook for the meal what the dark green, ruffly, salty crunchy things were that were served during the appetizer course. She was gracious enough to tell me they were kale chips, and that there was Kale in each and every course of the meal. The entire meal was light, flavorful, yet filling, and best of all it was all easy to prepare.

Ever since that day I've found myself trying more and more recipes that include kale. I'm still not a huge fan of green vegetables, leafy or otherwise, but Kale is one exception.

There are many ways to prepare Kale chips, and there's as many forms and recipes and varieties out there as you can probably think of. This is the simple basic start to making Kale chips. All you need is an oven and kale, and your choice of seasonings, but I like simple, so we'll start simple.

Recipe: Kale Chips - KISS version - Keep it Simply Salted

3-4 handfuls of kale
1/2 teaspoon salt (your choice of what kind of salt you like best, table salt works fine too - I use Celtic Gray sea salt as I prefer the mineral content & flavor)
1/4 tsp black pepper (again this is your choice of what type of pepper you use.)
1/4 tsp garlic powder [I get mine at the Amish bulk foods store]
1-2 TBSP oil of your choice - I used vegetable oil as that's what I had. I prefer Grapeseed or olive oil, if I have them on hand.

Preheat oven to 325. Line a small cookie sheet with aluminum foil, or a silpat mat if you have one.
Combine the salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a small bowl, set aside.

Wash the kale. If you have a salad spinner, spin it until dry, if you don't have a salad spinner, use either a clean white towel or paper towels to remove all water from the surface of the kale leaves, making sure they're as dry as possible.

Oiling the kale. Put the dry kale leaves in a large bowl. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the oil over the kale, massage the oil into the leaves, you may need more or less oil, depending on how large your handfuls of kale are. I have small hands so I end up using just 1 tablespoon.

Bake the kale. Arrange the kale leaves on the prepared baking sheet. Bake in oven just until crisp. This varies by the size of your kale leaves, your oven, and other factors. Start checking at 5 minutes, being careful as they will be hot. You want to remove the leaves as soon as they're crisp but before they're brown. If they turn brown they turn bitter. 10-12 minutes is usually the average. Remove from oven and sprinkle leaves with the seasoning mixture you prepared in step 1.

Let cool, then eat.

Light crispy, salted chips are both healthy, and full of minerals and the entire batch only has 1-2 tablespoons of oil. Making them healthy for your entire family.

You can change up the seasonings, the types of oil you use and more, almost limitless possibilities and yet another way you & your family can eat healthy on a budget.

Other variations: I've made more varieties of these than I can count over the years since I first learned about them, everything from bacon & cheddar, to salt & vinegar, to a sweet & savory version. Just play around with the oil and seasoning mixes and you can create a flavor of your own.

--Carrie--

Mitchell Farmer's Market Inc: A Brief Introduction

I'd like to take a moment to formally announce that the new Mitchell Farmer's Market Inc - will be happening for 2013.

After months of planning by a small group of potential market vendors, the market committee received the news we've been waiting for most of the winter. With a small investment on the part of the market volunteers we will have our incorporation paperwork filed within the week.

The new Mitchell Farmer's Market Inc., will be held Saturday's from May 18th - October 12th (excluding the last 2 weekends in September) from 1:30pm - 5:30pm in downtown Mitchell, Indiana.

Our mission statement: The purpose of the Mitchell Farmer's Market Inc., is to provide income for our local growers, bakers, artisans and crafts persons, to provide fresh, local food and crafts for our customers, to encourage customers to shop local, thereby supporting the local economy, and a local sense of community. The Mitchell Farmer's Market Inc., will feature locally grown produce, home baked goods, art, and locally made handcrafted items all produced by our vendors themselves.

The purpose of this blog will be to feature recipes that can be made using locally grown produce, to show off our vendors and their talents, and to provide updates for those who prefer an environment other than facebook for reading updates on what is happening at the market.

Stay tuned for new updates very soon - including how to sign up as a vendor, and more!

--Carrie--
Market Manager