Kale, what do I do with this?

Update on Monday, February 6, 2012 at 11:48AM by The Urban View

1. I rinse it in a colander and at the same time tear the leaves and stems into 2 inch pieces.  Then I add it to a heated deep pot that has about 3 Tablespoons of olive oil in the bottom.  There is a lot of snapping and steam.  I put on the lid for 3 mintues or so.  Before I serve it, I toss the kale with a 1/2 teaspoon (this is a lot!) of plain salt, hickory salt, or garlic salt.  Sometimes there might be bacon pieces (not strips) cooked in the pot first beofre I add the kale.

2. I stir Kale washed and torn Kale into pasta dishes, especially ones that also have red kidney beans.  After the pasta has been cooked and the ingredients are being combined, I add the kale and continue cooking for 3 or four minutes.  When Pasta e Fagiloi becomes soup, I add kale pieces at the end and cook 5 or 6 minutes more.

3. When meatballs become meatball soup, I add washed and torn Kale pieces and cook for 10 minutes or more.

4.  I sautee washed and torn kale for 3 or 4 minutes in olive oil and add rinsed and drained, cooked but unheated, cannelli beans.  Then I heat then together until the beans are thouroughly warm, which I test just by tasting.  This often also has sauteed chopped garlic, or garlic salt added.

For years we only used idea #1 and always with bacon.  Now idea #4 is our favorite and A eats it too.  I still make idea #1, but more often without the bacon. A will eat Kale made this way for a couple of months, and then leave it untouched for a couple of months.  Then it is eaten for another stretch of time.  So I keep serving it throughout.  If A has not been eating it, I tend to serve it the ways we prefer - more garlic.  When in soup, we had surprisingly postivie results from the toddler.