Miraculously, a few farmers are still harvesting kale! I don't know why I haven't been buying it up every week, but I did yesterday! Check out this glorious bag of yumminess!
It's been a while since I've had a good massaged kale salad. For a while there, I was eating it every day! But since my garden stopped producing it, I stopped making it. I bought this bag of kale so I could change that! I also bought a small bag of delicate young okra, but you'll have to imagine how cute that looked, I forgot to take a picture.
So what is it they say about necessity being the mother of invention? So is laziness. My hubby threw me a surprise 40th birthday party last night and I have been moving slow all day. We are also preparing for my trip to Maine, so I could hardly see myself joyfully and gently massaging kale in a bowl for 10 minutes. So, I whipped out the ol' KitchenAid stand mixer and massaged the kale with the paddle attachment. I was able to get other stuff done (like work on the okra) and the finished product was spectacular! I was very pleased with the outcome.
While the act of massaging the kale with your hands is fulfilling, relaxing, and, well, fun, if you're in a time crunch and you're really looking forward to this salad, I give you permission to use your stand mixer!
To make your salad, you will need a bunch of kale (dinosaur, curly, green or purple), 1-2 teaspoons of oil of your choice (I use olive oil or coconut oil) and an acidic liquid of your choice such as apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. I like lemon juice but my girlfriend who introduced me to this salad prefers acv. Then you can use salt and pepper, a little finely minced garlic, any flavoring you'd like to add. At serving, I like to sprinkle some pumpkin seeds or other seeds or nuts on top.
Today, I used 2 t coconut oil and the juice of a lemon and a little salt. It was divine!
To prepare, remove the stems from the leaves and tear the leaves into bite sized pieces. Throw into a bowl with your oil and acidic liquid (omit the oil of you are oil free) and massage it with your hands for 5-10 minutes. If time is lacking, throw ingredients into the bowl of your KitchenAid and run it with the paddle attachment for 5 minutes or so. When you notice that the leaves are dark green and pliable, your salad is ready. Massaging the kale completely changes the taste and texture, removing the bitterness and transforming it into a delectable raw salad.
I made a simple curry bowl with the okra. I think that people are sometimes afraid of cooking okra because of its slimy reputation. I say, reputations aren't everything. If you are lucky enough to get your hands on some young, tender okra, you can cook it whole and it almost melts in your mouth.
For this simple curried okra dish, you will need
1/2 lb fresh young okra
1/4 onion
1 red pepper
curry seasoning of choice - I used 2 t Patak's mild curry paste
1/2 can coconut milk
1 t coconut oil (omit if you are oil free)
salt to taste
crushed red pepper flakes for serving
Trim the lids from your okra, being careful not to cut into the flesh of the pods. Cut onion and pepper into bite sized pieces. Heat your oil (or water or stock if oil free) in a skillet. Sauté onions and peppers until translucent and fragrant. Add curry seasoning and stir through. Add okra and coconut milk. cover and simmer for approximately 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, till okra is tender but not mushy. Serve with red pepper flakes on the side.
This entire meal was prepared using food from the Farmer's market, except for the cashews, coconut milk, and curry paste. The red pepper flakes I produce myself from the wild chili piquin plants that grow in my yard. Red peppers and onions are from Braune Farms (the farmers I work for). Okra and Armenian cucumber are from Fruitful Hill, my neighbor at the market. Kale is from Austin Pesto Company.
Enjoy!
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