Kale Salad Craze

Happy 2012!

The picture to the left is of my daughter Analie. I am embarrassed to say that I was attempting to pick a photo of a kale salad that I made recently but chose Analie instead and can't figure out how to change it. So, hopefully Analie's sweet smile while she shows off her bicep muscle will inspire you as much as kale salad!

I have long been a fan of kale since I met the beautiful vegetable in 1992 shortly after moving up to Woodstock and tasting it at "Blue Stone Country Foods" cafe. I instantly loved it and recognized it as a food my body soaked up happily. In the beginning, I always sauteed it with garlic, a little mustard, Tamari and a squeeze of lemon at the end of the cooking process. After a number of years, I experimented with a variety of ways of cooking it.

Then I met kale in a new form at "Elijah's" cafe in Woodstock, probably about 3 years ago. I was really surprised that I enjoyed it as I imagined that raw kale would be tough and lacking flavor. Since having it at Elijah's, I have been experimenting with different versions of kale salad.

I have found two important details in making raw kale salad: ideally the kale you are using is tender & you need to massage the kale with olive oil, salt & lemon to help break down the cellular wall of the leaf.

Sweet & Revitalizing Kale Salad

1 head of kale

2 carrots

olive oil

lemon

sea salt

cucumber

green apple

pumpkin seeds (optional)

dried currants/cranberries/raisins (your choice)

Directions: Wash kale well. Chop into bite sized pieces. Put in bowl and coat with olive oil (1 tbsp should do the trick). Add a couple of pinches of sea salt & a squeeze of lemon juice. Massage kale until it gets juicy. You will see some vibrant green juice at the bottom of the bowl. Shred the carrots, chop the cucumber & green apple and mix all together. At the end some toasted pumpkin seeds on top will add some extra flavor and crunch. A handful of dried currants or cranberries or raisins will add some texture and sweetness if you so choose.

Enjoy!

Here's a nice quote my friend Leah had on her New Year's post for her yoga newsletter: "may you find contentment with what is". That is my mantra for 2012. I will add, may you find contentment with what is while you strive for what could be!

All the best,

Lysa