Kale Salad done Two Ways

After reading so much about the benefits of Kale all over the Internet, I finally found a place that stores these leaves in Bombay. 

I assumed I would use it as I do any other salad leaf, wash, pat dry, dress, and eat. It is fortunate I looked up recipes for kale salad hoping for a new salad combo I could try. It turns out kale is not to be used like any other salad leaf...it is a much tougher variety. So, the first step is to get the kale ready.

For the Kale:

1 bunch of Kale
2 tbsp walnut or olive oil
1 tbsp cider vinegar or white vinegar or lemon juice

Wash the kale leaves thoroughly. I soak it in salt water for 5 minutes then rinse it our with fresh water. Remove the stalk completely - it is too tough to be eaten. Roughly chop the leaves and put it in a large bowl. 

Add the oil and vinegar, then with your fingers, gently massage the oil into the leaves for a minute or two. Leave this to marinate for 15 minutes at least to 24 hours at the most. It won't wilt like regular leaves.

I used half of the leaves for a dinner salad (top picture), and the other half for lunch (bottom picture) the next day. It still retained some crunch and felt fresh.

Salad 1:

A bowl of the prepared kale leaves

1 chopped red onion

1 chopped tomato (or a few cherry tomatoes)

4-5 walnuts

2 chopped figs

1 chopped carrot

2 tbsp Ranch dressing

1 bunch of other salad leaves (I used rocket and celery leaves)

Mix it all together. I like something crunchy and a hint of sweetness in my salad. Here, onion, walnuts and fig do that, but you can substitute (with something like apples or oranges) or remove any of the ingredients.

Salad 2:
A bowl of the prepared kale leaves

1 chopped tomato

3-4 orange segments (peeled and seeded)

4-5 walnuts

This is a much simpler salad. It can be used as a side but it was a filling lunch for me.

Blondies

I always though brownies were the yummest and easiest to make, till I tried these. The sugar you use makes all the difference in taste.

You'll need:

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup brown sugar*

1 cup flour

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

Handful of hazelnut, butterscotch chips, walnuts, or chocolate chips (optional)

*A good quality brown or muscovado sugar is the best. Dememara sugar will remain as crystals and won't give you a melt-in-the-mouth texture.

Whisk the butter and sugar till well blended. Add the vanilla and the egg and whisk some more. Sift in the flour and baking soda and powder. Mix well. Pour into a greased baking pan.

If using any of the optional add-ons, mix them in the batter or spread them on top of the batter before putting the pan in the oven.

Bake at 180 deg C for about 20 minutes. Let it then cool for 20 minutes before slicing them up.