Kale

For dinner tonight I made kale, cabbage and chicken. Vegetables take a long time to prepare. I probably wound up using about a dozen different pots, pans, bowls and dishes to prep and cook these three menu items. It was worth it. The kale turned out amazing. I should have tried a piece of it by itself, because in the finished dish I couldn't distinguish the kale flavor from the rest of the ingredients I mixed in with it. I have heard that kale has a strong bitter taste. I blanched it, then sauteed it with some garlic in olive oil, then tossed it with strips of basil, toasted pine nuts, and shredded parmesan cheese. I will definitely be cooking more kale soon. I also made some savoy cabbage. I picked up a little baby head from the farmer's market on Saturday. I simply sauteed garlic and green onions in olive oil then added the cabbage and a little bit of water. I liked it, but not as much as I liked the recipe I used last time where the browned bits of caramelized onion and cabbage with the slight sweetness of the apple butter made a delicious combination.

Nutritional Facts
Kale gets Bowden's red star denoting the fact that he considers it to be a superstar, for its unique combination of nutrients. Among the vegetables Kale scored #1 on the ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) test, a testing procedure used by the USDA to calculate the antioxidant capacity of fruits and veggies.

In addition to all of the antioxidants, Kale is a form of cabbage that is in the brassica family meaning it contains cancer-fighting indoles.

Kale also has calcium, iron, and vitamins A, C and K. It contains beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin which all protect the eyes.

2 cups of kale has about 4 g of protein and 3 g of fiber.

Nutritional Information from:
Bowden, Jonny, and Jonny Bowden. The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth: the Surprising, Unbiased Truth about What You Should Eat and Why. Gloucester, MA: Fair Winds, 2007. Print.