We’ve been on a long hiatus, but our analytics tell us there are a bunch of you who still stop by to peruse our recipes here and on our Facebook page.  THANK YOU! While our blogging may have taken a nose dive, our cooking most certainly has not!  In addition to our long-standing love of ethnic cuisines and just super-delicious food, we’ve been exploring the healthier side of eating in the last several months.  We splurge on the weekends with beef and some carbs, but the weekdays are all about fresh green juices, green tea, super-green salads, a smattering of whole grains, and lean fish or poultry at dinner.  That will not make things boring around here!  To prove that to you, we make our grand re-appearance with Crispy Kale Chips!

Scratching your heads?  I did too, at first.  But, trust me, these are so very delicious, you will want to sit right down and eat the whole bowl.  I first heard about crispy kale while watching Rachael Ray coach Lou Diamond Phillips on her Celebrity Cook-Off reality show. It caught my ear because I’ve only recently discovered the wonderfulness of kale and have incorporated it into my diet almost daily.  It is a key ingredient in my morning super-nutritious juice and it goes into almost every soup I make these days.  With all the liquid and leaves going into my system during the week, I often feel I’ve just gotta have a crunch of something in the middle of the afternoon.  Since I’m trying to keep the carbs to a minimum (and mostly whole grain to boot), the idea of a crispy kale snack intrigued me.  Ms. Ray mentioned it was “so easy” to make, and that sealed the deal for me; I went googling to find recipes.  I found that some people make it more complicated than it needs to be.  I tried the simplest version (and the most popular) and my first batch was almost perfect.  It’ll take you about half an hour to whip this up.  I’m telling you right now: Make a double batch! If you have kids, these will disappear from the bowl in a flash!

Ingredients

1 bunch fresh kale
Olive oil
Kosher salt

Instructions

Thoroughly wash and dry the kale in cool water. It is important to dry the kale completely so it crisps rather than steams.  Remove the stems easily by circling your thumb and forefinger around the base and pulling the stem through.  Tear the leaves into pieces about 1 1/2 – 2 inches wide.

Put the leaves in a large bowl and drizzle with about 1/4 cup of olive oil (just enough to lightly coat the leaves) and sprinkle with about 1/2 teaspoon of Kosher salt (use just a little more if you have a large bunch of kale, but you don’t want these to be over salted).  Gently massage the oil into the leaves so that each leaf is completely coated.

Spread the coated leaves in a single layer on a baking sheet – preferably one without a non-stick coating.  Don’t let the leaves overlap at all.  You may need 2 baking sheets.  Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 20 minutes until the leaves are about half their size and the edges are just beginning to brown. When you remove them from the oven, they should be extremely delicate. Carefully scoop them up with a plastic spatula and drop them into a clean bowl or basket lined with a paper towel.

Here’s the most important thing to remember:  Keep your portion set aside before you call anyone else to the table! The papery crispiness is so satisfying and the salt seems to just make that automatic hand-to-mouth reflex kick in. We have the best-fed dog on the planet who was also very pleased that we were willing to share.  You can leave the bowl on the counter or the table all afternoon and they won’t get stale or soggy.  That is, if they last longer than 5 minutes.  I’d like to tell you how to store the leftovers, but I have no idea! Mine disappeared.

In truth, my first batch was a bit over salted, but they were still such a treat we just drank some more water with them.  That happened because I decided to sprinkle additional salt over the leaves before baking.  Since I couldn’t see the salt when I spread them on the baking sheet, I thought I hadn’t added enough.  Go lightly with the oil, too.  Remember these will be about half their size after baking and you don’t want them to be greasy.

If you try this, I would love to know what you thought of them!  Please leave a comment!

Your Daily Bread

²³ The desire of the righteous ends only in good;
   the expectation of the wicked in wrath.
²⁴ One gives freely, yet grows all the richer;
   another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.
²⁵ Whoever brings blessing will be enriched,
   and one who waters will himself be watered.
²⁶ The people curse him who holds back grain,
   but a blessing is on the head of him who sells it.
²⁷ Whoever diligently seeks good seeks favor,
   but evil comes to him who searches for it.
²⁸ Whoever trusts in his riches will fall,
   but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf.
²⁹ Whoever troubles his own household will inherit the wind,
   and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.
³⁰ The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
   and whoever captures souls is wise.