Meet Kale

Official Introduction:
Meet Kale.  Kale is one of our favorite crops for many reasons including taste, cultivar variety, nutritional value, and hardiness in the field.  This spring we were amazed that some of our kale plants overwintered.   We gave them no special attention last fall.  The first frost in November gave them an extra sweetness. Then after a couple of really hard frosts, the plants appeared to wither and die as the brutal cold crept in. In the early spring new plants miraculously emerged from the old stems.  They were smaller leaves on little mini kale plants, so kind of weird but miraculous still.  Eventually we plowed the bed to replant for this year’s vegetable crop.
We will be presenting 5 different kales to you as the season unfolds.  The green curly stuff is the kale you normally see in the grocery stores.  The same leaf with a purplish red color is “red curly.”  The finger-like leaves are on Russian kales, either white or red.  And, still growing in the field, look forward to the infamous Dinosaur Kale.
Unlike chard (beet family), kale is in the brassica family along with cabbage and broccoli.
The leaves of this plant are sometimes described as “tougher than other cooking greens” so many people use the leaves in soups or dishes that require long simmering.  It is true that the longer you cook kale, the more tender it gets.  Russian kale has a softer, more tender leaf than the standard curly kale.  Russian kale is especially good to sauté. Todd and I are fans of kale cooked all ways:  simmered in a little water or in soup, steamed, sautéed, juiced, raw in salads, and even baked. Baking kale can result in this yummy thing called Kale Chips.  The recipe is on our website along with a variation entitled Revolutionary Kale Recipe.  (You may also have heard its other name, Crispy Kale.)
If you are sautéing kale or eating it raw, consider chopping it into small pieces or strips. We have some customers who sneak kale puree and juice into their kids’ meals without them even knowing. 
Sesame Kale Salad
Remove kale leaves from stems.*
Chop kale into small pieces or strips.
Dressing:  Whisk together 2 parts sesame oil with one part apple cider vinegar or lemon                                     juice.  Add salt to taste (do add salt—it helps soften the leaves).
Drizzle dressing over kale and toss to coat.
Sprinkle salad with sesame seeds
Eat immediately or after chilling. 
*If you don’t like chewing on kale stems, you can always use them for a soup stock:  Boil alone or with other vegetables.  After boiling for a while, remove the stems.  Cool the water and freeze in containers for later use.
Another Introduction:
We often bring beets from Deer Creek, which is the farm that we share our booth with at market.  The beets are organic and grown with care, just like vegetables from Peasants’ Plot.  Jeff Franklin, the farmer of Deer Creek, started his farm the same year we started ours and we enjoy the camaraderie.  Why are the beets so obscenely large?  We wish we had his recipe.  The truth is that each farm’s soil is different and conducive to growing certain crops.  His soil is especially sandy (he is close to the Kankakee river), so his root crops can expand without restriction.
We have beets in the ground at The Plot, too, so do look forward to those.

The back side of veggies and market customers.  

No kale in this photo, just cuteness..