Really? Kale Chips?

Last week I was confronted with the first of what will likely be bushels of kale from my CSA farm. Fourteen stems of dinosaur kale.

I will interject here that it was not until I was in my mid 20's that I willingly tried greens. My only exposure to greens as a child was of the frozen-spinach-boiled-for-about-a-half-an-hour-before-being-unceremoniously-plopped-into-a-serving-bowl variety. (Sorry to out you mom.) At a yoga center I was turned on to kale as an addition to miso and rice soup.

On the drive home I considered my options. I had a vision of my meat-and-cheese loving son relishing the kale. As I started to dismiss the thought a phrase came to the forefront of my conciousness.

"Kale chips."

I'd heard raves about them from several of my friends. The prior week our CSA farm manager sent out a recipe for them. I had never been able to decide if I thought they sounded appealing. Intriging. Weird. Considering they were baked with oil and salt, how bad could they be?

As it turns out, kale chips are illogically delicious. It defies my imagination how placing kale in the oven for ten minutes can transform an astringent yet pleasant tasting leaf into something that is so delectible I can't stop eating it until it is gone. Both my children devoured them. A greens success story!

Searching the internet, I found many recipes for them. Experimenting a bit, I have some recommendations. I worked from this basic kale chips recipe.

• I found that 375 degrees for 10 minutes was a good base to work from.
• Careful rinsing of the kale and spinning it completely dry in the salad spinner is essential.
• Make sure to rip the leaves into small, bite-sized pieces. The first batch I made didn't cook evenly because some of the peices were too big and folded over during the cooking, leaving a portion overcooked and a portion undercooked. By creating the small peices, you can ensure an even layer of leaves on the cooking sheet and thus even cooking.
• The second batch I made I used a spray can of olive oil rather than drizzeling the oil and then mixing the greens. The first batch I followed the drizzel method. I think I was a little heavy-handed with the oil. It left some of the leaves soggy and it took the a long time to cook as a result. The spray, however, allowed for a more even disribution of the oil. I also used much less oil overall. This made for crispy chips in less cooking time.
• Take care to carefully monitor the cooking. Thirty seconds can make the difference between beautiful brown chips crisped and concentrated to perfection and charcoal. I suggest doing a test run to guage the cooking time in your oven.

These chips are best right out of the oven but do keep decently in a sealed bag.

I'm so excited to have this recipe in my aresenal now. This is a great way to enjoy greens and a great alternative when you just want to much. Much healthier than my biggest downfall, potato chips. I won't go so far as to say they are equivalent. However, they are very satisfying. What is more exciting is that my kids love them. How wonderful that they are learning to enjoy whole real food snacks.

I hope you enjoy them as much as we are!