Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Kale. Chips. Kale Chips

Meet your new favorite snack. Or rather, meet mine.



The past month or so, I've noticed a couple of new kilos on my chops that while not overtly voluminous, are still an unwelcome addition to my wardrobe. Admittedly, I've been slacking on the exercise, but that usually doesn't throw the scale this much out of whack! I started charting my daily eating habits with a Calorie Counter application on my smart phone. Things were looking pretty good there, so I was really starting to wonder if I had a glandular problem or what. Then I noticed something. Something that I was eating, but not adding to my daily calorie counter. Because I didn't really consider it a meal or snack in itself.

See, my kids have gotten pickier lately. And they leave a lot of food on their plate. Food that goes uneaten. Rising food prices. Africa. See my logic? Yeah, I clean their plates for them. A direct connection between my childrens' pickiness and the scale. I will start serving them smaller portions, and subsequently refuse to eat their leftovers from now on - the worms in the compost bin will just have that much more to mulch from now on!

To get back to the point of this blog post (ie Jennie's fat!), I have nothing but praise for the kale. Kale, I love you. Usually, I just fry the hell out of it with some oil and garlic, reducing it to a spinach substitute that I gladly put in lasagne or on pizza. But kale is a lovely snack in its own right. And while I may need to watch what I eat a bit more closely, to be able to fit into those pants again, i will gladly have my kale chips, and eat them too, no guilt attached. They are absolutely delectably crispy, salty, yummy with just the tiniest bit of olive oil and some salt. And nothing else.

Just take 1 kale, removing the stems, and tearing the leaves up into smaller bits. Arrange on a baking tray, drizzle with oil and salt. Bake at 200 C (180 convection oven) for 10-15 minutes until they are crispy, and just slightly browned at the edges. The ones that were excessively browned still tasted fab, actually reminding me of fried okra, but the green ones were prettier. Still looking fresh from the farm. But packing a great flavor and a perfect crunch!

4 comments:

Jen said...

Hm, that looks so good! I saw another recipe some time ago and would love to try it, unfortunately, kale is very hard to come by in austria. I guess I'll just have to grow my own

Anonymous said...

Good idea! It's really good - I've made it twice now!

Steve said...

Hi! Weird question - where exactly have you managed to find kale in Copenhagen? I'm new to the city and can't find a good source for beets or kale. I've checked out all of the major grocers and a specialty organic store but no luck! Any suggestions?

Jennie said...

Hey Steve!

I have usually gotten it through a food coop I'm a member of, called Københavns Fødevare Fællesskab. There are three shops around the city so far. You pay 100 kroner down as a membership fee, and from then on you pay 100 kroner per bag which is filled to the brim with the seasons finest. It's really the cheapest food you can buy in town. Aarstiderne.com has it too, i'm sure, same principal, but it gets delivered to your door, whereas you have to fetch Kbhff yourself.

Beets usually aren't a problem in the shops, especially Fakta and the like, but they might be easier to find in the colder months.

Good luck!