Kale in bowl

We’re still eating kale I planted last fall. It’s beginning to bolt though, so before long I’ll pull the rest of it up and feed it to the chickens before planting something new in it’s spot.

I really like kale, pretty much any variety of it. The way I eat it most often is straight from the garden in a salad. A lot of folks prefer not to eat kale raw, but I like the flavor it has.

The rest of the family prefer cooked kale.

If you cut the leaves from the plant as you harvest, the plant will continue to produce leaves for you—that’s how I still have some from last fall. As I harvested through the winter new leaves grew.

I cut the leaves, wash them, and drain well.

Add butter to a pan and allow it to heat up. If you prefer, you can use olive oil or the oil you prefer.

Once the pan is hot add kale and season to taste with salt, pepper, and whatever other seasonings you like. There’ll be a lot of hissing when the kale first hits the pan, but it doesn’t last long.

Cook kale until it’s completely wilted. I like mine straight from the pan, The Deer Hunter puts a dash of lime or lemon juice on his.

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10 Comments

  1. Hello Tipper, in 2018 & I’m now 62 my Doctor wanted to put me on 2 Statin drugs for lowering my Blood Pressure as it was very high, averaging 185/91 I told him give me 30 days to correct it on my own & if I can’t I will come back and get the prescriptions, he agreed. After much research I found these items as the best things to help lower it & keep it under control, in no special order, 1. Kale 2. Ground Flax seed, 2 tbsp per day. 3. Chia seeds, 1 tbsp a day, 4. a sliced smashed garlic clove in everything I eat. 5. Shredded fresh ginger in as many things as I can add it to. Those were the top 5. I replaced eating most of my lettuce eating with Kale, & try to eat Kale in some form everyday, & I love this recipe, I air fry it, I bake it a few mins with olive oil & some spice on it, I saute it and just use it in many ways, so not sure if you realized how good it was for controlling your BP. within 10 days after doing all of that my BP dipped on avg. into the 130’s over mid 70’s within 3 weeks, it averaging between 118 to 145/ over 69 to 85 which is all a very good normal range for my age at 62. generally it stays in the 128/75 range & if I need a quick lowering, I eat a sandwich or something with Kale & ground flax seed.

  2. As a child and even now, we cooked a huge pot of kale by boiling in water with a ham hock in there. We’d eat the kale as a side dish with ham (or any meat) and mashed potatoes. It’s one of my favorite foods. I do like it raw in salads and I’m betting that I’d love it cooked as described here. I’ll give that a go soon.

  3. I have a kale salad recipe that says to put a little olive oil and a little salt on the kale and “massage” it with your fingers until it gets velvety. It has a much more pleasing texture this way!

  4. Kale is good dehydrated into crisps. I spray it with olive oil cooking spray and sprinkle with salt. Dehydrate till crispy! I wonder if turnip greens & mustard might be good dehydrated too. I’m the only greens lover in our house, but my son does love the lettuce & onions with hot bacon grease! My husband says he’ll just eat grass if he wants to eat grass.

  5. I think I would like the cake-like gingerbread cookies much better than the hard ones. Never had carrot bread, but we do carrot cake a lot, especially during special occasions. The salty cracker candy is always a hit as well. Tipper should collect a percentage from the flour and coffee makers, because these posts certainly generate lots of interest in making cookies, cakes and, of course, a big pot of coffee.

  6. I LOVE greens like kale, mustard, spinach, etc. The last time I “loaded up” on greens and I did eat a bunch- I ended up with multiple blood clots in my leg. I will say this, pace yourself on greens and enjoy them but if you’ve got clotting issues, just slow down. Lol. I’m so glad you enjoyed your kale down to the last of it. I know it was delicious!!! God bless you as the garden is put out in health and safety, Miss Tipper!

    1. I over winter greens every year. It was mustard this year. Margie G is absolutely right about greens and the blood. If on Coumadin blood thinner have to actually limit intake of leafy greens. I love them, and still cook them regularly. I also always keep walking onions or Egyptian onions, as they are hardy and come up year after year. Love your gardening posts.

  7. I like kale too, Tipper. I’ve eaten lots of raw kale in salads as well as cooking it like you do, but mine would not be as good as yours because I buy it from the grocery store. I think its amazing that your kale is still growing from last springs planting. Your Malabar Spinach lasted through most of the winter…that’s pretty amazing too.
    Do you think living in the hollar allowed protection for the greens to last so long?

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