Caleb LOVES kale!

Summer eating is so delicious. Grilled meat and veggies, fresh veggies for salads, fresh in-season fruit (nom nom nom), bananas that won't last so I "have" to make bread (hee hee - not at all a local food, but we're not purists).

Caleb has discovered a great affection for kale. It feels like this new love may be a fleeting phase, but I can hope it will last at least through the season and that maybe just maybe he will stay open to trying this superbly healthy vegetable again next season.

This past Friday, we invited new friends over for dinner. We prepared our standard Friday night dinner of fish, green something, and rice. We offered challah as is our tradition (whole wheat Rosenfeld's - pure bliss). The wife is a vegetarian, so we had several vegetable sides - grilled zucchini and summer squash from the CSA, kale from farmers' market with carmelized onions and garlic, farmers' market corn (boiled in pot), beans from the garden (steamed). The husband mentioned that he never had found kale to be palatable. I suggested he could try ours, but I didn't mind if he didn't like it.

Guess what? Yeah, you guessed right. He totally liked it. Better yet, Caleb was super excited to eat kale. I think Caleb had seconds. So folks, if you have kale, try this way and see what you think:

1 bunch of kale (really the amount can be whatever you buy), remove stems
1 onion chopped (red or yellow; red is sweeter)
2 Tbsp. minced garlic (I buy this already minced in a large jar, and I'm sure fresh is yummier and would require less)
enough olive oil to saute onions, garlic and eventually the kale (maybe 1-2 Tbsp)
balsamic vinegar (maybe a Tbsp)

Saute onion in large pan/wok until it softens. Add minced garlic and continue cooking until onions nearly caramelize (brown). You'll stir a lot to prevent sticking and cook evenly. Add kale. Gently "toss" kale as it wilts/shrinks (maybe 3-4 minutes), mixing onions and garlic somewhat evenly. After the kale wilts, remove the pan from heat/turn off stove. Add a few splashes of the balsamic vinegar (I hear lemon juice also is nice) and stir. Serve warm.

To whomever reads this, this dish takes maybe 5 minutes plus the time it takes to chop an onion and separate the kale from its stems. And check out this link for some nutritional information about kale.

Bon appetit!