So, as some of you may know… I’m a virgo, and a Galloway (yes, that’s a double whammy). What this basically means is that I’m a perfectionist. A painfully anal perfectionist. There, said it. Understand that this is both a blessing and a curse. Right, now that that’s clear there are a few things that have been bugging me lately about this here blog. I think all us bloggers feel it to a certain extent (unless you are one of those professional photographers who have recently started up a food blog. For you, all I can say is you lucky shits). It’s that somewhat embarrassed feeling you get when you see one of your (really, really) old posts show up somewhere in internet-land and while the recipe and post is something you are still proud to have your name attached to, the photo’s, well, um suck. I know photo’s aren’t the be all and end all, but I do know that some of my older recipes/posts deserve more than what they got all those years ago.
So, I’ve decided that while I have the time (I don’t know how much longer this will be you see) I’m going to go back and re-shoot a bunch of the worst offenders, giving them new life on this little blog. I don’t have a plan of how I’m gonna do it just yet. Some I may just do sneakily, adding in the new photos to the old posts (I’ll give them a shout out on facebook, twitter, pinterest or something). But others, like this one here, may get a full-blown new post just for them. The lucky things.
It wasn’t until the other day as I was making kale chips for the kids (after the first time I made them a couple of years ago they quickly became one of their all-time favourite snacks) that this great idea occurred to me. So I’ll just see how I go, I’m not exaclty going to re-do every old recipe on here with dodgy photos. I’m being realistic. But I’ll do my best to give justice to those recipes I feel deserve it.
So kale chips. Really nothing new, but still so good. I often get stopped at the markets on a Saturday morning, kale bunch in hand, by an inquisitive fellow market goer. “What do you do with that stuff?” is the question they always ask. Little do they know they’ve pulled aside the right person, I love the stuff and always have. I’ve never actually built up the courage to tell them that I also write a blog where they can find lots of wonderful kale recipes and instead usually set about explaining all the ways in which we enjoy these highly nutritive greens. From now on though if I ever get asked I’m going to get some balls and give them my card, hopefully they’ll make it to this post…
Dear market friend,
I’ve most probably explained in great detail all of these ideas already, but just in the off chance you don’t remember all my ramblings from that Saturday morning I’ve compiled a list of all the actual recipes for you here.
Great things to do with kale:
-Make these chips, you won’t regret it.
-Make this raw kale salad with garlic feta dressing (excuse the ick photos!)
-Make Heidi’s miso-curry butternut squash with tofu + cavolo nero
-Make some of this vegan kale + pumpkin seed pesto
-If you’re brave, add kale to your green smoothies instead of silverbeet (chard)/spinach
-… or to your green juice
Lotsa love and kale
xx Emm
salt and vinegar kale chips
Any kind of kale can be used here, curly Scot’s kale or cavolo nero (also known as Tuscan kale or laciniato). Any vinegar can be used in place of the cider vinegar. A little lemon or lime juice and a crack of black pepper are also be nice adaptions. Or go a slightly Asian route and use gluten-free soy sauce or tamari in place of salt and a little teeny drizzle of toasted sesame oil along with the olive oil.
Serves 1-2 hungry kids
1 bunch kale (approx 10 large handfuls of trimmed leaves)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (but any vinegar works)
sea salt to sprinkle
Pre-heat oven to 150 C/300 F.
Wash kale well, tear leaves away from the thick inner stem and discard stems. Give the leaves a whirl in a salad spinner to remove excess water (if you don’t own a salad spinner simply lay the leaves out onto a clean tea towel, wrap up like you would a lolly and twist the ends to secure. Go outside and shake the hell out of it, until all the water stops spraying everywhere. Then use another tea towel to gently dry the last remaining water droplets off if need be).
Tear or slice kale leaves into bit sized “chips” and place into a large bowl, or two.
Whisk olive oil and cider vinegar together in a small bowl and pour evenly over the kale. Now comes the best bit (for little and big kids alike!)… get your hands into it and gently massage all that lovely dressing into every nook and cranny. Spread out a single layer of kale onto a oven tray (you may need to do this in two-three batches) sprinkle a little sea salt over the top and bake for 10-15 minutes, turning the leaves once during cooking if the outer ones are starting to brown too much. If you have a wire oven rack, place the kale onto this then you wont need to turn the leaves over during cooking. I also find they tend to crisp up much faster too (check after 8 minutes and go from there).
Remove from the oven and cool for half a second before digging in. Repeat until all the chips are cooked and eaten. Ours barely make it out of the kitchen.
25 Responses
My best friend was just asking me for some good kale recipes because they joined a new farmers co-op and keep getting heaps of it. This is great and something we might even get her toddler to try! 🙂
I've never come across a kid who doesn't love kale chips 🙂
HI
can apple cider vinegar be used instead ?
thanks
sam
Yep, that's what I use. Sorry I mostly just call it 'cider vinegar' but I mean apple cider vinegar. Will go back and change that in the recipe, cheers! xx
Ha! I know that feeling. I totally blame pinterest – all of sudden something pops up that someone has pinned from the early days and I cringe. I'm (very) slowly updating some of the old pictures but it drives me a little mad! Not that you really have anything to worry about because you might think your old photos "suck" but I still think they're pretty darn great! xx
Ha thanks Kathryn. It does drive ya a little mad eh? I'm only gonna do a handful and go from there xx
Laughed out loud at this: " For you, all I can say is you lucky shits."
I've been stopped at the market/store with a bunch of kale too! Sometimes the inquiry is general, but sometimes it is a very pointed "Excuse me, do you know how to make kale chips?" Love that the tide of healthy vibes seems to be turning.
Absolutely! xx
You need a pocketful of business cards to hand out for people to get recipes. 🙂 Then you can go off without them and have someone tell you, "You should have brought your cards with you!"
Happens to me often. 🙂
Haha, yeah I do always have a few cards in my bag. Just don't have the confidence and ability to self-promote to go with them! 😉
what's the best oven temperature?
I cook them at 150C/300F so they dry out before burning. I find if the temp is up any higher the edges catch and burn while the centre is still soft.
I enjoy the way you write, really I do. You make me laugh.
I dont know about the old pictures, but this ones are beautiful!
Thank you for sharing!
xx
Clara
Thanks Clara! xx
Salt and vinegar has got to be my favourite chip flavour combination by far. Haven't tried it with kale chips, but I definitely will now 🙂 Kudos for having the perseverance and energy to tweak your blog until it's up to your own standards. I totally get the perfectionist thing… but even if you're the only one that notices certain little details and flaws, that's often the critic that matters the most for virgos and the like!
Totally, that critic can drive us mad at times though! xxx
Kale chips cost a fortune to buy but look so easy to make. They are very addicting too. Can't wait to try this with my garden kale, I am sure my partner will be very impressed!
Yes they are definitely much cheaper to make yourself! Enjoy xx
What a great idea! Mind you, if I tried to re-do my posts I still don't think they'll be much better- not because they're so great though, but because I still don't really know what I'm doing!:)
Salt and vinegar kale chips are my new faves. In a moment of hunger pangs, I recently bought a bag, and while they were actually quite good, I swore I would fire up the oven or dehydrator and get back to making my own. I completely get the urge to revive old photos. I often swear I'm going to do the same, but like my resolve to make kale chips, I don't get around to making either happen. Thanks for the inspiration on both fronts.
I have had those awkward, embarrassing moments when readers read older posts. Recipe alright but the writing and photos makes me want to hide deep under! 🙂 But i have chatted about it with friends and bloggers, and in my opinion – older posts should be a reminder of how far you have come and make you feel proud instead of other way round. Things keep getting better – and that is a path we should be proud of. We are after all learning, I believe our readers should have a chance to see how we have progressed too. Nothing is perfect. Why show otherwise 🙂
I couldn't agree more with you Kulsum, and funnily enough there are a few post, like my first ever post that I wouldn't change for the world. However there's a handful of recipes that I think deserve the justice of a decent photo, so I'm gonna chip away at them and then be done with it 🙂
I absolutely love kale chips and cannot wait to try them with salt and vinegar! I love your posts and images, as a fellow blogger I commend you. Everything looks great!
Thanks Kyle! xx
Just been to my very local ( across the road) market garden manned by adults with Learning Difficulties to buy more KALE! I love it! and i'm going to make these crisps for lunch for my 99 yr old ex-mother in law! and the children I look after when they come out of school!!
I also love Kale, orange pieces and garlic salad – just make it like it says with a little oil drizzled over plus s&p….mmm! delicious! – Caroline in London