I strolled down the aisle of my local Herb and Spice, and a robust leafy green called out to me. "Take me home chubby mama. I'm full of vitamin and minerals. You don't need more cookies!"
I picked up a bunch of fresh kale. I hadn't used kale in years, but was inspired by a recent cooking segment on CTV Midday during which Leanne Cusack made kale chips flavoured with a mixture of cayenne and cashews. She made it look so easy and idiot-proof.
To ensure my experiment wasn't a complete waste, I used half of the kale in a miso soup, and dehydrated the other half. I baked the leaves at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes with a sprinkling of sea salt. When I pulled the greens out of the oven, they looked nothing like the chips I saw on TV. Mine looked a sickly brown - like myself two weekends ago when I was recovering from a migraine.
When my kids came into the kitchen to inspect my latest experiment, I tried to tell them that it was Popeye chips, loaded with good stuff. No sale. They said it looked funny and smelled weird. Always reluctant to throw out food - no matter how unappealing- I whipped up a "salvage sauce".
I made my own version of Thai peanut sauce. My youngest is allergic to peanuts, so I used almond butter. I also find almond and cashew butters tastier than peanut butter.
With a drizzle of my Thai sauce, and some coaxing, the kids did eat the dried kale. I had lots of leftover sauce for chicken and spinach salad lunches the next day. The Thai sauce is sweet, salty and a tad spicy with a rich nuttiness.
Thai sauce over chicken and spinach salad |
Thai Peanut Sauce
1/4 cup nut butter
1Tbsp sweetener (honey, agave, maple syrup, sugar)
1 Tbsp sesame oil
Rind and juice from 1 lime
Chilli flakes/ Sriracha Thai hot sauce
1/4 - 1/2 cup water
Blend the first four ingredients together with a hand blender. Add water in a slow stream to thin the sauce. Add chilli flakes or hot sauce to taste. Done.
Drizzle over meats, noodles, spring rolls or kale chips.
These are the kale chips I was telling you about. My friend Rachel made these and they were unbelievably delicious. Here is the link to her blog http://efficiencyexperiments.blogspot.com/ She must have the full recipe on her blog somewhere.
ReplyDeleteI love your posts and I look forward to making your yummy offerings.