Kale dancing in my dreams

baked kale chips by eraine, on Flickr

My kitchen is being overrun by kale. For some reason, my CSA box has had two huge bunches of kale every week. Lacinato kale, Dinosaur kale, Red Russian kale, they are beautiful and apparently plentiful, even in our 90° heat.

I’ve served kale for breakfast in green smoothies and as the nest in eggs in a nest; for lunch sauteed with pasta and in soups; for dinner lightly steamed and tossed in a wilted salad; for snacks as chips. Every time my kids see something green in a dish, they have taken to asking, “Mom, is that kale again?” If I serve kale one more time this month, I just know the kids will pool their life savings and buy a McDonald’s franchise.

And still the kale comes. There were a record three bunches in my CSA box this week. I just knew I had to do something with it, other than feed it to the family. I have been guilty of “gifting” my neighbors with the hot peppers that arrive later in the season since I can’t hide them well enough in food to serve to my tenderfoot family. But I want to avoid that if possible since I don’t think most of my neighbors would have any idea what kale is or what to do with it.

I’ve done a bit of canning in my day, but the meager storage we have here is near full and I don’t imagine kale cans much better than spinach. So, I’ve decided to dehydrate half of it and freeze the other half. Washed, stemmed and dehydrated leaves can be tossed into soups and salads all summer when (and if) kale eventually goes out of season. Blanched and frozen flat in airtight bags (yeah, I’d like to get away from plastic here, but options are limited for space-saving freezer storage) they will take up as much room in my tiny freezer as a paperback book, but be available for side dishes once the kale flood slows to a trickle.

Finding new ways to deal with a bountiful blessing is an unexpected and previously unexplored creative avenue for me. I love learning new things, and this Real Food lifestyle always presents me with educational opportunities!

This post is part of the Pennywise Platter Thursday blog carnival, hosted by The Nourishing Gourmet.