my kale marathon and kale chips

I pass these lovely sheep every day, and finally stopped to visit with them. They're in their summer quarters, showing up sometime around Memorial Day, and leaving just after Halloween. They were very curious and gentle, although this fellow was clearly the boss man, and kept his distance. It is a wonderful blessing to run into all manner of creatures in a small rural town, ranging from chickens in the middle of the road on Main Street, to merry little bell ringing horses and carts.

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A few days ago I bought one of those huge bundles of fresh kale at the market and promised myself I'd use it up before it got old and yellow, so this morning I went to work. Kale and white bean soup, blanched kale for freezing, and finally, a bowlful of kale chips. I must be the last blogger to make them, and I am grateful to Kalyn's Kitchen for general directions. Now you're going to ask: are they good? Well, yes and no. No, they will not taste like potato chips, but yes, they are crunchy and yet, melt in your mouth. Kids love them, and they couldn't be easier to make.

Most of the photos I've seen online show kale chips as somewhat flat and browned, but mine stayed frilly and green, which I liked. The top photo are the finished chips, the middle photo was just as they went into the oven.

To make kale chips:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Inspect your kale - if it needs washing, wash and roll in paper towels or dish towels, or spin until dry.

Pull the kale leaves off the stem, tearing the large pieces into smaller pieces about 3-4 inches , until you have about 4 handfuls of leaves. Place the leaves in a dry bowl and sprinkle on:

2 T. sesame oil

1 T. herb vinegar (I used my homemade hot chili pepper vinegar)

salt

Toss the leaves well. It's surprising how such a small amount of oil manages to coat the kale leaves. Spread the leaves out on a baking sheet. Place in hot oven for 15 minutes. Turn heat down to 300F and pull out the kale chips. Move them around a little and place back in oven for another 10 minutes. By then they should be completely crunchy.

Enjoy!

ps/ I noticed with the high humidity here today, the chips lost their crunchiness in an hour or so. So - once the chips are cooled, pack'em in a zip bag to make sure they keep their crunch.

You might also like:

Portuguese Kale Soup with linguica sausage

or

Pasta with kale, rosemary, and garlic

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A year ago on she's in the kitchen:

apricot and coconut clafoutis