Hurray for kale!

Who doesn't love kale?! We love it, and this probably won't be the last time I extol its virtues. Before we moved across campus on Monday, my fridge was overflowing with kale. We had to use it before we moved. I want to share our two favorite recipes: marinated kale salad and kale chips.

Marinated kale salad:
1. Rinse a bunch of kale and pat it dry. Tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces over a bowl with a lid.
2. Drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the leaves. Sprinkle with salt (sea salt tastes best) and pepper to taste.
3. Add a teaspoon or two of sweetener: agave or maple syrup tastes delicious.
4. Throw in a handful of raisins.
5. Toss the ingredients together with forks or your hands.
6. Taste to decide if you like the flavor. Often I will have to add more vinegar, salt, or pepper based on taste.
7. Put the lid on and let it marinate in the fridge overnight and eat for lunch or dinner the next day. You can also leave it on the counter for an hour or two and serve it after tossing a couple more times.

Kale chips:
1. Preheat over to 375 degrees.
2. Rinse a bunch of kale and pat it dry. Tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces over a bowl.
3. Drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil over the kale.
4. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt.
5. Toss the kale with your hands making sure the oil gets all over the surfaces of the kale pieces.
6. Lay the pieces of kale out onto baking sheet (you may need two sheets or you can eat the raw kale leftovers as is).
7. Bake for about 8 minutes or until crisp but not burned.

From now on when anyone tells me they don't like kale, I am going to suggest they try these two recipes and get back to me.

*Kale tidbit: Plant your own--it's perfect in a vegetable garden and is a beautiful addition to a flower garden. If you keep harvesting leaves from the outside of the plant, it will keep growing for a long time!

Blueberry deliciousness...

I'm totally hot for blueberries--oh wait, that might be because it is still 84 degrees in my living room at 11:30 at night. But still, if you could only taste the blueberry jam I made today, you would understand!

I made up a recipe for corn-free freezer jam. It's probably unwise to tell the county extension office, and please don't say you heard it from me...but I think it is safe from deadly germs because it will be in the freezer. Heat up 8 cups of local organic blueberries and 3 cups of (seriously un-local) organic evaporated cane sugar until they seem like they will be thick enough to spread on a sandwich after the jam hangs out for a few minutes. I can't describe this technique called sheeting, yet, (i.e. when it's thick enough to put it into the jars), but there seems to be a lot more leeway here than with strawberries. A longer window, maybe. (I'll work on a description for next week.) The batch should make 5 half-pint jars.

Just an aside, don't waste your time dehydrating blueberries. Not so great. Instead, buy a melon and try drying that! Although I have never tried it, my friend JD, a reliable source, says it is delicious. Some of you even live in places where the heat rages for months and you can actually buy local melons or even grow your own. Big smiles...

Remember dehydration! (Not the newest diet plan, but a food preservation tip)

Don't forget about dehydration! It's energy-efficient and saves space.

A good dehydrator is a worthwhile expense. You can use it for years, and it is versatile. Dehydrating saves space if you live in an apartment or small place. It is also a low-energy way to preserve; the dehydrator uses very little electricity. A dehydrator skirts the need for a big freezer. It also takes less TIME than canning. The dehydrator can be left alone to do its work while you are doing other chores or working. So buy, borrow, and share your dehydrator. Start with fruit! Later, we can explore other crazy possibilities...

RECIPE FOR DEHYDRATING STRAWBERRIES:
Clean, cut off the tops, slice into half-inch pieces and place on the dehydrator sheets. Dehydrate at 130 degrees for about 8 hours. Check them after 4 hours and 6 hours if you can. When they are dry, but still pliable, put them in a glass jar with a lid to store.

Tip: Put the end pieces of the strawberry cut-side up to make dried strawberry removal from the tray easier.

Food Preservation Posts Coming Soon

We're up to our eyeballs in fresh fruits and veggies. (Ok, this is not quite yet true in New Hampshire, but almost.) Let's start preserving...and drying...and freezing. One sure way to find local in the winter is to look in your own pantry (or basement). If you've prepared in July, you'll have much luck in January.